Sedna

The year is 2117.  The United World Science Foundation has sanctioned a team of geologists to explore the remote minor planet known as Sedna.  About one-half the diameter of Pluto, Sedna orbits twice as faraway from Earth as Pluto is, and at this distance, it receives only weak sunlight and is dark, cold, and forbidding.  Discovered in the first decade of the twenty first century, the first astronauts landed on its surface in 2087.  This geological team will be the first scientists to explore the surface of this remote icy world.  Astronomers have been unable to explain the unusual mass, density, and gravitational attraction measured for such a small dwarf planet.  The two hemispheres are dramatically different, one side similar to our moon while the other side is more like the surface of Mars.  In 2104, Sedna became the home of the Sedna International Observatory.  After years of construction, in 2014 its 30-meter telescope saw first light and immediately began making important discoveries.  The seven-year geological mission to Sedna on starship Tesla includes a year to explore and chart the dwarf planet to answer those puzzling geological mysteries.  The novel follows these scientists as they journey through our solar system, explore Sedna, and discover “something wonderful” on its surface.  Technical problems on their three-year journey home forces unscheduled landings on Triton and Mars yet provides unforgettable opportunities to visit these unique worlds.  An unanticipated revelation awaits them upon their return home.