Salim Mwanaka was an independent explorer who disappeared approximately 100,000 kilometers short of Pluto in 2129 after a cascading systems failure. His craft experienced a fuel gauge anomaly upon crossing out of Neptune’s solar orbit — a pattern reported by multiple independent explorers since the early 2120s — but unlike those who turned back, Mwanaka continued. Engine output dropped to zero without a corresponding fault code; sensor and electronic systems reported erratically. His final transmission was a status check, cut off mid-sentence. No wreckage was recovered. His disappearance was covered extensively by Martian Radio’s “Red Static” programme, which noted the broader pattern of anomalies past Uranus that the UN had addressed only with a standing travel advisory.
Sources
- Martian Radio “Red Static”: The Last Transmission — Salim Mwanaka (2129)
- UN Weekly: Faramund Confirms Tsiolkovsky Retrofit (2129) — references broader anomaly pattern