An Out Of This World Experience
At 15 years old, Jerry, Dmitry, Noah, Lars and Niko were about to become the youngest ever humans in space and the first children ever to visit the International Space Station (ISS).
The year is 2030. Space tourism has become a regular thing for people who are rich enough and fit enough to do it. All in all, nearly a thousand people have visited the ISS in the last 30 years. But they have all had one thing in common: they have all been adults. In 2024, Alyssa Carson became the youngest ever astronaut at 22 years of age, and that was certainly an impressive achievement. But in 2029, a new space tourism company called Rise Up claimed that they had built a spaceship so safe, even a child could travel to the ISS and back in it.
Most regular folks were sceptical about this – surely children’s bodies were not strong enough to endure the rigors of space? So Rise Up created an international competition to find the best possible candidates for proving their bold claim true. As the ISS was a joint venture between five space programs (America’s NASA, Russia’s Roscosmos, Japan’s JAXA, Europe’s ESA and Canada’s CSA), Rise Up would take one competition winner from each of those countries (or continents, in Europe’s case). But what would the competition be? A triathlon. Yes, Rise Up claimed that their spaceship was safe enough for children, but those children had to be 15 year old world class athletes, all able to run, swim and cycle at an elite level. They had to be 14 years old to enter (as the competition was taking place one year before the winners would actually go to space) and be reasonably fluent in English (so they could easily communicate with each other during their mission).
Jerry Sandler was the winner of the American triathlon. At six feet and one inch tall, he was taller than most adult men and a giant for his age. His impressive cardio served him well during the swimming and cycling portions of his triathlon, but in the running portion his long legs gave him a huge speed advantage. He was actually only semi-interested in going to space though – he just loved beating other kids in competitions.
Dmitry was the winner of the Russian triathlon. His father had been an Olympic gold medallist in wrestling and expected Dmitry to follow in his footsteps. But Dmitry loved speed. He trained to do everything fast. And blasting off into space sounded very fast to him indeed.
Noah won the Canadian triathlon. He had been a farmer his whole life but only dreamed of traveling to the stars one day. The triathlon he won was the first he’d ever competed in, but knowing this was his one and only chance to achieve his dream, his passion and determination somehow pushed him to victory.
Lars was from Sweden and won the European triathlon. This might have been the most difficult competition to win, as he had had to win both a national and international triathlon. He was a gifted athlete who excelled at every sport he tried, but he most loved overcoming his own fears, so extreme sports were his jam. His next fear to overcome? Space travel.
Niko won the Japanese triathlon and was the only girl to win any of the triathlons. But Niko had been breaking records her whole life. She had already achieved seven Guinness World Records in her short life, and being the youngest ever female in space was about to be her eighth. Once she got to the space station, she hoped to set at least two more records.
These five teenagers were strangers to one another the day they boarded their spaceship together. But the harrowing experience they were about to endure would make four of them friends for life.
What will be the ‘harrowing experience’?
Why will it bond together only four of the five young astronauts?
How will the five children’s unique personalities play a part in the story?