The Science Fiction World of Xueba

Early the next morning, Pang Xuelin and Watney carried out an EVA mission, driving the rover to the radioisotope thermal battery (RTG) burial site four kilometers away.

In view of the danger of this kind of battery, Colonel Lewis, the commander of the Ares III mission team, sent someone to dismantle the RTG from the Mars Ascension Vehicle (MAV) and bury it in the south of the habitat cabin. On the top of a small hill four kilometers away, a green flag was planted to warn the mission team members not to approach.

After the large-scale sandstorm, the green flag was blown and disappeared, but Xiaoqiu could see it at a glance, and Pang Xuelin and Watney easily found the place where the RTG was buried.

The two dug up the sand with a shovel, revealing the cylindrical metal shell of the RTG. The outside of the shell was covered with heat sinks. Even through the space suits, the two could still feel the radiant heat from the decay of plutonium 238.

The RTG is surrounded by thermoelectric elements, and the plutonium 238 in the center of the battery emits high-energy α-rays, and uses the principle of thermocouples to generate potential differences in different metals to generate electricity.

Its advantage is that it works for a long time and is not subject to environmental changes such as external temperature and pressure.

It's just that the efficiency is quite low. At present, the energy utilization rate is only 10% to 20%, and most of the heat energy is wasted.

Pang Xuelin and Watney can use it as a heater for the rover.

Watney felt a little nervous: "Pang, is it too dangerous to put this thing in the car?"

Pang Xuelin said: "Don't worry, under normal circumstances, the radiation shielding layer will not be damaged for decades, enough for us to use it on Mars for a long time."

The two carefully moved the RTG into the car. Pang Xuelin turned off the car's air-conditioning system, but the temperature inside the car didn't drop. Instead, it rose rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye. In less than ten minutes, it rose to 37 degrees Celsius.

"No, this thing is too hot, I'm going to suffocate in a spacesuit."

Watney took off his helmet and space suit, leaving only a T-shirt and shorts, but he was still hot and sweating.

Pang Xuelin is similar, he said: "Be patient, let's go back to the habitat first, and then remove the insulation layer of the rover, it should be much better."

Back at camp, the two began the rover modification project.

The cabin of the rover is actually a large pressure-resistant cabin. The outer shell is a layer of high-strength carbon fiber material, the middle is filled with thermal insulation foam, and the innermost layer is a layer of insulating plastic.

Pang Xuelin and Watney first removed the insulating plastic, and then carefully removed the insulating foam.

Of course, they did not remove all of them at once, but removed them in small pieces until the temperature dropped to about 25 degrees Celsius after the RTG was placed in the car.

Next, they spent another three Martian days to modify the rover, first adding six solar cells on the roof, which can provide part of the power when the vehicle is running.

In addition, Pang Xuelin also carried eight solar batteries in the car, which can be taken out to charge when repairing.

Secondly, a liquid oxygen tank is installed in the rover. The maximum self-sustaining force of this rover can be used by three people for two days, and it can barely be used by one person for six days.

Therefore, Pang Xuelin carried an additional 25-liter liquid oxygen tank.

The density of liquid oxygen is about a thousand times that of gaseous oxygen at standard atmospheric pressure. A 25-liter liquid oxygen tank is equivalent to 25,000 liters of oxygen. A person's daily oxygen consumption is about 588 liters, so the oxygen content is more than enough.

What really limited Pang Xuelin's mission time was the carbon dioxide filter and food. There is no oxygen generator in the rover, and a carbon dioxide filter is also needed to absorb the carbon dioxide exhaled by Pang Xuelin.

In order to ensure the redundancy of the mission, Pang Xuelin brought a full 500-hour carbon dioxide filter and enough food for 20 days.

As for drinking water, Pang Xuelin only brought five liters. As long as the power is not interrupted, the on-board water circulation system can solve the problem of maintaining sufficient fresh water supply.

The 40th Martian day.

Pang Xuelin bid farewell to Vodani, and drove the rover to start the journey to Mars.

What Pang Xuelin didn't know was that his and Vodani's every move was transmitted to the earth 8,000 kilometers away through the Martian satellite. (The distance from the ground fire is 0.55 to 400 million kilometers)

...

Earth.

"Friends from the audience, good evening everyone, welcome to tonight's "Oriental Time and Space". Watney, in the past few days, the two have carried out several EVA activities. What is their purpose? How far has the rescue plan of the Joint Command of the Ares Project progressed? How will the failure of the Ares III mission be? What kind of impact will it have on the Ares 4 mission? How do the members of the Ares 3 mission team in the Hermes spacecraft know that their two teammates are still alive? We will discuss this in the following I would like to ask Dr. Tian Mu, the Chinese commander-in-chief of the Joint Headquarters of the Ares Project, a few questions."

"Dr. Tian Mu, hello, welcome to tonight's "Oriental Time and Space"."

"Hello host, good evening, audience friends."

Bai Xuesong said: "Dr. Tian Mu, in the past week, the two heroic astronauts, Pang Xuelin and Watney, have become the focus of global attention, especially after China and the United States held grand state funerals for these two aerospace heroes. The sudden death and resurrection of the two heroes has caused a huge sensation. To some extent, these two space heroes have become the two most watched humans in the solar system. I would like to ask the Ares Project Command What is your attitude towards this incident, and will someone stand up and take responsibility for this incident?"

Tian Mu said: "Moderator, first of all I want to correct a detail. This incident was not a mistake, but an accident. When a large-scale sandstorm broke out on Mars, the Ares 3 mission team was in great danger. The evacuation order was correct, but no one expected that the satellite communication antenna would suddenly fall off and hit our two astronauts. At that time, the life monitoring system showed that the two astronauts had died. Based on the relevant principles of the Mars mission, Ares It is understandable that the members of the No. 3 mission team abandoned the remains of the two astronauts. Of course, the results of this series of unexpected events are not what we want to see."

Bai Xuesong nodded and said, "Dr. Tian Mu, then I would like to ask, has the Joint Headquarters of the Ares Project contacted the two astronauts? What is the progress of the rescue plan?"

Tian Mudao: "Because the satellite antenna fell off, we can't get in touch with these two astronauts for the time being, but we have mobilized more than 20 satellites over Mars to take pictures of the habitat on the Arsidalia Plain. It is guaranteed that a batch of brand new images will be obtained in three to five minutes. The rescue plan is still in full swing, and the International Astronautical Federation has reached a consensus that it will rescue our astronauts at all costs. And I believe that, Pang Xuelin and Watney are also trying their best to save themselves. The satellite photos of the past few days show that they are modifying the rover. We suspect that they are going to the Schiaparelli impact crater 3,200 kilometers away. There the MAV prepared for Ares IV made contact with Earth."

Bai Xuesong said: "The journey of 3,200 kilometers must be a thrilling adventure."

Tian Mudao: "Actually, our headquarters is not in favor of the two astronauts taking such an adventurous journey. We prefer that they stay where they are and wait for rescue. But under the current situation, it is understandable for them to make such a choice. "

Bai Xuesong said: "I hope our two space heroes can arrive safely. Finally, I would like to ask how the crew of the Hermes behaved after they learned that their teammate was still alive?"

Tian Mu pondered for a moment, and said: "In order to ensure the safety of the Ares III mission team during the return flight, we have not disclosed to them the news that the two teammates are still alive..."

Bai Xuesong was slightly taken aback, just about to answer.

At this moment, the cell phone in Tian Mu's pocket vibrated suddenly.

Tian Mu took out his mobile phone and looked at it, then gestured to the director, and the director immediately switched the screen to Bai Xuesong, Bai Xuesong understood, and took the conversation from Tian Mu: "I think whether it's the audience friends in front of the TV or All members of the Ares program hope that the two astronauts can return safely, and we also believe that our aerospace experts are capable enough to bring the two astronauts back from Mars. We will insert an advertisement below, and later goodbye……"

Tian Mu took the opportunity to walk out of the studio and pressed the answer button.

On the other end of the phone came the voice of Liu Wenhong, a subordinate of the Ares Project China Command Center: "Head, the rover is dispatched, but the strange thing is that the rover is not heading towards the Schiaparelli impact crater in the southeast direction, but It was heading southwest, and there was only one person when they set off. The preliminary judgment should be Pang Xuelin, and Watney should have stayed in the habitat."

A week ago, it was Liu Wenhong, who was in charge of studying Mars satellite photos, who discovered the abnormality in the camp, which made everyone realize that the two astronauts were still alive.

Tian Mu frowned slightly, and said, "Does the expert team have any judgment? Is there any new news from NASA?"

Liu Wenhong said: "It is still under discussion, and NASA is also making further judgments."

"Okay, then you keep following up, I'm done with the show..."

Before Tian Mu finished speaking, Liu Wenhong interrupted him immediately: "Wait, head, the latest news came from NASA. The direction of the rover is aligned with the landing of the American Mars Pathfinder probe 40 years ago." The distance from the habitat module is about...about 800 kilometers. My God, NASA suspects that Pang Xuelin and Watney want to use the probe from 40 years ago to re-establish contact with the command. NASA is urgently searching for Mars Regarding the related files of Pathfinder, I believe there will be good news soon.”

"Great, remember to keep the information synchronized, I'll be right back!"

Tian Mu clenched his fist and said excitedly!