Sometimes They Don't Land Like You Planned

The news is just in...the capsule came down with its bits of the Sun, but it didn't come down soft. "Impact...ground level" is what the tracking announcer said. They flew it in over Hawaii, curving down over the Pacific Northwest, and right on target over the Utah desert, but no parachute appeared, and in those last seconds, you could see little pill-shaped capsule tumbling crazily end over end before slamming into the ground. Just like high school chem class, sometimes the experiment doesn't go right the first time, even in the big leagues.