The shuttle flight to the planet's surface is brief and uneventful. The ship's computers quickly compensate for the increased gravity, though it sets down with a heavy thud, and sinks several inches into the soft, rich soil.<br/><br/>The shuttle set down a couple hundred feet from the edge of a large lake, surrounded by waist-high grasses, as far as the eye can see. Not much in the way of landmarks, but, according to the reports she could read on the way down, not much in terms of landmarks anywhere.