Annihilation of the solar system

Under the guidance of the autopilot, "Firefly" shuttles among the asteroid clusters at the gravitational balance point of Jupiter's orbit. Since there is no interference from external gravity, the asteroids are evenly distributed in space from the inside to the outside according to their mass.

Asteroids with greater mass are closer to the center, and the distance between them is smaller. Asteroids with smaller masses are distributed farther out, and the distance between them is wider.

Although the position of the Lagrangian 14 point is the so-called "dense area" of asteroids, this density is relatively spatial scale, and it is almost difficult for a spacecraft to detect the existence of asteroids with the naked eye when traveling through it.

Although the battleship's own weak gravitational pull and the thrust of the attitude-adjusted rocket will slightly disturb this delicate structure naturally formed under the influence of gravity. But after the spacecraft leaves, the asteroids will return to their previous state under the influence of mutual gravity.

A state of precise gravitational equilibrium.

In this space area, there were a total of 6 cargo bays according to the plan. However, the "Firefly" only docked with two of them and completed its supply needs. After the battleship left the asteroid dense area, Lu Yuanzhou entered on the console

Parameters of the route to the far side of Jupiter.

"The entire ship is ready to accelerate!" Lu Yuanzhou gave the order.

Everyone in the command module fixed themselves to their seats. Amidst the low noise of the ion engine, the spacecraft trembled slightly and began to accelerate.

Everyone's eyes are very firm, but even a soldier with an iron will like Lu Yuanzhou will inevitably have a trace of fear in the deepest part of his heart. Because, in more than ten days, they may become the first group to start a battle with alien civilization.

Human beings are fighting, but behind them there is nothing but the cold space.

During the flight to Jupiter, the crew members spontaneously shared their "letters from home". Although, during the four-year interstellar voyage, everyone knew each other's family composition and had seen photos. But in the video,

This is the first time for them to "get to know each other" in a real sense, which makes the whole spacecraft look more like another form of "family".

Ten days later, Jupiter, which was still hanging alone in the depths of space like a colorful ocean ball, now filled the entire porthole. The flowing clouds on the surface of the planet like old tree rings are clearly visible, and can even be seen occasionally.

A cyclone formed by the entanglement of airflow between flowing clouds. Those seemingly inconspicuous small vortices, in fact, even the smallest one can accommodate a moon.

The biggest difference between the current Jupiter and the Jupiter in people's perception is that the ice blocks after the collapse of Europa were torn into countless ice crystals under the joint action of the gravity of Jupiter and other satellites. They formed a wide and wide ice crystal around Jupiter.

Thin planetary rings.

Under the reflection of the sun, the star rings are shining and colorful. But in the eyes of humans, there is nothing romantic about such astronomical wonders, because behind the beautiful star rings are the chilling attack horns of alien civilizations.

Lu Yuanzhou and Wang Xiaoge were on duty today. Lu Yuanzhou scanned the data on the screen and occasionally turned his head and glanced at Wang Xiaoge behind him. This was the youngest, quiet and unmanned spacecraft pilot who treated everyone with a smile and humility.

"Xiao Ge, I shared a 'family letter' in the restaurant last time. Why didn't I see yours?" Lu Yuanzhou asked seemingly casually.

"Oh, Captain. I...I don't have a letter from home. You know, my family has been gone for a long time." Although Wang Xiaoge's voice was a little choppy, the smile on his face was sincere.

Lu Yuanzhou regretted asking this question. He didn't even dare to look directly at Wang Xiaoge's eyes that pierced his soul. But he just wanted to fully understand the status of all his crew members in the vast space, because there was no room for anything here.

mistake.

"Oh... Oh, yes. You said that you completed your studies with social assistance. When the crisis era began, you were still studying for a doctorate at MIT." Lu Yuanzhou said, Wang Xiaoge is the only one among everyone who is not in the military

Or a crew member who was an astronaut.

"Yes, Captain. I participated in the volunteer recruitment at MIT, and finally entered the 'Fish Cang Project' after being selected." Wang Xiaoge's answer was as accurate as ever. This accuracy is reflected in his ability to answer Lu Yuanzhou's literal question accurately.

And avoid what he wants to know behind the question.

"Collision warning! Collision warning! Relative speed 47.3km/s, collision risk less than 1%."

The sound of the spacecraft's AI alarm interrupted their conversation. The rest of the crew also quickly came to the command module due to the sound of the alarm. First Officer Hank sat in the co-pilot's seat, and he called up the alarm content and simulated star map.

"There's nothing to worry about. There's no need to change the route. There's no risk of collision. It's just..." Hank hesitated for a while and then said:

"It's just that I don't know whether I should call him Europa or Europa."

Laura and Fernando both moved closer to the bridge and looked at the irregular spherical celestial body simulated on Hank's screen.

"Look! It's there!" Laura pointed to a small dot outside the porthole.

Following the direction of Laura's finger, the crew quickly found Europa, which had only its rocky core left. It had now flown outside the orbit of Europa, so strictly speaking it should be called Europa.

Thirteen.

The small dot quickly grew in size. When it passed silently tens of thousands of kilometers in front of the "Firefly" like a huge mountain, the momentum of the giant peak made everyone's heart beat faster and they were amazed. They clearly saw,

The moon's cooled core is dotted with scattered glaciers.

Four years ago, this irregular ellipsoid was surrounded by the largest ocean and ice cap in the solar system. There may be a richer marine ecosystem in the ocean than the earth, but humans have not had time to witness this miracle of life with their own eyes.

It became an ordinary satellite that failed to complete hydrostatic equilibrium and was lifeless.

After the satellite went away, everyone returned to their working positions. Communications officer Laura said:

"There is still no sign of electromagnetic wave activity found in the direction of Jupiter."

"Have these bastards disappeared, or are they hiding?" said First Mate Hank.

"Four years ago, we could receive radio wave signals from Jupiter and Saturn through silence on Earth. Now that we are so close, the radio receiving antenna detects nothing except stellar wind interference. Even if they use a child's

We can also find some clues about toy radio communication, but there is really nothing." Communications Officer Laura replied.

Unmanned spacecraft pilot Wang Xiaoge reported:

"A reconnaissance unmanned spacecraft we launched after the acceleration was completed has reached Jupiter's low orbit, and the airborne sensors throughout the orbit did not detect any abnormalities."

"Turn on the radar and take a look." Lu Yuanzhou gave the order.

Soon, radar officer Sachiko Ono reported:

"The radar emission targets are all natural celestial bodies, and no abnormalities were found."

"Have they really disappeared?" first mate Hank asked.

Everyone looked at Captain Lu Yuanzhou, who thought for a moment:

"Get ready for battle, the battleship will enter Jupiter's low orbit as planned!"