Chapter 240 One Small Step, Crisis
“Have a safe journey.”
After the separation, the two astronauts who stayed on the manned spacecraft could only wish them well.
The next task can only be completed by Zhang Kai alone.
From the small porthole of the manned spacecraft, Qian Zhubin and Li Haiyan could still see the fiery red sparks diving below, like a burning flame.
Visible to the naked eye, the Mars lander is getting smaller, burning like a match.
Without communication, Qian Zhubin and Li Haiyan could only pray silently in their hearts.
On the other side, everyone in the central control center did not dare to breathe, as if the breathing here could affect the Mars lander tens of millions of kilometers away.
More than ten seconds later, the Mars lander, which passed through the black barrier, connected to the signal from the spacecraft again.
Judging from the returned lander data, the lander is relatively stable.
With the new gyro ritual design and the support of the candy balance algorithm, Zhang Kai in the cabin felt the shaking similar to that of a car driving on a cement road.
Unlike the manned spacecraft, the lander does not have a porthole design.
The scene outside the lander can only be observed through a ten-inch screen.
The main engine started working when it was still ten kilometers away from the ground.
Under strong power.
The landing speed of the Mars lander began to decrease, and the multiple small engines that adjusted the attitude balance of the Mars vibrator sprayed flames from time to time to balance the attitude of the Mars lander.
A minute later, the Mars lander fell into a huge crater.
From the data point of view, the vertical height of the crater reaches an astonishing 600 meters.
As the main engine was shut down, the lander with its extended bracket fell to the ground under the influence of Martian gravity at the last half meter above the ground.
"Huoying, this is the Mars lander, I have landed safely."
First there was a burst of electricity, and after a while, there was a sound.
“This is the Huo Ying manned spacecraft. The monitoring instruments have detected that the weather in your surrounding area is good, which is very suitable for exiting the spacecraft. It is recommended to carry out the mission of exiting the spacecraft and soil collection after the self-inspection is completed.”
"The Mars lander has been received."
Zhang Kai, wearing a heavy spacesuit, sat in the driver's seat and conducted self-checks on the Mars lander according to the manual control panel.
This is not only related to whether the mission can be completed, but also whether he can return to space after completing all tasks.
Five minutes later, the Blue Star ground received the video sent back by the Firefly manned spacecraft, and once again marveled at the power of the balancing algorithm.
More than half an hour later, it was already noon on Blue Star.
But at this time, everyone is obviously not in the mood to eat.
Inside the crater, Zhang Kai slowly opened the hatch.
No one knew that dozens of kilometers away from the crater, a breeze blew by, forming a weak and weak whirlpool.
Holding the ladder, Zhang Kai carefully walked down step by step.
At the last step, Zhang Kai paused.
A fragment flashed through my mind.
Zhang Kai, who could hear his breathing, stepped heavily on the red ground.
Then Zhang Kai said to the panoramic lens on his arm:
"I'm out of the cabin and I feel good!"
The camera turned and pointed at the ground.
“This is a small step for a man, but a giant leap for mankind.”
At this moment, Zhang Kai felt an unprecedented sense of pride.
From now on, it will be written into textbooks and recorded as a moment in history.
Humans land on Mars for the first time.
This firefly star was once regarded as ominous by the ancients.
Just because of the soil quality, Zhang Kai’s footprints are not very deep.
Coupled with the storm on Mars, this footprint cannot be preserved for long.
After doing this, Zhang Kai picked up the specially made national flag and inserted it into the soil with force.
At this moment, the sound of electric current came from the headset of the space suit, as well as the intermittent voices of Qian Zhubin and Li Haiyan.
"...there is...wind...away from..."
"Magnetic field...interference..."
"..."
A few After repeating it for several times, Zhang Kai finally got a general idea from the intermittent sounds.
In an instant, Zhang Kai's hair stood on end and his face became even pale.
Storm!
A huge Martian storm is growing rapidly, and what’s even more terrible is that the eye of the storm is not far from the crater.
Evacuate now?
Then so many years of hard work and the country paying such a heavy price are all in vain.
Gritting his teeth, Zhang Kai returned to the Mars lander as quickly as possible to get the soil sampling equipment.
In the distant orbit of Mars, Qian Zhubin and Li Haiyan kept urging Zhang Kai to give up the last mission and return immediately.
I don’t know what is special about the soil in this area. The soil rolled up by the storm actually formed a subtle magnetic field centered on the eye of the wind, which interfered with the transmission of electromagnetic wave signals.
Looking at the predicted storm trajectory calculated by the computer, Qian Zhubin and Li Haiyan clenched their fists.
Qian Zhubin and Li Haiyan couldn't imagine how the Mars lander could return in such a strong storm.
On Mars, Zhang Kai was busy taking samples.
Far away in the central control and command center of Blue Star, a group of scientists are discussing intensely how to safely return the Mars probe and safely dock with the Firefly manned spacecraft.
“What if we wait for the eye of the storm to move over the crater, ignite the engine and return?”
“In the eye of the storm, we will not be affected by the storm at all.”
“No, this is absolutely not possible.”
"There are usually large errors in the storm paths predicted by computers because there are too many influencing factors."
"Besides, who can guarantee that the Mars lander can withstand a storm."
“Once the Mars probe rolls over, our astronauts will never come back.”
“Without enough food, water and oxygen, the astronauts will not be able to wait for rescue. .”
“The risk is too great.”
Mo Jingchun, who was sitting in the last row, held the candy in his arms and watched the teacher chatting with other scholars.
As the chief designer, no one knows the Mars lander better than the teacher.
At this moment, Chen Xihe came over and asked Mo Jingchun with a serious face:
“Mo Jingchun, if the Mars lander takes off at the edge of the storm, can your algorithm maintain the Is the Mars lander balanced?"
Mo Jingchun was stunned for a moment, then nodded quickly and replied:
"Theoretically, there is no problem, it's just..."
"What time has it been? Let me tell the truth once and for all."
Mo Jingchun didn't dare to be careless and told him. worries.
"Teacher, you also know that the more complex the environment, the more times the algorithm calls the attitude balance engine to ignite, and the longer it takes."
"If there is insufficient fuel, the Mars lander will Even if it rises to the atmosphere, it will eventually fall under the influence of gravity.”
"Okay, I understand."
The next moment, Chen Xihe made a decision and asked the Mars lander to ignite and take off in seven minutes.
When the Mars lander was designed, possible emergencies were taken into consideration, and 20% of the fuel was reserved. (End of this chapter)