Chapter 16, Touchdown Summary

Upon touching down, the crew and passengers view a strange landscape that changes regularly, due to the comet's interaction with the solar wind. The comet has gone from a peanut shape to wasp-waisted, indicating that it will soon break into two pieces, which happened to another comet in 1846.

Captain Smith first leaves the ship and comments on the comet surface. He says that it looks like pepper and salt, and that it might grow a crop if thawed out. A team of scientists picks up the probe. Another group establishes a web of cables for others to hang onto in the almost non-existent gravity. The famous passengers become excited about stepping onto the comet surface, except for Yva Merlin who keeps her air of mystery, and Victor Willis, who must shave off his large beard to fit into a spacesuit helmet...