“Two blankets?” Ross called out.

 

“Check,” replied his sister, Val.

 

“The steering column?” Gary asked.

 

“Check,” said Val.

 

“And the computers?” Ross asked, and all three said, “Check.”

 

The mid-afternoon sun, in mid-summer, was unbearable, but the trio had plans to stay out of the heat. Their spacecraft sat ready to receive them in their backyard, soon to be transformed from an ordinary picnic table to the ultimate vehicle of their imaginations. 

 

One blanket formed the floor of the craft, because, after all, blades of grass and clumps of dirt spoiled the illusion. The second blanket, draped over the picnic table, became the outer walls of their spacecraft. At opposite ends of the spacecraft were the cockpit and aft windows. A special material filled each opening, a material so transparent that it was like it wasn’t even there. And finally, the computers and the all-important steering column completed the inventory of essential equipment needed for a day’s worth of space exploration.

 

“Noses,” Ross called out, his finger already halfway to his face as he said, “I’m Captain.”

 

“Co-pilot,” said Gary, while Val chimed in with, “Navigator and Science Officer.”

 

The threesome ducked under the picnic table and opened up their laptops. Close enough to Val and Ross’s house to get a signal, they tied into their Wi-Fi and started up Google Earth, and then set the program’s View to “Mars.”

 

Ross opened his email and forwarded his crew a copy of their orders. “We’re to place an automated weather station on the crater rim atop Olympus Mons.” 

 

“It’s big,” Val said, “three times the height of Mount Everest, and much broader.” Selecting a high point on the rim, she copied the coordinates from the program and replied to the Captain’s email. “The coordinates are in your email, 18°14'3"N, 133°49'53"W.”

 

Gary pulled up a few more facts on his computer. “Biggest volcano in our solar system,” and then he plugged the steering column into his computer.

 

“Good,” Ross said, “let’s get started.” Keying in the coordinates, he plotted their route. Their flight plan showed that they would hug the ground, maintaining an altitude of a couple hundred meters. Ross clicked the Start button on his computer screen and called out, “Liftoff.” 

 

#

The outer blanket on the picnic table peeled away as a giant’s hand reached in, delivering a plate of brownies. The giant disappeared without saying a word, knowing that the crew had a busy schedule. They talked as their flight progressed, discussing how to place the weather station and then make it back to base in time for dinner. Ross said they could just drop it at their landing spot, but Val and Gary disagreed, a precise placement of the weather station would be far better.

 

“Any problems to watch for?” Ross asked.

 

“None,” Val said, “the soil is stable and we have clear weather. What could go wrong?”

 

Gary opened his mouth, thinking of a dozen things that could go wrong, but then a brownie hailed him and he answered it with three chews followed by a mouthful of milk to wash it all down. 

 

#

The picnic table soared up the slope of the Martian volcano. “There’s the escarpment,” Val called out, as she wondered whether the word shared a heritage with her brother’s favorite delicacy, escargots. A wall, nearly four miles high, loomed before them. 

 

Gary took the controls and pulled back on the ship’s rudder. All three leaned back as the craft climbed above the cliff wall. “We’re clear, Captain.”

 

“Good work,” Ross said, as he bit into his last brownie.

 

“Prepare for landing,” Ross ordered, and the threesome stowed their afternoon snacks for the critical event. They fired thrusters to slow their descent. Ahead of them lay their landing site; next to the six overlapping volcanic craters formed the Olympus Mons summit. “There it is,” Ross called out as he spotted their target, the lip of the highest crater.

 

Val spun the camera angle on her display in a circle, checking out their landing site for rocks and small craters. “Rock,” she called out, and Gary instantly slipped the craft sideways to avoid it. Out-side their windows some imaginary dust kicked up as their craft touched down on the Martian surface.

 

“Good landing, Gary,” Ross said. 

 

Val studied her screen, assessing the condition of their craft and the world around them. “All systems nominal,” she said, “All systems are go for the return flight.” 

 

Pleased, Ross said, “Prepare to deploy the station.”

 

Val rummaged through her bag and pulled out the control to her R/C car. Flicking a switch, she looked through the car’s eyes. She brought up the car’s control program on her computer and readied it for the mission. 

 

Ross gobbled down the last of his brownies, then reached through the hatch to deposit the plate on the spacecraft’s roof so the silent giant could retrieve it later.

 

Val said, “I’m going to place the weather station right on the edge of the rim. That way we can get good pictures of the crater, and maybe even see a few dust devils if we’re lucky.” She then drove her car across her backyard, taking it up to the edge of the sandbox. The barren terrain mimicked the Martian surface, or at least it was close enough for the trio’s imagination to fill in the gaps. 

 

It was all going so smoothly, Captain Ross thought, as a blurred hand appeared out of nowhere and picked up their weather station. The picture spun for a few moments until it came to a stop, upside down.

 

“Kevin!” they shouted in unison, as Ross and Val’s little brother repelled the alien invader from his personal sandbox. The weather station had tumbled to a stop, laying flat on its back, its wheels spinning freely. The weather station looked like a large beetle flipped on its back, its legs clawing the sky in a futile attempt to right itself.

 

“I guess we need to do an EV,” Captain Ross said. “That station is important and we have to get it placed.”

 

“I’ll go, Captain,” Gary said, but as soon as the blanket peeled back, all three jumped through the hatch. They needed to stretch their legs after the grueling flight, and what better way to do that then to explore the Martian surface, especially since it was as close as their own backyard. 

 

Val exchanged words with the monster in his sandbox, warning him that he wasn’t supposed to interfere with important NASA equipment. Monster Kevin ignored the warning as he deployed his own excavators in the crater to re-shape the Martian landscape.

 

The automated station once again rested on all fours, ready to resume its mission. The threesome climbed back aboard their spacecraft and once again Val took control. This time she would steer clear of the monster and move the station to a better vantage point.

 

#

Commander Ross heard a ping over his headset, and then rubbed his beard before keying his mike. “Roger, Base, the weather station is in position. We’ll be lifting off shortly. We’re copacetic.” He took one last look out the window, cupping his hands on the glass to shield his view from the Sun’s glare.

 

“Copy that, Ross,” Base responded.

 

Val tapped on her headset to speak, “Base, tell Kevin there is a good rock outcropping he’ll want to take a look at. I put the station near it so he could examine it later.”

 

“Roger that, Val, I’ll tell him.”

 

“Ready?” Gary called out. They all checked their harnesses once more and replied, “Ready.”

 

Advancing the craft’s throttle, Gary felt their ship give a slight shudder, and then the landing gear sprang clear of the ground. Raising his voice over the noise of the engines, he announced, “Liftoff.” 

 

Banking their ship, Gary made one last pass over the summit. All three gazed out the ship’s windows, taking in the scene first imagined in their childhood. Ross, Gary, and Val smiled.

 

Val said it first, “I remember a certain picnic table we once had.”

 

“I remember the steering column,” Gary added.

 

Ross joked, “And I like this Olympus Mons…no monster.”

 

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