Chapter 10

10 Pablo, Violet, Deepak, and Dr. Crisp shot through the wormhole. Their silver spaceships raced one after another until they took a sharp turn and popped out. BIZZAP! Their ships hovered above the dry and cracked ground. In the distance, volcanos shot bubbling lava into the air. Even from inside their spaceships, the Makers could tell it was hot.

Violet pressed the microphone button and said, "Is anyone else burning up?" Little beads of sweat formed on her forehead. Deepak pulled on the neck of his shirt. "We must be close to the sun." "There are two planets closer to the sun than Earth," said Pablo. He fanned his pink cheeks with his hands. "Mercury and Venus."

"Mercury is closest to the sun," said Deepak. "I bet that's where we are." They waited for the Maker Maze jingle. But they only heard the bubbling of lava. "Maybe I'm wrong," began Pablo. "But I remember learning that Venus was really hot, too. Something about its atmosphere." Dr. Crisp pulled a folding fan out of a compartment in her spaceship. She snapped it open and said, "You're getting warmer!" "I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing," said Violet. Pablo and Deepak laughed. "I remember learning that the air on Venus is so thick it traps heat," said Pablo. "Like a greenhouse! And I think that's what makes it the hottest planet in our solar system." "Then we're definitely on Venus," added Violet.

RING DING DONG! Yes cheered the Makers. "Hoppin' hot plates! Nice work!" said Dr. Crisp. "Now let's hightail it out of here before we melt!" Then she shouted, "Maker Maze, activate wormhole!" They were suddenly surrounded by the beam of purple light. SWIZZZZZZZZZ! BIZZAP! The spaceships were spit out of the wormhole. Within seconds, little ice crystals began to form on the front glass shield. Below them, the Makers could see thick, blue, slushy liquid swirling about. "We must be way out in space," said Deepak. His teeth were chattering. "It's freezing!"

"Whoa! Look up there!" said Pablo, pointing toward the sky. "Moons!" "I can see five of them!" said Violet. "This must be Uranus!" shouted Pablo. "I forget how many moons it has. But it's a lot. And it's súper frío." RING DING DONG "Rockin' rockets! Great job!" cheered Dr. Crisp.

"You're so good at this, Pablo!" said Deepak. "For some reason I can remember all the special things about planets. But I can't remember the difference between an asteroid and a comet!" Pablo shook his head, smiled, and shrugged. "Believe it or not," Dr. Crisp said, "Uranus has twenty-seven moons! I would give you a tour, but we need to hurry to our final planet!" Dr. Crisp opened the wormhole. SWIZZZZZZZZZ! BIZZAP! The Makers arrived on a dusty, red planet. It was full of large rocks and craters. And it looked very familiar…. But before anyone could guess where they were, Dr. Crisp's voice sounded throughout their spaceships.