The Space Mission Adventure Read Free Page B

Amy, Jessica, and Nicolina.
    Ziggy begged to introduce himself first, by jumping up and down and waving his arms wildly in the air. His braids bounced around his head as he moved. Samantha laughed and nodded at him to begin.
    â€œI’m Ziggy, and I’m here to find out about Martians, mon!” Ziggy told the group. “I may want to be an astronaut one day, and I need to know what Martians look like when I get into space! And if they get here first, I want to be able to speak their language and say hello.”
    â€œThere’s no such thing as Martians or any other beings from other planets,” Cubby said with authority.
    â€œHave you ever been to Mars or Venus?” Nicolina asked Cubby. Her voice sounded whispery.
    â€œOf course not!” Cubby answered.
    â€œThen you don’t really know for sure, do you?” Amy added with a smile.
    â€œIs it possible there’s anybody living on other planets, Samantha?” Rico asked.
    â€œWell, anything is possible, Rico. That’s why space exploration is so exciting! We’re looking for answers to those and thousands of other questions. But I doubt if you’ll find little green people like in comic books.”
    Ziggy made no comment, but he glanced up at the clear blue sky and grinned.
    â€œWell, let’s get started,” Samantha told the group. “Our first tasks are a general orientation to space history and a movie in the Spacedome!”
    â€œOoh, are we gonna see Space Creatures from the Ghost Galaxy ?” Rashawn asked. “It came out last week, and I heard it was really good.”
    â€œNone of that science fiction stuff,” Samantha replied. “What you’re going to see is real ! Real scientists in space. Weightlessness. Liftoffs with all the smoke and noise. What Earth really looks like from space. It will blow your mind.”
    â€œCool!” the kids replied. They headed down the path to the Spacedome.
    â€œWhen do we get to go on some of the rides?” Jessica asked Samantha as they walked.
    â€œOh, those aren’t rides, Jessica. They’re simulators, designed to show you what it feels like to walk, or move, or be propelled in space. We’ll do quite a bit of that tomorrow,” Samantha explained.
    â€œI can’t wait!” Jessica said.
    The group passed a small, marble monument about four feet high. Piled on top of it was a large stack of bananas. “What’s that, Samantha?” Rico asked.
    Samantha stopped the group and said, “Gather around, kids. This is a good story. The very first beings in space weren’t people, but animals. The first dog, sent up by the Russians, in 1957, was a little terrier named Laika. Unfortunately, she didn’t survive the flight. She died in space.”
    â€œOh, that’s so sad,” Jessica said softly.
    â€œSo, what’s up with the bananas?” Rashawn asked. A few flies buzzed above the fruit.
    â€œThis monument is for Miss Abel and Miss Baker, the first monkeynauts!”
    â€œMonkeynauts? That sounds like something I’d make up,” Ziggy said.
    â€œYes, the first Americans in space were monkeys,” Samantha explained. “They were launched into space and returned safely. Miss Baker lived to be twenty-seven years old—which is really old for a monkey! Visitors to the Space Center often leave bananas there in her honor.”
    â€œSo what happens to the bananas?” Neil asked. “Do they just sit there and rot?”

    Samantha looked at the group, a mischievous grin on her face. “No one knows for sure,” she said mysteriously. “But every evening the bananas disappear, and new ones are placed there every day.”
    â€œAliens, maybe?” Ziggy asked hopefully.
    â€œI seriously doubt it, Ziggy!” Neil told him. “Spacemen aren’t real.”
    As their team headed down to the Space Center Museum, Ziggy glanced up at a couple of squirrels