In the boundless universe, the Hanhai space shuttle is soaring high in the sky of Mars like a small boat.
In the crew cabin, after having 'breakfast', Zhai Zhigang, the captain of the launch team, walked in with a communicator.
After fixing the communication device that looked like a tablet to the cabin with buckles, he looked at the other team members and said with a smile.
"Come on, what do you want to say to commemorate before leaving?"
It can be said to be a commemoration, or it can be said to be a "last word". They are about to launch a mission to land on the lander. This is the first manned mission to land on the lander in human history. It is unprecedented and has no experience.
Even with a new space shuttle that is ahead of its time, this is an extremely dangerous operation for everyone.
No one knows whether they will be able to return to their hometown after the fire landing operation begins.
Maybe I won’t even have the chance to say goodbye to my family for the last time.
In order not to leave any regrets, it’s a good idea to leave some souvenirs before starting the climb.
In the crew cabin, several people gathered together looked at each other, and they were all too embarrassed to be the first to come forward.
Seeing that no one expressed their opinion, Zhai Zhigang smiled and shook his head, looked at Gui Haichao and said: "Haichao, you are the youngest, you go first."
Wearing a pair of glasses, Gui Haichao, who looked a little thin, quickly waved his hand and said, "Why don't Captain Liu come first?"
Liu Yang glanced at him and said: "I'll do it, I'll do it. What are you afraid of? Will you lose a piece of meat?"
Gui Haichao smiled. It wasn't that he was afraid, but that he had some...unexplainable meaning.
Taking a deep breath, he walked to the communicator fixed on the wall of the cabin. Looking at the screen in front of him, Liu Yang suddenly fell silent again, not knowing what to say.
For them, this is not just a message before boarding the fire, but also represents an extremely heavy responsibility.
Because, on another blue planet tens of millions of kilometers away from here, there are countless people waiting for their news.
Looking at the tablet in front of him, Liu Yang didn't know what to say for a moment.
Standing next to her, the other people did not urge her, but just watched quietly, with some wandering thoughts on their faces.
After being silent for a long time, Liu Yang took a deep breath. Finally making a decision, she reached out and clicked on the communicator to start recording the video.
"Report to the motherland! We have arrived at Mars and will definitely complete our mission!"
.....
After everyone finished recording the messages, everyone in the cabin returned to their posts.
At nine o'clock, the miniaturized controllable fusion reactor inside the Hanhai space shuttle started up again.
Deuterium and tritium stored in the fuel tank are transported along pipes into the fusion chamber, where they are transformed into plasma as the temperature increases.
As the temperature in the chamber gets higher and higher, the movement between deuterium and tritium plasma becomes more and more intense. Particles invisible to the naked eye are constantly colliding, fusion, and released under the constraints of the magnetic field.
It has energy comparable to that of a star.
As the power output of the fusion reactor continued to increase, finally, when enough energy was input into the aerospace engine at the tail of the space shuttle, a dazzling blue-white arc shone in the dark night.
The aerospace engine restarted, pushing the Hanhai space shuttle towards Mars.
For the first manned landing project, the landing method they used was still the landing module equipment with more mature technology.
Although the second-generation space shuttle is said to have the function of vertical takeoff and landing on planets with lower gravity environments, this has not been tested in the practice of landing on a fire. It is still unknown whether it is really stable and reliable.
In comparison, both the Zhurong Mars rover launched in the early years and the previous unmanned fire detection operation at the Xiashu Space Base have rich and sufficient experience in landing the landing module on Mars.
For the first manned mission to spacecraft, stability is even more important.
If the landing module is to be released, the current orbit of the space shuttle is still too high. They need to adjust the orbit of Hanhai and lower it to the delivery orbit to ensure the smooth delivery of the landing module.
For a second-generation space shuttle that is much larger than any previous spacecraft, it is extremely difficult to achieve this step.
It can even be said to be the biggest test in the entire manned mission.
Of course, the premise is to exclude the landing test of the second-generation aircraft after the two astronauts who stayed behind were docked and transferred to another accompanying space shuttle after the landing team boarded the rocket.
Yes, a crucial item in this experimental test of manned mission is to test whether the second-generation aircraft has the ability to take off and land vertically on Mars.
Of course, this test needs to wait until they complete the manned mission and put all the experimental equipment they brought on Mars.
Compared with the current work of landing on the fire, that is the most severe test.
However, whether this test is successful or not will not affect the astronauts' landing on Mars. Even if the second-generation spacecraft accidentally crashes and is damaged on Mars, they still have two other first-generation space shuttles that can serve as supporting spacecraft.
Therefore, in the entire manned launch project, the most difficult thing is to stably control the Hanhai into the launch orbit.
Because the launch orbit is much lower than low-Earth orbit, once a mistake is made, they may miss the launch node, or even the entire space shuttle crash directly onto Mars, causing the most serious space accident in history.
In the cockpit, Gui Haichao and Tang Shengjie, who were controlling the space shuttle, both stared intently at the space shuttle's instrument panel, sensing the status and altitude of the spacecraft through the indicators and lights on it.
In the core area of the cabin, under the stable control of the adaptable small supercomputer, the power output of the fusion reactor has exceeded 65% and is still rising.
The huge energy generated by the deuterium and tritium plasma is continuously transmitted towards the aerospace engines deployed at the bottom and tail of the Hanhai.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! In the refrigerant tank, the massive amount of liquid xenon stored in the tank is continuously ejected under the acceleration of the magnetic field, transforming into a huge power, pushing the space shuttle towards the designated coordinates.
go.
At the same time, in the launch bay of the space shuttle, Zhai Zhigang, who had already put on the Mars space suit, looked at his teammates standing with him, took a deep breath, and spoke seriously and calmly.
"Everything is ready!"
What answered him were the firm and powerful voices of the other three companions who were on board the fire together.
"Ready!"
"Then! Let's go!"
A powerful order was announced from Zhai Zhigang's mouth. Immediately, he took the lead and walked towards the fire cabin.
This time they landed on Mars, four people, two rocket modules, carrying various supplies and equipment. They will conduct a three-day scientific research expedition on Mars before returning to space.
As the four members of the mission team entered the landing module, the manned mission has entered the most critical period.
As early as two or three months ago, the unmanned mission to conduct a comprehensive exploration of Mars established a comprehensive coordinate network for the planet.
In order to ensure that subsequent relevant scientific research experiments can be carried out stably, the Hanhai space shuttle will immediately climb back to low-Earth orbit after it reaches the coordinate point of the launch orbit and releases the two launch modules.
On the one hand, this can save fuel and working fluid. Even if the energy provided by a small fusion reactor is enough for them to use or even squander, the number of high-efficiency xenon propulsion working fluids is limited.
On the other hand, it can serve as a relay station to receive and maintain signal communication between the landing team and the earth.
The door of the launch cabin slowly closed, and the launch teams divided into two teams each entered the much narrower cabin.
"Group 2, please answer after receiving it!"
In the No. 1 fire landing cabin, after completing the inspection work related to the normal operation of the equipment, Zhai Zhigang pressed the headset to call the other fire landing cabin.
"Roger, this is the launch cabin of Yinghuo 2!"
Vice-captain Liu Yang's voice soon came through the headset.
This time they landed on Mars, their landing modules were named 'Yinghuo 1' and 'Yinghuo 2'.
Its name contains the ancients' profound observations and thinking about Mars. They believed that the brightness of Mars is like a glowing fire, and its trajectory is often confusing, so it was named "Yinghuo".
This title with a strong Chinese flavor not only reflects the unique light of Mars in the night sky, but also reflects their unremitting curiosity and exploration of the mysteries of the universe from ancient times to the present.
"Report your situation!"
"The equipment is operating normally, the spacesuit and landing module oxygen reserves are 100%, and the life support system is operating normally..."
A series of reports sounded, and Zhai Zhigang nodded, smiled and said: "Come on!"
In the headset, a reply accompanied by a deep breath came: "Have a safe journey!"
When the last sound fell, the cabin was so quiet that it was as if you could hear your own heartbeat.
Even though the people who will carry out this manned mission are elites selected from among astronauts and have carried out countless space missions, everyone is still nervous and uneasy in the face of this new historical record that is about to be created by mankind.
Sitting opposite Zhai Zhigang, Jiang Xinlin clenched his palms nervously. He could feel that his palms were already a little moist.
After taking a few deep breaths of oxygen, discarding the distracting thoughts in his mind and calming down, Jiang Xinlin looked at Zhai Zhigang opposite and asked nervously.
"team leader....."
"What's wrong?"
"We're going to make it, right?"
Zhai Zhigang smiled and said in a firm tone: "Of course! We will definitely stand on Mars and open up new territories for our motherland!"
After a slight pause, he took on a somewhat joking tone and tried his best to relax Jiang Xinlin's nervousness and spoke.
"No matter what, don't you still believe Academician Xu Chuan? This is a project for which he personally serves as the chief engineer."
Hearing this familiar name, Jiang Xinlin's nervousness dissipated a lot. It seemed that just hearing the name was enough to make people feel at ease.
Nodding, he grinned and said, "That's right, this is Academician Xu's project."
After easing some of the tense atmosphere, the launch team continued to wait for the arrival of the drop node.
This mission is not only a test for the space shuttle, but also a test for them.
About ten minutes passed, and finally, a familiar electronic broadcast voice sounded simultaneously in the ears of the four fire climbing teams.
"The separation process will start in one minute. Please prepare, Team Yinghuo!"
As the sound of the radio sounded, the mood that had calmed down a lot became tense again in the launch cabin.
In the long and rapid passage of time, there is tension and anticipation.
"10."
"9."
"8."
"..."
"3"
"2"
"1"
"The separation procedure has started. Currently, the landing module of Yinghuo No. 1 has detached from the capsule, and the landing module of Yinghuo No. 2 has detached from the capsule. The landing procedure is starting..."
As the electronic broadcast sounded, Jiang Xinlin, who was sitting in the Yinghuo-1 landing cabin, felt a shaking coming from under his buttocks.
Immediately afterwards, the feeling of rapid weightlessness spread to every muscle and cell in the body.
The continuous increase in acceleration made him feel that his heartbeat was constantly increasing, blood continued to flow into his brain, and his cheeks turned red.
Firmly grasping the armrests of the seats, both Jiang Xinlin and the other three astronauts gritted their teeth nervously and took deep breaths to relieve their emotions.
Just like early manned spaceflight, when the space capsule returns to Earth, they need to pass through an atmosphere hundreds of kilometers thick.
At this time, the earth's gravity will continue to pull the return capsule, constantly increasing its speed.
The same goes for landing the rocket module on Mars. Although the gravity of Mars is much weaker than that of the Earth, it is not impossible.
The uneven atmosphere on the surface will cause constant shaking in the attitude of the space capsule.
The entire landing process was like an elevator suddenly losing control and falling from a 100-meter-high building. The strong uneasiness filled the hearts of everyone standing in the elevator.
Even astronauts who have been trained and have performed many space missions cannot avoid this kind of nervousness.
Fortunately, this situation did not last long. When it broke through the atmosphere of Mars and officially entered the Martian ecosystem, the landing procedure of the Yinghuo landing module started.
The small chemical thrusters installed around the launch module ejected flames, and under the control of the intelligent system, they constantly adjusted the attitude of the launch module.
The bumpy feeling began to slow down as the acceleration decreased. In the Yinghuo 2 landing cabin, Liu Yang tightly grasped the armrest of the seat and looked outside through the high-strength transparent porthole.
The airflow stirred as the rocket module descended was visibly rippled to the naked eye, just like the waves you can see when looking at a hot fire on Earth.
Compared with the previous return capsules from space to the earth's surface, this landing was much shorter.
As the flames ejected by the small chemical thruster slowly slowed down, the landing speed of the landing module also slowed down.
The mechanically controlled support legs have been actively opened when landing.
Accompanied by a violent shaking, it was like stepping on the beach. After sinking in slightly, everything calmed down.