Die on Mars

The old cat parked the Martian stray dog ​​on the sand, and then began to transport the Chelome probe. It shut down the probe's computer, folded back the solar panels, retracted the landing frame, then dragged the stray dog ​​onto the cart, and used The cables are tied.

The Chelome lander weighs about 150 kilograms, and is considered small among the Mars probes. The funding for the Chelome mission was very limited at that time, and it was just an inconspicuous small project under the Russian Space Agency. , incidentally also undertook some tasks of popular science education, such as collecting experimental plans from primary and secondary school students across the country. In the end, a middle school in St. Petersburg stood out. Their plan was to mount a self-designed fungus petri dish on the detector, in which the one responsible for controlling the temperature was Intel TCU1524M processor.

Mission experts consulted the old cat when designing Chelome. The old cat had a good relationship with the Russian engineers. He drank vodka with them, and someone drank too much and told it the instructions for all the probes in the Mars mission. It's all Katyusha.

The old cat made a simple inspection of the Chelome. The latter was very well preserved. The landing of the Chelome that year was very successful. If it had not encountered a sandstorm, it could have worked until the end of its life. If the funds were sufficient, it could even extended active duty.

"Welcome to the Mars Stray Dog Passenger Line. Our destination is Kunlun Station." Old Mao pushed the detector hard and confirmed that it was securely strapped. "Every passenger, please fasten your seat belts. The tractor is about to depart..."

The old cat returned to the cab and started the stray dog.

It took a look at the remaining power in the battery. The rover had just finished charging. There was still more than 90% of the power in the battery, and it should be able to run for almost 30 kilometers.

The old cat pulled the steering wheel, and the rover began to turn. So far, the old cat's mission has been half completed. It is about to embark on the return journey. It will take at least three days to return to Kunlun Station... During these three days, Tang Yue had better not What kind of trouble will come again?

The Martian stray dogs travel along the valley bottom between the sand dunes. This prevents the wheels from getting stuck in the quicksand. In the past, stray dogs often got their wheels stuck in pits when they went out, and then everyone in the car got down to push the cart. Now only the old man is on the cart. As for the cat himself, pushing the cart alone is still very strenuous.

The old cat would rather take a detour than go over the mountains.

"The mountains are so high, the water is so long, the road to heaven is too difficult..." The old cat was sitting in the cab, shaking his head and humming a song, like an old driver who ran long distances on the Sichuan-Tibet line. It's the classic "Get on the Train to Lhasa".

"Crossing the grassland, crossing the mountains and rivers, carrying dreams and auspiciousness, singing songs of happiness all the way, singing to Tanggula Mountain, getting on the train to Lhasa..." The old cat beat the beat, and even jumped up in joy. The high-pitched voice sounded like a broken gong, "Go and see the magical Potala, go and see the most beautiful Gesang flowers..."

The Martian stray dog ​​swayed in the song, bumping over the gravel and sand on the ground, galloping on the desolate and rough land. The cart dragged behind it also bumped along with it, raising billowing smoke and dust.

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"Tang Yue? Tang Yue?"

"Huh?" Tang Yue pinched his nose, slightly opened a small slit in the can containing the soil and stool mixture, squinted his eyes and took a look inside to observe the fermentation of the fertilizer, "What's the matter?"

The low temperature is really not suitable for the reproduction of microorganisms, and the fermentation rate of fertilizer is extremely slow.

"The agreed contact time has come, but Mr. Cat hasn't sent an email today." Maidong said, "Is there any problem?"

"Don't worry, what could go wrong with it? Calculate the time and it should be on its way back." Tang Yue inserted an iron skewer through the mouth of the jar and into the solidified stool. Under the black shell of the stool, there was Dark green like matcha, "Maybe I just overslept... Oh my god, this shit looks like mung bean cake."

"Mung bean cake?" Maidong's ears perked up and his eyes lit up, "Where can I find mung bean cake?"

The ten tomato seeds in the box finally showed signs of improvement. Three of the seeds lived up to expectations and opened their shells, revealing white germs. This made Tang Yue extremely excited. The goddess of fate finally smiled at him. She really didn't want him so much. Tianlai took good care of them and kept them warm and water-retaining. These seeds are really impressive.

Since some seeds have begun to germinate, it means that his method works, and it is only a matter of time before the remaining seeds germinate.

"Work harder, comrades, and strive to reach the top!" Tang Yue encouraged the remaining ungerminated seeds, "Whoever germinates faster will be rewarded!"

"What reward do you want to give them?" Maidong asked.

"Give them a chance to go down in history! Let them become the greatest tomatoes in history!" Tang Yue said, "When we record history in the future, we will write like this: In the past 15 billion years of the history of the universe, and even in the future In the past 20 billion years, there have never been such great tomatoes. They struggled to survive in an unprecedented desperate situation and blossomed and bore fruit, which perfectly explained the tenacity and courage contained in life - Life finds a way !”

Maidong looked at Tang Yue silently and smiled.

"why are you laughing?"

"I... think you are talking about us." Maidong said.

"I thought you were laughing at my English pronunciation." Tang Yue shrugged, "My high school English teacher always said that my spoken English smells like pickles."

Looking at these white and tender germs, Tang Yue seemed to have seen the juicy and red tomatoes. He couldn't remember how long it had been since he had eaten fresh vegetables. The last time he ate fresh food seemed to be a lifetime ago, so far away that it seemed like a lifetime ago. .

Tang Yue once heard that some border outposts were located in remote locations, above the snow line on the plateau. In winter, heavy snow closed the mountains and supplies were cut off. The soldiers at the outposts relied on canned food to survive, and could not eat fresh vegetables for half a year. In the end, When he saw the green weeds on the ground, he wanted to take a bite. Now Tang Yue was in this state. When he looked at the green stool in the jar, he could think of mung bean cake... Tang Yue quickly stopped his tendency to continue thinking about it.

"Tang Yue, Mr. Cat hasn't contacted me yet. It's already past the agreed time..." Maidong was a little worried, "Is it really okay?"

"What did it tell you?"

"It said it would contact me twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening." Maidong replied, "It will take the initiative to contact me when the time comes. If it does not receive an email for half an hour after the agreed time, then it means there is a problem on its side."

"What time is today's contact time?" Tang Yue asked.

"Six pm."

Tang Yue glanced at the time, six thirty-five.

"Would you like to contact it?"

"I've tried it. It's been calling for the past half hour." Maidong shook his head, "No response."

When the Mars stray dog ​​is traveling, the communication antenna is folded and cannot receive radio signals, so the old cat can only actively contact the space station.

Tang Yue felt a little uneasy. Although Lao Mao was a talkative person, he was quite reliable in his work and did not leak any information. He did not contact him beyond the agreed time. It could not be carelessness, it could only be something went wrong.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute..." Tang Yue tried to stay calm, holding the blanket tightly with both hands, "There will be nothing wrong with the old cat. It might just be busy with something and didn't have time to contact us. Wait. Just wait until it's done...just wait until it's done."

"How about Tang Yue, why don't you go and rest first?" Maidong asked, "I'll just keep watch."

"No! No...I'll wait with you, I'll wait with you."

Neither of them spoke anymore, and Kunlun Station fell silent. An uncomfortable silence spread, and the clock beat silently.

7 p.m.

"Any news about the old cat?"

"No."

7:30 p.m.

"Is there any news about it?"

"still none."

eight pm.

"information?"

Maidong shook his head.

Nine p.m.

There is still no news, the old cat seems to have disappeared from the world, and there is no news at all.