Space to smell

We love space travel right now, so I have pulled out these collages I created last year using public domain images - I think the Smithsonian site and also Public Domain Review.

A STORY BY GOOGLE AI

Ten-year-old Leo loved hide-and-seek, but he chose the wrong spot when he crawled into a cargo crate on his father’s scouting vessel. Before he could jump out, the engines roared, G-force pinned him down, and the stars replaced the blue sky of Florida.

When the ship finally leveled out into a silent drift, Leo crept out, trembling. He wasn't alone. Sitting on the pilot’s console was a creature that looked exactly like a giant, twitching human nose supported by two tiny, scurrying feet.

"Achoo!" the creature blasted, nearly blowing Leo over.

"I'm sorry!" Leo cried. "I'm not supposed to be here!"

The Nose didn't have eyes, but it "sniffed" Leo’s fear. It tilted back and let out a series of rhythmic whistles. It scuttled to the navigation screen, its fleshy tip tapping the glass with expert precision. It turned out that Nez, as Leo named him, was a celestial tracker who navigated the galaxy by smelling the unique scents of different planets.

"Earth?" Leo whispered.

Nez inhaled deeply, his nostrils flared, and he pointed a stubby appendage toward a tiny blue speck in the distance. With a flurry of sneezes and taps, Nez overrode the autopilot. The ship pulled a sharp U-turn, guided by the faint, distant scent of rain and pine trees that only Nez could detect.

They landed softly in the backyard just as Leo's father was finishing his pre-flight checks on the ground (having realized he’d forgotten his lunch). Leo scrambled out, hugged the grass, and looked back. The ship’s door hissed shut, and through the portal, a giant nose gave one final, friendly wiggle before disappearing back into the stars.