Die on Mars

Tang Yue and Lao Mao climbed back to Kunlun Station and closed the airlock door. Tang Yue finally returned to the world... He squeezed out the last bit of strength in his body, locked the door, and then fell to the floor. superior.

The old cat dragged him back to the main station hall, then removed the Mingguang Armor's life support system, and pulled Tang Yue out of the extravehicular suit.

Tang Yue collapsed on the floor, climbed two steps toward the sink, and stopped moving.

The old cat didn't even have time to take off his cabin clothes. He walked to the sink in three steps at a time, took a glass full of pure water, turned back and helped Tang Yue up, "Drink it."

Tang Yue opened his eyes and smiled weakly, "So extravagant? Aren't you going to limit it?"

"Stop talking." Old Mao handed the water glass to Tang Yue, "Drink it."

Tang Yue raised his head and drank all the water in the cup. A refreshing coolness flowed through his dry and smoky throat, passed through the esophagus and went straight into his stomach. Tang Yue immediately felt a lot more comfortable. It was rare for him to have such a luxury, old cat In a rare act of generosity, Tang Yue sat on the floor leaning against the table, breathing heavily and looking a little pale.

"How do you feel?" The old cat squatted in front of him.

"I feel uncomfortable in my stomach, I feel like vomiting." Tang Yue covered his stomach.

"You are a bit dehydrated, but you cannot consume a large amount of fresh water in a short period of time, otherwise there is a risk of water poisoning." The old cat stood up, went to the sink to get another glass of water, and placed it on the floor next to Tang Yue's hand, "You Get some rest first, and if you are thirsty, drink this glass of water...but don’t drink too quickly.”

"Can I get water poisoning if I drink too much?"

"No." The old cat shook his head, "But you might choke."

It turned around and found the plug of the power cord from the wall, plugged it in, and a green light came on with a beep, and the old cat started charging.

It was also busy all day today, braving a sandstorm of forty meters per second to deliver supplies back and forth five times. It would have killed any other person, but the old cat is an old cat, and miraculously survived. Not only did it survive , and also rescued Tang Yue by the way.

The old cat is also very tired - Tang Yue has always thought that robots will not get tired, but the old cat is a robot that will cry out when it is tired. Not only will it get tired, but it will also be out of breath. Tang Yue knows very well that the old cat That furry appearance is actually made of copper and iron. The movement relies on electricity and motors, not muscles and bones. Could it be said that electric motors are also tired?

The old cat felt the warm current slowly flowing into its battery. It closed its eyes and let out a long sigh of relief.

Tang Yue poked his head curiously, "I've always wanted to know... for you, what is the hole where the plug is inserted? It's... it's the anus..."

Lao Mao casually picked up the plastic plate at hand and slapped Tang Yue on the face, blocking all the dirty words behind him.

The old cat dragged a long cable and paced back and forth in the Kunlun Station hall.

All the supplies have been delivered, and the next step is the key.

emission.

Success or failure depends on this.

"Can the wind speed be reduced to thirty meters per second?" Tang Yue asked.

"I don't know." The old cat shook his head. He glanced at the computer screen. The anemometer showed that the outside wind speed was thirty-five meters per second, which was much lower than the previous wind speed of forty meters, but it was three meters per second. A wind speed of fifteen meters is equivalent to a Category 12 typhoon. For a spacecraft about to take off, such a large crosswind may mean that the attitude is out of control.

The Eagle spacecraft is designed to withstand super storms of fifty meters per second, but this is its limit. Tang Yue does not dare to gamble on the performance limit of the lander. He only has such a precious spacecraft, a precious spacecraft It is also full of precious supplies. If it is smashed, there will be nothing. Although a desperate fight is very heroic for a movie hero, Tang Yue has realized that he is just a cannon fodder. It doesn't matter if the protagonist wants to die, but the passerby can Death is literally a dead end.

Lao Mao said that the ideal situation is thirty meters per second. They don't expect this storm to stop tomorrow. To be honest, the weather on Mars is uncertain. A sandstorm may pass in three to five days, or it may be raging. Within a few months, Opportunity, the meritorious probe of that year, died in a sandstorm.

I think about what kind of character the Opportunity was back then. It had an extremely tough destiny and was so hard that it was indestructible. Its designed lifespan was only ninety Martian days, but it survived tenaciously for more than five thousand days and overstayed its service sixty times, which made the old cat They were all convinced, saying that Opportunity was a legend in the robotics world, a heroic predecessor like Zhang Sanfeng.

But Zhang Sanfeng also fell in the endless sandstorm of Mars. During the long dark night that lasted for several months, Opportunity exhausted the last bit of power and turned into a monument in the wasteland.

Tang Yue doesn't know when this storm will pass. If the wind speed tomorrow can be reduced to 30 meters per second, then this will be a relatively safe launch environment, and Lao Mao will be very confident that the Eagle spacecraft can successfully enter orbit. Rendezvous and docking with the Joint Space Station.

"If the wind speed does not drop tomorrow." Old Mao turned around and looked at Tang Yue, "Are you still ready to launch?"

Tang Yue was startled.

"You have to think clearly, there is only one Eagle spacecraft, and you have no chance of trial and error." The old cat continued, "This is a gamble, either life or death."

Tang Yue felt the pressure, great pressure... This was a gamble, but there were too many factors that could affect the outcome of the gamble. Tang Yue took the Eagle spacecraft, the full cabin of supplies, and Ophiopogon japonicus's life The bet was placed on the gambling table, and opposite him were the capricious weather on Mars, sandstorms of more than thirty meters per second, the state of the Eagle spacecraft, and even the engineers who originally designed the lander on Earth.

Each one is a matter of life and death.

Maidong's supplies have been exhausted, and she can't wait more than a day. The Eagle spacecraft must be launched tomorrow, but the most damning thing is that neither Lao Mao nor Tang Yue know whether the weather can improve.

What if the wind speed cannot be reduced?

Do you want to continue launching?

What if the launch fails? Not only was Maidong's life lost, but the Eagle spacecraft and the supplies on it were also reimbursed.

Tang Yue pulled his hair fiercely. He was caught in a dilemma. On the one hand, Maidong's situation forced him to launch the lander as soon as possible. On the other hand, launching the spacecraft rashly might lead to failure. Failure to do so would result in failure. Death, even if you make a mistake, you will die.

"That girl's only chance of survival is that we must send a suitable spaceship up at the right time and in the right condition." Old Cat said, "Every aspect cannot go wrong. The right time, place and people must be Perfect fit.”

"Is this possible?" Tang Yue murmured.

"It's impossible, but it's also possible." Old Cat leaned on the table and said leisurely, "In the past hundred years of mankind, every space mission has been such a combination... We put the most suitable people into it. It is placed in the most suitable spacecraft, and then launched into space at the most appropriate time and in the most appropriate conditions. Even if it is just an ordinary ISS cargo mission, it is as precise as clockwork."

Tang Yue was stunned and said subconsciously: "It's so great."

"Do you understand? We have always been here like this, looking for the only glimmer of possibility among the impossible. Sometimes we wait for months and years, just for a twenty-minute window." The old cat knelt down and patted Tang Yue's face, "Don't underestimate the tenacity of human beings. No matter how difficult your situation is now, can it be compared to Apollo 13 back then?"

"But... there are only two of us." Tang Yue hesitated for two seconds, "Back then, Apollo 13 had experts from a country supporting them."

"What's wrong with two people?" The old cat bared its teeth and poked Tang Yue's chest, "You can treat me as one person, but you have to treat me as one hundred million people! Have you rested? Rest well. Just move, move! I won't sleep tonight... We are going to find the last hope buried in the impossible!"