Blip-A
The xenonite ship of the Eridians.
The Blip-A is the ship the Eridians sent to Tau Ceti to find a cure for Astrophage in Project Hail Mary, named by Ryland Grace after the label the Hail Mary's radar gave the first object it detected. Built mostly of xenonite and fuelled by Astrophage, it is 139 metres long, about three times the Hail Mary, and holds the Eridians' ammonia atmosphere at 29 atmospheres and 210 degrees Celsius.
Quick Facts
- Builders
- The Eridians
- Material
- Mostly xenonite
- Length
- 139 m / 456 ft
- Fuel
- 31 million kg of Astrophage at departure
- Crew
- 23, of whom only Rocky survived
- Interior
- Ammonia at 29 atm and 210 C
Facts from the source article.
Background
It left Erid with 31 million kilograms of Astrophage, far more than it needed, because the Eridians knew nothing of relativity; they also knew nothing of the radiation of space, and all 23 crew died of it except Rocky, shielded by the Astrophage around him in the engineering section. From its hull robot Rocky throws xenonite message cylinders to the Hail Mary and builds the tunnel that joins the two ships. Because the Blip-A is made almost entirely of xenonite, the Taumoeba breed that can eat through xenonite would have consumed its fuel and stranded Rocky, which is why Grace turns back for him.
Source
Text adapted from Blip-A on the Project Hail Mary Wiki (Fandom, CC BY-SA 3.0). Page history: contributors. Codexery summarised the page, and this entry is shared under the same licence.
Elsewhere in Project Hail Mary
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