Holiday on the Moon

Caption: “So — Mr Spaceman… How long have you held a job at Vekllei National Astrospace? 37 years?”

Like most Vekllei people, Tzipora has visited the moon. From Ground Control on Earth in the district of Huay, Vekllei operates many moonbases, domes, research facilities and tourist opportunities in the moon’s southern hemisphere within a large complex called Moidonnet — Moon City. It sits a hundred kilometres south of Mt Io (called Malapert Mountain in the West) in the Vekllei Moon Zone. It receives shuttles several times throughout the day.

The first time Zelda visited the moon was as a birthday gift from her father, who hadn’t been in many years. She recalls reading extensively about the moon in preparation for the trip.

“… here’s hoping, then. So we’ve booked for three nights up in Moidonnet, and then a single night in Traismadonnet, a smaller city closer to the equator. I wanted us to do as many things as possible, so I think we should visit the peak of Io Mountain today, where they say they have a spectacular bio-dome and you can see forever, and maybe go on a space-walk. We’ll see. Spacewalks are hard to book ahead for, but if we get tired we can just do everything else the next day.

“There’s also an art gallery built for low gravity. It’s amazing, like a rubber castle, filled with sculpture and room pieces that are — well, they’re just amazing. You’re always telling me I’m too skinny. Guess how much I’ll weigh on the moon?”

“Twenty kilos?”

“Just under ten,” she smiled, and then laughed at the idea. “You could pick me up and throw me.”

For the rest of September I’ll be looking at Vekllei space tourism. There’s a lot to cover, so stay tuned!