She said we’re almost ready to run our first experiment Yasmin added Allison I’ll talk to you later We’ve got to go I said and then the three of us cruised off to find Mom She was in the first place we looked the control room Cozzie sat on her lap his hands on the controls Hey Starr Cozzie shouted Mom let me steer the ship Can you believe that Mom winked and nodded That’s right Your little brother just steered the most advanced spacecraft in the history of mankind It was easy Cozzie said sweetly Yasmin Lin and I giggled I hope you’re all ready for our first experiment on Venus Mom said We’re not going down there are we I asked cautiously
Of course not Mom exclaimed I was relieved Venus is the second planet from the Sun The temperature is usually over 800 degrees Fahrenheit It’s one of the most dangerous places in the entire solar system My brother Apollo cruised in He was going way too fast as usual Apollo how many times have I told you to slow down on your cruiser Mom asked My dad was right behind him and going just as fast on his cruiser They had been racing Sorry Dad said Mom didn’t look pleased You too she asked looking even more frustrated We were just having a little fun Oh boy and I forgot to bring my video equipment I’ll be right back he added and zoomed out as quickly as he zoomed in
Apollo apologized halfheartedly and took out his phone Usually Apollo and I have our own separate teams of kids but on this mission Mom put us on a team together with Yasmin and Lin They were both super-smart but I was having a hard time managing them We hadn’t had any arguments or anything but they were really competitive They were always trying to outdo each other and me It was kind of like having three Apollos around because he always wants to be the best at everything Mom snapped me out of my daydream when she said Now that you’re all here do you kids want to know more about your first experiment on Venus Apollo put his phone away We all nodded as Dad cruised back much slower this time with his camera equipment Did you start yet he asked I was just about to Mom said
Perfect he exclaimed holding up his camera Action You guys already know a little about Venus and the challenges it presents Mom said And as you know humans have never actually visited Venus before We’ve been sending unmanned spaceships to Venus since 1962 but we’re the first humans to ever visit the planet Yasmin added Wasn’t the first ship in 1967 Lin asked No you’re thinking of Venera 4 I’m talking about Mariner 2 Yasmin replied Yasmin and Lin had been bickering like this the entire trip Mom and Dad didn’t seem to see it but I did If I’m honest I was getting pretty tired of it
