There are currently 2 challenges in progress at STARFLEET Medical:
There will occasionally be monthly challenges, for instance, this month we may give double pages read for:
PLEASE TELL YOUR FRIENDS…AND TOGETHER WE CAN ALL REACH FOR THE STARS, ONE PAGE AT A TIME.
STARFLEET PROXIMA CENTAURI STEP CHALLENGE
Description: Walking can offer numerous health benefits to people of all ages and fitness levels. It may also help prevent certain diseases and even prolong your life. Walking is free to do and easy to fit into your daily routine. All you need to start walking is a sturdy pair of walking shoes. Read on to learn about some of the benefits of walking – (link)
Each month, we will travel along another leg of our journey to explore and establish a human colony in the Proxima Centauri system. At 4.25 light years distance, Proxima Centauri is the closest star system to our own Terran system. Research has shown that one of the planets in the Proxima Centauri system exists within the habitable zone of that star. We aim to travel there and establish the first extra-solar system human colony on that planet.
Each month’s new destination and step turn in dates will be announced on the SFI Members Only, Fleet/Regional STARFLEET Medical and Regional Fleet Facebook groups, as well as on the medical channel on the SFI Discord server.
After the successful deployment and establishment of humanity’s first interstellar colony, the final part of our mission is to return our ship and crew safely back home. The universe is still a terrifying place with many hidden dangers, some known and some unknown. We’re returning home along the same path that we took to Proxima Centauri B – essentially backtracking. The idea is that it is the safest route since it’s already been charted. However, space may be big but it is dynamic as well and bits and pieces of ice, rock, dead planets and long-ago-exploded stars roam our galaxy at random.
As we cruise through the vastness of interstellar space, our sensors begin detecting that we’re moving off course. Engineering reports that they have run through all of our propulsion systems and nothing is operating abnormally. We must be being pulled off course by an external force.
Scans indicate a heat signature several hundred thousand kilometres off our bow. An object that is completely dark because there is no nearby star to light it up. Something with an extraordinarily large gravitational pull.
Our scientists quickly determine that the mystery object is a rogue planet that is seven times the mass of Jupiter. A lonely space faring planet that was flung out of its orbit millions of years ago after its home star went supernova or perhaps a marauding black hole passed by and disturbed its orbit. Regardless of how it got here, it’s now our problem.
The helm has been trying to correct our course but the increasing gravitational pull is fighting against us and we are now unable to compensate for the pull at full power. The harder we try, the more quickly we deplete our limited fuel. The senior staff is pulled together and the decision is made to use the extra gravitational force to our advantage. We may not be able to navigate away from the massive planet, but we can adjust our course to inject ourselves into orbit and then slingshot around the planet and use the extra speed to exit the rogue planet’s pull at high speed. The calculations are made on the fly by our talented crew and we are safely ejected from orbit at a much higher rate of velocity than we are able to achieve with our engines alone.
Our return journey has resumed and the stress of having to identify and adapt to a life threatening challenge has been met. New calculations show that our increased speed will allow us to reach Earth 15 months sooner than expected. A welcome reward for a crew that has dedicated a sizeable chunk of their lifetimes to our mission. No commanding officer could be more proud!
As a participant, you will keep track of your own steps through interstellar space using an app, a smart watch, a pedometer, etc. and submit your steps to your Regional Assistant Surgeon General. The schedule for November will be:
Week 1: November 1st to 8th
Week 2: November 9th to 15th
Week 3: November 16th to 22nd
Week 4: November 23rd to 30th
Once the week ends, you will total up the steps you have travelled over that period. You will then have 48 hours to submit those steps to your Regional ASG (ie. Week 1 ends on Friday, May 10th, therefore you have until Midnight PST on May 12th to submit your steps). Any steps submitted after that time will not be accepted. Please submit steps and only steps, no other units will be accepted. Here is a handy conversion guide: (link)
If you do not know who your Regional ASG is, please consult the following website:
https://medical.sfi.org/office-of-the…/serving-officers/
If your region does not have an ASG, please submit your steps using the following form:
https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSeOFfOYPqv…/viewform…
Settle in for our long crossing through interstellar space. It will probably be very quiet but with any luck, we may see one or two more familiar objects out there!!!!!!
If you do not know who your Regional ASG is, please consult the following website:
https://medical.sfi.org/office-of-the-surgeon-general/serving-officers/
If your region does not have an ASG, please submit your steps using the following form:
https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSeOFfOYPqv…/viewform…