____________________________________________________________________________________

*****

The colony is shaped in a ring of nine toruses, with a sphere in the middle where the government is located. Each ring has a radius of of 850 meters across. We decided on this type of shape because our population is 250,000 and we needed a lot of space.

Four toruses are designated for the living area. There are 62,500 people living in each of the living areas. For our food growing crops, raising cattle, and hydroponics, we have one ring each. There is one ring for a transportation hub where space shuttles will transfer into and out of the colony. Another torus is for waste and water. In this torus there are four different sections for each operation needed to carry out the waste and water for the colony. The sphere in the middle of the colony is for the government, consisting of courthouses, a jail, the President's home, and meeting places for different groups of the government. This sphere resembles Washington D.C.

Inside the domain of the space settlement, there is a set temperature of 76 degrees Fahrenheit at all times during the day. However, in the evening hours, the temperature will go down to about 45 degrees to conserve energy. Each apartment will, of course, have a thermostat by which they may set the temperature to suit their needs. The thermostats will not go above 80 degrees to conserve energy. There will be vents everywhere to help keep the temperature stable. The floors of each ring of the station will be heated as well.

Facts for Each of the Living Space Toruses

Population (per torus)- 62,500

Major radius- 850

Minor radius- 200

Area/per person- 34.3272

Surface area(m 2)-6.70453e+06

Volume- 6.7053e+08

Shielding(Mt)- 30.8408

Water daily(t)- 1,250

Food daily(t)- 193.751

Oxygen mass(kt)- 164.261

Nitrogen mass(kt)- 246.391

Solar panel area(m 2)- 1.075e+06

rpm- 1.02508

To protect our colony from the radiation from the sun, we needed to have some kind of shielding. Because we are rotating around the moon, the easiest form of shielding is moon soil. Around each torus, there is a layer of six meters of moon soil and then another layer of material to hold the moon soil in to protect the colony. This is probably the most efficient source of shielding our colony could possibly have.

The inside of the living area rings is made to resemble Earth. There are trees, bushes, and flowers. The living area rings each have a hospital, private practices, two schools, factories, banks, parks, museums, stores, and recreational areas, such as bowling alleys, etc. Each ring in space is like a community on earth.

The homes in the space colony are apartment modules. Residents can choose between a one, two, three, or four bedroom apartment. All apartments have a kitchen, a bathroom, a living room, and a dining room. There are decks that are on each apartment. These apartment modules are not stocked in buildings, but instead are just placed near each other.

Other buildings inside the living area such as a shop will not look like an apartment but as a shop would look on earth. Also hospitals, schools, and factories will be quite large. Another type of building that has a unique design are churches and temples.

Heppenheimer, T.A. Colonies in Space.

Stackpole Books; Harrisburg, Pa. 1977

Tango III : A Space Settlement Design NASA Web site

Bolognese, Don. Drawing Spaceships and Other Spacecrafts.

Franklin Watts Library Editor. 1982.

Gas Percentages:

Nitrogen-78.11%

Oxygen-20.953%

Argon-0.934%

Neon-0.001818%

Helium-0.000524%

Krypton-0.000114%

Xenon-0.000087%

Hydrogen-0.00005%

Methane-0.00002%

Nitrous Oxide-0.0005%

There will be a large air refiner and oxygen system on each torus in Moon Voyager. The oxygen system will measure the amount of oxygen that has been used and replenish that amount. Oxygen will be used from several sources, including the oxygen given off by plants in Tree and Crop Torus. Some gases will be taken from the moon as well as brought by shuttle carriers as necessary.

To remove the waste from the homes on Moon Voyager, there will be tube-like structures that will be connected to the waste processing torus. The waste will then be deposited in the torus, which has an over-sized microwave that dries the waste, and the water from the waste will be evaporated and stored in another torus to be recycled and reused. The waste will be dried in the microwave at 2,460 MHz.* The dried waste will be place in a section of the torus to be recycled and used as fertilizer. This same process will be used for human waste and household waste.

The water will be stored in a section of the torus that will separate the water into different types, such as pure water to be used for drinking, cooking, and washing. The less purified water will be placed in tanks and used for fertilizer. There will be evaporents to evaporate and to absorb the water from the waste. The water will go to a different section of the torus, and it will be purified and recycled so it can be used again. The process is continuous.

*NASA Space Settlement Contest internet site

In our colony we have three sections on nutrition. The three sections include one for hydroponics (crops that grow in water), one for trees and regularly grown crops, and the third is for the livestock, such as cows, chickens and so forth.

The hydroponic crops are grown in their own section of our colony. The process starts with water that falls on the both sides of the walls. The water then falls into a gutter on the sides of the walkway. The walkway sits in between the gutter on both sides. The water is filtered out and then reused again. There is a current that flows along through the crops.

The other section is used for livestock. They are in a usual environment as on earth, such as grass, dirt, and food. We decided it would be best for them to grow in the normal environment than having them get used to a new one.

The third section has trees and regularly grown crops. The crops are grown in long bucket type containers, which have holes at the bottom of the bucket to drain excess water. Once any excess water gets down to the bottom, it flows once again in a gutter and is carried by a current to be filtered and so on. Once it reaches all the way around the circle it is fed into a water wheel, which carries the water back up to the top to be reused again.

Food

Some food will be imported to the colony from Earth. The colony will grow most foods on its own farms and process all the food in the processing plants.

Restaurants

Grocery stores

Food processing plants

Clothing

Clothing will be made on the colony in the factories. The materials will be recycled from discarded clothing.

Shoe stores

Department stores

Special shops-male, female, formal, kids

Clothing factories

Hardware

Some specialty hardware supplies will be imported from Earth. The basic hardware supplies, and manufacturing materials will be made on the colony.

Hardware store

Metal yards

Tourism

The monorail parts will be imported from earth to the Moon Voyager for the original monorail. Any replacement parts will be made on the space colony. Spacecraft will be built on earth but the replacement parts will be made on the colony.

Travel agencies

Monorail system/station

Space craft-Earth to Moon Voyager and vice versa.

Misc.

Any needed materials will be imported from Earth for the first year. After that the demand for materials will be known and the materials will be made on the colony.

Pet shops

Computer companies

Book store- (will carry all types of books)

Florists

Optometrists

Orthodontists

Music stores

Jewelry stores

Barber shops

Factories to produce materials for miscellaneous use.

Export and Import

Export from and imports to our colony will be planned by the needs of the people of Earth and the colony. Once a month, industries will get together in a "chat line" on the Internet and plan the needs of the colony and Earth. If the needs are greater, the group of companies will get together sooner. Space shuttles will leave from Earth and the colony to get supplies. Supplies that will need to be refurbished such as foods and medicine not produced on Moon Voyager will be sent on the shuttles. Food and other perishable items will be frozen or freeze dried before being shipped to the colony.

Communication consists of telephones and online computers. It will be a local district in the colony. There will be a toll rate to Earth, which will be charged by the minute. The local telephone call or online call will have a flat rate and be paid by the month.

The phone lines and internet lines will run through the artificial ground. There will be call-waiting for every phone transmitted through the telephone wires, and the internet wires will do the same.

Government type- Democracy

Leader type- Presidential Committee Term Length - 4 years

Government officials- 50

Number of houses- 1

Legislature- Yes

Number of Officials

Legislators- 20

Executives- 10

Judicial Officials- 20

Article 1 Legislature

Colony legislative branch has the following duties to the people:

--It must make fair and equal laws for all people:

--No law should be discriminatory or racist to any group or groups of individuals or their offspring. All legislators must be voted in by the people, and if desired, an official may be removed via petition, then a formal vote.

The legislative branch of the government is allotted only 1/3 of the governmental power.

Article 2 Executives

The Presidents' Committee consists of 10 elected officials, two of whom are the Chiefs of Presidential Affairs. Others will oversee specific cabinet ministries for Moon Voyager, such as energy, etc., but will still have a vote on the executive council.

Colony executive branch has the following duties to the people:

--It must oversee cabinet ministries and make appointments, such as ambassadors to countries on Earth and other space colonies:

--All bills must be proposed to the legislature so they can choose to override the executives' decision on the bill.

The executive branch of the government is allotted only 1/3 of the governmental power.

Article 3 Judicial

Colony judicial branch's duties to the people are the following:

It must carry out all laws put forth, also must decide if any law prohibits any of the basic rights of life of any of the colony's individuals or groups of citizens.

The judicial branch of the government is allotted only 1/3 of the governmental power.

All branches check each other.

Judicial checks Executive and Legislative Branches

Executive checks Judicial and Legislative Branches

Legislative checks Judicial and Executive Branches

Any people of the colony may ask for a governmental check with a document such as a petition.

All of the branches of the government are allowed 33.3% of the governments power.

Judicial-33.3%

Executive-33.3%

Legislative-33.3%

Elected Officials

Any official in the government must roughly have over three percent of pubic support for their campaign to be eligible to run for election.

U.S. Constitution

Amendment 1

Freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition.

Freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition are guaranteed.

Amendment 2

Right to bear arms.

People have the right to bear arms (only electric stun guns with gas propellant, CO2 cartridge bullets for defense only)

Amendment 3

Search and seizure

The people have the right not to be violated, and no warrants shall be issued but upon probable cause.

Amendment 4

Rights of the accused.

The accused has the right not to answer any questions unless a lawyer is present or by indictment of a grand jury.

Amendment 5

Right to a speedy trial by jury.

The accused has the right to have a speedy and public trial, the right to have a witness in his or her favor, and the right to a lawyer.

Amendment 6

Jury trial in civil cases.

When the accused is proven innocent, he or she cannot be tried for the same crime twice.

Amendment 7

Bail and punishment.

No one can be required to pay excessive bail, fines, or be given unusual punishments.

Amendment 8

Powers not specified herein are reserved for the people.

This is meant not to deny us our rights.

Amendment 9

Rights of citizens.

If you are a citizen of Moon Voyager, no one can take away your rights.

Amendment 10

Voting Rights.

If you are 18 or older, you have the right to vote no matter your race, color, creed.

Amendment 11

The Income Tax.

Congress has the right to tax people's incomes.

Amendment 12

Presidential terms, Sessions of Congress.

When a President loses office, a new one has to be in office by January 20th by noon.

Amendment 13

Presidential Succession and Disability.

If the President dies, is removed from office, or resigns, the Vice President takes his place.

Amendment 14

Voting Age.

Persons 18 and older cannot be denied the right to vote.

1. No conventional firearms

2. Must be 18 to drink or buy alcohol (Alcohol must be bought with ration tickets issued each month.)

3. Must be 12 to ride the monorail without an adult

4. No killing

5. Monorails must be within 5 miles of the speed limit

6. No drugs without a prescription

7. Must be at least 15 to work

8. No stealing of any kind

9. Pets must be kept on a leash

10. All incorrigible major criminals are deported to Earth

11. Must be 18 to get married

12. No physical assault of any kind

The branches of our law enforcement are local police and the M.V.I. ( Moon Voyager Investigation) The jurisdiction of the local police is the individual torus or "doughnut." The M.V.I.'s jurisdiction will be all major crimes and the transits and tunnels. The rights that will be read to the arrested will be the Moon Voyager Rights that provide a lawyer and the right to a fair trial.

There will be no lethal force to the suspect or the arrested. There will be D.N.A analysis on every person and their D.N.A will be kept in data banks for such uses as D.N.A analysis. There will be 1000 police officers, half male and half female. They will be armed with stun guns and guns that shoot rubber bullets. The majority of the officers will be on duty on shifts of 8 hours.

The prisons will be just like conventional ones with one person per cell. All prisoners will have psychological therapy to help them become better members of society. The worst crimes provide for exile on Earth.

In our space colony we will have rehabilitation programs for people who are criminally insane or that have committed crimes. They will be taught what is right and what is wrong. They will have 8 by 10 foot cells. To minimize anti-social feelings, prisoners will be in group sections in separate parts of the prison. There will be 50 people to a section.

At 7:00 the inmates will be woken up. They will then go and eat breakfast. At 8:30 they will all go to their own therapist for an hour of therapy. When they are done with their therapy, they will then get one hour of physical activity.

All inmates will have their own job that they will do in the prison. They will do reimbursed work for the colony. There will be a library in the prison and inmates will work as librarians and stack books on shelves. Prisoners will earn minimum wage, which will be put into their bank accounts until they are released.

In our economy we have a profit economy, which means people can gain the various amount of money. We also have minimum and maximum wages as well to prevent great inequalities. Since we have a large population, we can have a stock market. In our stock market people from earth can only invest in 10% of our stock. People in our colony get the remaining 90%. All of our checking accounts can be used through the internet. We have one main bank and all our other banks go through the internet.

The monetary unit is the luna. It is worth ten U.S. dollars. Our coins are called lunettes.

The education that will be on our space station will include grades pre-K-12 and university. There will be fifteen elementary schools, ten high schools, and a major university. The curriculum of our educational system will be broad enough to give a sound background for a successful personal and professional life in space or on Earth.

For social studies, students will study the history of the Moon Voyager space settlement, United States and world history, geography, economics, space colony citizenship and government. For English Language Arts, students will read, write, listen, and speak for: information and understanding, literary response and expression, critical analysis and evaluation, and for social interaction. Students of science and technology will apply the knowledge and thinking skills of mathematics, the sciences, and technology to address real-life problems on the space colony and make informed decisions. In health, physical education, and home economics, students will learn about health and fitness, a safe and healthy space colony and Earth environment, and resource management. Foreign languages will be a requirement so that students will learn cross-cultural skills and be able to communicate with new Moon Voyager colonists who come to the settlement from non-English speaking countries on Earth.

Of special interest are some space courses for students in grades nine through twelve. These courses include topics such as space recycling, space vehicle maintenance, and learning about Moon Voyager space colony: how it works, how to maintain it, who designed it,, etc.

Moon Voyager Space University will consist of colleges with all of the degree courses that any university on Earth includes. If there is a person who would like to go to college on Earth, there will be the possibility for them to return to Earth. Exchange students may also apply from Earth if there is room in the desired course of study.

In our colony we have four main sections: the Emergency Department or the ER, the doctors' offices, the pediatricians' offices, and mental health. Adults can make an appointment and come in as needed.

The ER is open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week and has a staff of at least twenty-five doctors around the clock. The ER is open to the public and is trained in emergency situations. Our hospital has only the most highly qualified doctors.

Our doctors' offices center is for adult check-ups, and it also includes our pharmacy. Adults make an appointment, for non-emergancy problems, and come in. Then, if you need medicine, all you have to do is show some identification and you receive the prescription.

As for our pediatricians' offices, everyone who is eighteen or younger is required by law to come in for a check-up every six months. Also any surgery, for people eighteen and younger, is done at the pediatric operating facility in our pediatricians' offices center.

Our mental health department is for the usual mental problems on Earth but also for people not used to the "closed in area" of a space settlement. All they have to do is make an appointment. All meetings are top-secret and will never be told unless permission is given.

All medical expenses are paid by the government of Moon Voyager.

The people going to the space colony are riding in economy size space ships. The space ships will be able to hold two hundred people. The rocket ships will be launched from the official NASA space center on earth and the rockets will dock on the Moon Voyager space colony.

When the people land on the new space colony, there will be monorail tracks as well as monorail cars already set up on the colony. The monorail tracks will closely resemble the tracks that are at Disney world, differing only in color. The electrical energy which powers the monorail comes batteries fueled by the solar panels on the outside of the toruses. The monorails will be a more efficient mode of transportation, cutting down on pollution and making the rest of the area ideal for strolling or jogging.

The cost of the space ships and the monorail system in space will be not be cheap, but the necessary funds will be gathered over the years by exports of colony products and special space benefit galas.

Name:

Age:

Height and Weight:

Sex:

Residence:

Names of any family members that live here:

Reasons you should be chosen to be in this colony:

Reasons you want to be in this colony:

Health history:

Education:

High School:

College:

Job Skills:

Current job:

Dear Diary,

Here on the space colony, life is a lot like on Earth, except you have to get used to the artificial gravity. You wake up, send your kids to school, get ready yourself and go to work. I am in the health - care unit and my husband works in the nutrition unit. At night we come home from work, eat supper, and either watch satellite T.V. or go to family space night. Then we go to bed and do the same thing in the morning.

One thing that I especially miss is being on the coast of an ocean.

Dear Diary.

Hi! My name is Bob. I'm 57 and I live on the space station that orbits the moon. I came here when I was a young boy and have been here ever since. I work as an English teacher. This place is great. It's like you're just on earth except you aren't; you're in space. It must have been hard work calculating how much food and oxygen we need in this place. It's huge and has all kind of gadgets. When I moved here I thought that I would die of boredom for sure but I didn't. This place is the best thing that ever happened to me, and I think it's great.

DAY 1-- WEEK 1:

Today is my first day on the colony. So far it seems like a nice place. Everything seems to be going well, but the service on the space craft over here was horrible. Hopefully it will be better on the way home. It was a long trip and I'm tired. I think I will go to bed.

Until tomorrow!

DAY 2-- WEEK 1:

This morning I had a terrific breakfast. It was a tall stack of mooncakes and a glass of recycled water. These next two weeks are going to be great. After breakfast I went to see the hydroponic center. It was a very interesting place. But tonight I can't wait to see the new night club that opens. It's called JOE'S. They are going to have a new addition that just got put on. I think it's a dance floor.

Until tomorrow!

DAY 7--WEEK 2

This will be my last day on the colony. It has been fun traveling through space. Last night was the greatest night that I have had so far. The goodbye party for our tourist group at the club was terrific. Before I go home, I think that I will go get another stack of mooncakes and a glass of recycled water.

Farewell, Moon Voyager!

Living in a Space Colony

Hi! I am 15 years old and I live in an orbital space colony. It is a lot better than living on Earth because there is no violence. I had fun going to my friend Rachel's house. I made a lot of friends since I came here, but it isn't the same. I miss my friends back home. We used to have a lot of fun together on the weekend. My mom likes this space colony a lot more than when we were living on earth because they don't use alot of fuel and people don't kill people here like on Earth. Well, I must get running if I want to catch my friends

January 29, 2030

Today was my first day on the the space colony, Moon Voyager. I arrived here at 8:30 am. I am making new friends. I am applying for a job as a nurse in one of the hospitals. I will know soon if I got it.

February 1, 2030

I haven't written lately because I have been busy moving into my apartment. It is a small two bedroom appartment because at this time it is all I can afford. Once I get a job, I will get a bigger appartment. I like the residential area on Moon Voyager. I should know tomorrow if I got the job as a nurse.

February 2, 2030

I GOT THE JOB!! If everything works out, I will be making an excellent salary because medical positions are very valued here.

Dear Journal:

Today was another amazing day at the Moon Voyager space colony, where I now live. I am slowly getting used to the new way of life here. I rode on the monorail to my friend's house today. I couldn't stand to be at home, anymore. At my friend's house we listened to music and talked. Tomorrow night I'm going to a dance. I'm so happy about that. I'm going to dress up and dance until midnight. I've made friends since I've been here, but I miss hanging out with my old friends. I was so comfortable around them.

My mom likes the new way of energy here. On Earth my mom always adored solar paneled houses, but it wouldn't have been possible to do without some fossil fuel where we lived on Earth. Now, in the colony, solar power is a necessity.

I think I'll take some friends and travel around the colony seeing new places and meeting new people. I'd better get some sleep if I'm going out tomorrow night.

Around seven o'clock in the morning, the new residents of the Moon Voyager arrived. Everyone was extremely excited as they stepped onto the floor of the transportation hub after days of traveling. Families flocked to gates where monorails were waiting to take them to their new homes in their new space colony.

After arriving at their new apartments, the Wilsons were ready to have a home cooked meal made by the head of the household, Fred, who was a chef and father of two girls. His wife, Janet and two daughters Megan and Marie Elizabeth, M.E. for short, loved a big pancake breakfast in the morning, so that is what he decided to make.

As the family sat down to eat, they started talking about all the fun and interesting things they were going to do. " I can't wait to meet all the kids at school. Mom, did you know that the girl I met on the shuttle, Monique, is in the same grade as I am?" Megan said.

" No, but I can't wait to take a walk. I want to see everything here," replied Janet.

" Hey, M.E. what's wrong?" Fred asked after he saw his daughter cringing at her pancakes.

After finishing chewing and talking a big gulp of orange juice to wash out the taste, M.E. answered, " These pancakes Dad, they're awful. They're the worst you've ever made."

" Marie Elizabeth!" Janet scolded.

" Dad, these really are bad," Megan chimed in.

Just as her mother was about to scold her, Fred also agreed, " Yes, these are missing something, but I can't think of what."

Finally after moments of silence, M.E. almost jumped out of her seat and shouted, "There's no maple syrup!" The whole family agreed and sent Megan out to the grocery store down the street to get some maple syrup.

When Megan walked, she felt nervous because she was the only one in the huge grocery store. She figured that people were at their homes unpacking. Once the employees noticed she was there, they quickly rushed around her and helped her to find the maple syrup. She could definitely tell she was the first customer. But after an hour of looking, no maple syrup could be found. Megan and the employees gave up and Megan left.

" Yeah, Megan is home! Let's eat!" M.E. shouted as she saw her sister walking up to their apartment. Then when Megan got closer, M.E. saw her unhappy face and empty hands. " Why didn't you get the maple syrup?" M.E. asked.

" Well, when there is none. You can't get any, little sister," answered Megan.

" Not to worry, girls. I've got just the trick, butter!" their Dad said, hoping that would spark their interest. The whole family put butter on their pancakes, took a bite, and almost spit the pancake out. There was a chorus of yucks and eeeeghs all around.

Finally M.E. summed up the taste, "Dad it is just not the same. What are we going to do? Pancakes are our favorite and so is maple syrup."

" I know. I know dear, but it will have to do," replied Fred.

" Honey, I must get some syrup. I just can't eat pancakes like this. I'm going to have to do something and fast," Janet said impatiently.

The next day the whole family split up, searching for maple syrup on the Moon Voyager. Looking in every grocery store, corner shop, and restaurant tirelessly. Still at the end of the day, everyone came home empty-handed and exhausted. The family was disappointed that the space colony did not have one drop of maple syrup.

"Everyone, I am going to make finding some maple syrup my personal mission," Fred said proudly.

"Why can't we help Dad? I want to have maple syrup too," M.E. asked a little hurt.

"How about this? We all pitch in doing everything we can. We can get the neighbors involved. Once everyone hears there is no maple syrup, everyone will want some. Your father and I can call and write E-mails to the President, Michael Mixer. Megan, you and M.E. can gather up the neighbors, and then they can help. Soon we will have maple syrup in no time!" proclaimed Janet. Everyone agreed and the family started making their plans for attack.

The next day, everyone was up early to help get some maple syrup. Megan and M.E. started knocking on neighbors' doors informing them of this huge problem. Most neighbors said they didn't even notice there was no maple syrup on the Moon Voyager and quickly wanted to take charge with the Wilsons. The girls took down names and phone numbers so that the Wilsons could call them for any further details on the project or ways they that they could help. Megan and M.E. were so excited that people cared so much for maple syrup.

Fred and Janet were busy writing and trying to figure out how they would get through to the President. Finally after hours of working, they got done writing the perfect E-mail and got through to the President Mixer's secretary, who immediately had them speak by phone with the President.

"Hello, Michael Mixer speaking," were his first words. Almost as fast as he said those words, Fred and Janet got very nervous.

"Hello, my name is Frederick Wilson, and I have a very serious problem. This colony has no maple syrup, and I need your help."

"Say no more, Mr. Wilson. I did not realize there was no maple syrup on the Moon Voyager. I will be on the phone immediately, contacting officials from Earth who can help us with this matter. Then I will talk to you directly about updates. I promise you, Mr. Wilson, you will have maple syrup," replied President Mixer.

"Thank you, Mr. President ," Fred said.

"No, thank you, Mr. Wilson, and good day," answered Mixer.

Fred and Janet jumped for joy and were so very happy that they were going to have maple syrup. While they were screaming and celebrating, Megan and M.E. walked in and were wondering what was going on. Once they learned what had happened, they soon were celebrating with their parents.

After about a minute of jumping, M.E. reminded her sister about the promise they had made to their neighbors, "Megan we must call everyone on the list and tell them what happened. They'll be just as excited as we are."

"I'm too tired to call. We'll do it later," Megan said.

"Girls, it is your duty to call everyone this very moment whether you are tired or not," ordered Janet.

"But, Mom, look at this list," Megan whimpered. Janet and Fred got so excited over how many people had put down their names, they started celebrating and called every one.

About three days later, the Wilsons got a telephone call. " Hello," answered Fred.

"Hello, Mr. Wilson, Michael Mixer speaking. I am calling you about the maple syrup emergency."

"Oh, hello, what's going to happen? Are we going to get maple syrup or not, or will we have to wait and grow trees of our own?" said an extremely excited Fred Wilson.

"Good news all around. The Moon Voyager will be receiving a large shipment of maple syrup and maple tree seeds in about five days. The shipment will arrive at the transportation hub. Also news crews will be there to capture this thrilling moment. I suppose you are wildly happy, Mr. Wilson."

"You bet, and thank you very much for all your help."

"You're welcome, Mr. Wilson. See you in five days. Bye now," said the President. After this phone conversation, Fred couldn't wait to tell his family about the great news.

Five days later, the Wilsons were at the transportation hub with many of the other residents of the Moon Voyager. Everyone was huddled together as the large shipment of seeds and syrup arrived. News crews were talking about the Wilsons, the family that had pulled together for the colony. When the shipment arrived, the residents cheered and shouted as the maple syrup was brought into the building. The Wilsons were given the first bottle. They all hugged each other and said they'd never forget this day.

For days and months after the maple syrup crisis, the publicity surrounding the Wilsons was constant. They starred in maple syrup commercials and planted the first maple tree of the colony. However, their favorite memory was of when they got home from the party at the transportation hub on the day the shipment arrived, and they finally had a big pancake breakfast with maple syrup.

It was the year 2365. We were on the space colony Moon Voyager. Our mission was to plant maple trees on a nearby Earth-like planet to hold the largest maple festival in the history of festivals. There was only one problem, where? We had an idea where to go but there was an asteroid field between us. This was where the problems started.

We started the quarter light year voyage to the earth-like planet. When we are about 200,000 miles from the planet, we ran into the asteroid field. We decided to go through the field and plant trees on all of the asteroids. After planting and tapping all of the asteroids full of trees, we headed for the planet.

When we made it to the planet, we had to search the planet completely to ensure our safety. We found the perfect spot for the mass of 300,000 trees to plant and tap. On this planet, there are now 3,000 acres of fresh new trees that are visible by telescope from space. Every 14 days for rest of the year, we yielded 300 gallons of syrup from the planet. Every two weeks, we sent a small ship heading towards Earth waiting for the world's maple feast.

The last stop on our voyage home was to all of the asteroids to collect the rest of the sap to make the remaining thousand gallons of syrup. After finishing this mammoth job, we headed back to Earth for the festival.

When we got back to Earth, the world was waiting for the rest of the syrup shipment to reach Earth. The feast was a hit. It really benefited the hungry since they got to eat as much as they could for free, and every one of the 3,000,000 people who showed up had a wonderful time at the feast. The crew of Moon Voyager plan to go to the trees and start to collect more syrup for the next feast in thirty years. But for now they are satisfied.

My friends and I live on Moon Voyager, a space colony, and it is the beginning of the new millennium. Last month, everyone was getting really for the maple sap to come pouring out of our dwarf maple trees. They are in a torus in which the trees are cultivated. When the sap does start flowing, we can make a lot of things from it. We can make candy, syrup, and maybe be able to put it in our cereal.

The temperature had been programmed to be a hot day after a cold night, and the maple syrup was flowing well. A couple of people were out in the grove, working on collecting it. They had about fifteen gallons already, and it was still coming.

Everything was going all right, and so we left for a while. We went and got something to eat. When we got back, everything was going well. We got about fifteen to sixteen gallons more before we left that day and went home.

Well, we got back the next day, and everything had been trashed. It was two week before the maple festival. The sap had been dumped all over the ground, so all the sap we had collected over night was lost. The trees had graffiti all over them.

We went to the space colony police and told them what had happened. The police went over and took pictures of all the damage. They asked us if we could get all the sap collected before the maple festival.

We started tapping the trees again. The trees produced about nine to ten more gallons that day. Overnight nothing bad happened. A couple of more days went by, and still nothing bad happened. However, after the third night of nothing bad happening, something did happen.

Everything got destroyed, so the police decided to put a camera in the torus in case the trees got ruined again. For the next two nights nothing happened. Then one night they caught the kids who were doing the damage. They police went into the torus and began to bring the kids out.

The maple sap was flowing steadily again. The police said there was nothing to worry about and that the trees were not going to get ruined again. We were going to get plenty of syrup for the festival. The festival was going to be the best one ever. We got about fifteen or sixteen more gallons of maple syrup that day.

The next day we came and collected enough sap for the maple syrup for the maple festival. Everyone of us was so happy because we had worked so hard. The police came and they said the kids who were destroying the trees would be punished. We were happy that the kids were going to be punished because they deserved to be punished.

The kids who were doing the destroying of the trees got in big trouble for it, so they had to work in the grove as community service. They said the only reason they were destroying the trees was because they did not like the Maple Festival even though they had never seen it. (Who can understand some people?)

So the Maple Festival was here. The people who went to it enjoyed themselves. The kids who were causing all the trouble went to the Maple Festival to see what all the excitement was all about. When they got there, they took a walk and saw everything that was there. They really enjoyed themselves. When the kids got back from the Maple Festival, they came to see those of us who had been taking care of the trees. They said that they were sorry for all the trouble they had caused and asked us if they could help with the Maple Festival the next year. We said yes because we need all the help we can get.

One day, the Moon Voyager space station encountered a grave problem. Its citizens were furious because there was no maple syrup. People were exhibiting their dissatisfaction by staying inside and not doing anything. There was only one thing that the President could do to resolve this dilemma. He called on the hero Matt Taylor to save the space station. He ordered the hero to go to Marathon, NY, and get as much maple syrup as he could. As Matt's cell phone battery ran out, he heard the President utter, "Hurry! People are going to die from withdrawal."

Matt radioed down to the mayor of Marathon and said, "I need two hundred thousand gallons of maple syrup." He also asked for 1000 maple trees to prevent the shortage from happening again. He called the P&C main warehouse to reserve 250,000 boxes of Bisquick. Then he jumped into his space vehicle and flew down to earth.

When he got there, he was extremely angry because everyone was swimming in the Tioughnioga River. He yelled at them and they got the supplies he needed. He loaded the supplies to go to the space station by robotic shuttle.

Matt was relaxing on the beaches of Cancun, Mexico, when his cell phone startled him. It was the President of the space station telling him that all the food on the shuttle had missed the space station because of Matt's mistaken calculations. People were outraged and threatened to leave and hunt Matt down if he did not bring more supplies within 24 hours.

Matt went to the woods of Marathon and with the help of hydraulic presses, chain saws, and more than a thousand helpers, he was able to get enough syrup to please the people of the space station. Then he got the Bisquick and drove to the space station at maximum speed.

He was hailed as a hero for the saving of the space station. From that day on, the day was named after him, for saving the lives, or sanity, of 250,000 maple-starved people.

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