The legend of Tiga

Chapter 2022: Mars Atmospheric Modification

“This is Mars.”

Asuka Xin looked at the dark red color that filled the round windows outside, his eyes full of surprise.

As mentioned before, Mars is ravaged by storms all year round, and the wind speed is extremely high. The wind speed of a Category 12 typhoon on Earth can reach 30 meters per second, but the wind speed of a global storm on Mars can reach 180 to 190 meters per second.

The dust on the surface was blown up layer by layer during the long storms, exposing the minerals originally buried underground.

Among them, hematite deposits are the most numerous, and hematite, which is iron oxide, is not only iron red in color, but also reflects red light under sunlight.

After the dust covering them was blown away, these ores were subjected to weathering far more strongly than that on Earth. Like a small knife, it scraped off the hematite bit by bit, resulting in a large amount of brown-red iron oxide fragments, which were blown high into the sky with the storm and filled the sky, further enhancing the depth of Mars' red color.

Therefore, at dawn and dusk, the Martian sky will present a unique light blue color due to the refraction and reflection of sunlight, which becomes a unique landscape of Mars.

But such beautiful scenery contains great danger.

Because the air contains too many iron oxide fragments with a diameter of ten microns, or one hundred thousandth of a meter, they collide and rub against each other under the speed of the storm, generating static electricity and even sparks. Once these enter the interior of instruments and equipment, they will cause instrument malfunction and equipment damage.

From the beginning of the construction of Mars City to the present, there have been countless mechanical failures caused by metal debris, and even a transport ship almost crashed.

If people live in an environment with a high or even very high concentration of metal debris for a long time, it will cause great harm to the lungs and even the entire respiratory system. This is also one of the purposes of the transformation of the Martian atmosphere, which is to slow down the movement of the atmosphere and allow heavier metal debris than air to settle down, and then combine it with the planting of grass and trees on the ground to fix the sand and debris, and ultimately achieve the purpose of purifying the atmosphere.

"Yes, this is Mars, desolate and dry, with only mountains and Gobi deserts. The surface water has completely disappeared, and all water resources are hidden deep underground." Chiba Makoto was also looking at Mars. Although it was still dark red, the khaki color had become much lighter than before the atmospheric transformation began. Obviously, the atmospheric transformation was still effective.

On the screen in front of the seats, comparison pictures of Mars were being shown, from the color of Mars to the buildings on the surface and the achievements of the Martian builders over the years.

This is also an image that must be shown on every flight from Earth to Mars, so that people visiting Mars can visually see the changes on Mars and understand the hard work of the builders of Mars.

"It's not easy."

Asuka Shin sighed from the bottom of his heart, compared to this, life on Earth is so happy.

There are all kinds of beautiful scenery, you can taste different cuisines from all over the world, as well as winding streams and the boundless sea.

As for Mars, it's just mountains and dirt, and there are sandstorms from time to time.

Although the salaries and job subsidies for the builders on Mars are extremely high, the problem is that Mars is still far from being self-sufficient. Most of the food and needs have to be transported from Earth billions of miles away, and the cost is extremely high. Therefore, Mars currently implements a strict material rationing system, and no matter how rich you are, you can't buy anything.

There is no other way. If we allow everyone to buy anything at will, it would be fatal if a material crisis occurs. Although the new Max propulsion system has greatly shortened the time required to travel between the Earth and Mars, TPC has only started exploring the universe for a few years and its financial resources are quite limited.

The higher the technological content and the larger the size, the longer it takes to build and the higher the maintenance cost. This is why there were hundreds of aircraft carriers and tens of thousands of aircraft during World War II, but now there are not many in the world alone.

The technological content of space transport ships is not low at all, and the construction period is not short. Even if TPC uses intelligent equipment, unmanned factories and other methods, the time is ultimately too short. Therefore, the number of space transport ships that can be put into use is not large.

With such a small number of transport ships, they must not only meet the needs of Mars, but also go further afield to transport supplies to TPC's interstellar bases and space stations in orbit around other planets.

The transport ships assigned to Mars are mainly responsible for the construction needs of the Martian city, and secondly for people's material needs. The transportation capacity is very tight, which is why even the excess weight of Director Fukami's private plane is used to load supplies. These supplies are outside the plan and will be distributed as gifts from Director Fukami to let the Martian builders feel the warmth from the earth and the care of the leadership.

Therefore, the people on Mars actually welcome leaders to visit and provide guidance, because every time they come, they bring a lot of things, allowing everyone to enjoy a little luxury, and the level of happiness is almost the same as during the Chinese New Year.

As they were talking, the transport ship had begun to slow down and land. Compared to the Earth, the atmosphere was much thinner, so the friction with the air was not intense during the descent.

Soon, we saw Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system and the iconic landmark of Mars. The destination of this trip was the largest canyon in the solar system, Valles Marineris, which is 1,500 kilometers away.

This distance seems far, but in fact it is just a short distance away.

Because the width of Mount Olympus reaches 600 kilometers, and it is 20,000 meters from the foot of the mountain to the top, and the Mariner Valley is nearly 5,000 kilometers long, more than 600 kilometers at its widest point, and more than 8,000 meters deep. Studies have shown that the formation of the Mariner Valley is most likely due to the uplift of Mount Olympus, which pulled the surrounding areas and caused a large tear in the ground, thus forming the Mariner Valley.

TPC's Mars City is built on a plain area in Mariner Valley. After years of hard work and efforts, it has grown to a certain scale. The silver dome houses scattered on the ground can be seen from high in the sky.

It is like a bowl, upside down on the ground, connected by silver lines, occupying a large area. When the sun shines on it, it shines silver and is quite conspicuous.

However, the silver color is not paint, but solar panels, which are used to provide electricity for the Martian city. Further away, there are several thick chimneys, slowly emitting billowing black smoke. That is the steel plant that was built with great effort.

As mentioned earlier, there is a lot of hematite exposed on the surface of Mars, and the difficulty of mining is extremely low. The construction of the Martian city requires a large amount of steel. Therefore, before the construction of the Martian city began, a steel plant was built first to utilize the hematite on Mars, thereby reducing the amount of transportation from the Earth.

"Welcome to the Mariner Valley Base on Mars. Have a pleasant journey."

Accompanied by a clear and pleasant broadcast, the hatch of the transport ship slowly opened, allowing Director Fukami and his team to follow the connected valve and enter the fully sealed Sailor's Canyon base.

This base was built on the edge of an abyss, and most of the buildings were located underground to increase sealing and better withstand storms. Less than one-fifth of the buildings were above ground.

The atmosphere transformation system is deployed underground.

Chiba Makoto followed Director Fukami and took the elevator down until they reached a spacious hall.

In the space of tens of thousands of square meters, countless steel pillars were erected to support this huge space of 20 to 30 meters high. A large number of instruments and equipment were placed inside. The flashing indicator lights were as dense as the stars in the sky. Workers in uniforms of different colors shuttled back and forth among the large number of instruments and equipment. Some were doing maintenance, some were recording data, and some were...
"Although a large number of intelligent and unmanned equipment are used, the importance of people has not decreased, but has become even greater," said Staff Officer Inoue, Director of the Atmospheric Modification Project Management Committee, while introducing the atmospheric modification system to Director Fukami along the way. "This is one of the halls of the atmospheric modification, where more than 50 atmospheric modification instruments are placed.

In the first phase of the Mariner Valley base project, more than half of the space is used for the transformation of the atmosphere of Mars. Currently, thousands of sets of equipment have been deployed, which can release hundreds of millions of tons of gas each year, affecting the tens of billions of tons of gas that Mars already has. According to the plan, the construction period of the Mars atmosphere transformation project is 350 years.

This time next year, the first phase will be completed and the second phase, which will last 20 years, will begin, with the goal of making Mars suitable for growing specific plants.”

Director Fukami walked, looked, and listened, nodding from time to time, or asking a trivial question. He came to inspect, not to find fault, so he naturally could not pour cold water on them. Instead, he encouraged and cheered up the hard-working guys, asking them to maintain their high morale and continue to strive for a better tomorrow for Mars.

At the end of the visit, Director Fukami stood in the middle and said to the Mars builders surrounding him with deep emotion: "The New Frontier Project is to expand the dreams and hopes of mankind into this boundless universe and to find a bright future for mankind.

This is the expectation of former director Sawai and the common wish of all mankind.

Human beings were born on the Earth, but they will never stop on this small planet. Instead, they will look to the vast universe, to travel, to explore, and to discover more unknowns.

Mars is mankind’s first step towards the starry sky, but it will never be the last step. You are the pioneers of mankind and the great founders.

The people will not forget you, TPC will not forget you, and history will not forget you."

clap clap-

There was intense applause, exciting and enthusiastic.

Director Fukami's words made people's blood boil and their faces flushed with excitement.

Chiba Makoto saw many technicians clenching their fists and looking extremely excited. They looked like they could work hard for three days without blinking an eye.

As expected, leaders’ condolences and affirmation of achievements can bring people a great sense of accomplishment, make them very encouraged, and enhance the people below’s affirmation and trust in the upper levels.

No wonder Director Fukami insisted on taking this step. No one could let go of such a powerful weapon that could unite people's hearts, and he had to do it himself.

After finishing the inspection of the atmosphere modification system, Director Fukami had lunch with some engineers, paid attention to their lives, and asked if they had any difficulties.

In the afternoon, he went to the nearby experimental area without stopping, and expressed his condolences to the builders of Mars City and the scientific researchers who were cultivating plants suitable for the Martian environment in the laboratory. He affirmed their efforts, praised their spirit, and said that the difficulties were temporary and the future would be bright.

After the visit and inspection, even with the assistance of a vehicle, I still had to walk a lot, not to mention dealing with all kinds of people and talking with a smile.

Asuka Shin, who was young and strong and watched the whole process, showed some fatigue on his face, but Director Fukami, who was doing it himself, still looked energetic and did not show any sign of fatigue at all.

This made Asuka Shin very impressed. As expected, not everyone can be a leader. The physical strength and language ability are not something that ordinary people can have.

If it were him, he would probably be at a loss for words after going to a few places.

But as for Director Shen Jian, whenever he goes to a place, he will have a cordial conversation and use different words of praise according to the different occupations and work they do.

This level of skill alone is not something that ordinary people possess.

Dragging heavy steps, walking in the sealed corridor on the ground, Feiniao Xin looked at the sky outside the window. The sun was setting and night was about to come.

Asuka Shin leaned close to Chiba Makoto's ear and whispered, "It's so late already, haven't you finished your schedule for today yet?"

"It should be about right." Before Chiba Makoto could finish his words, shrill alarms suddenly sounded from the front and back, and the alarm lights in the corridor began to flash.

This sudden situation startled everyone. The security personnel immediately surrounded Director Fukami and took out their guns and shields.

"Oh no, it's an air raid alarm," Staff Officer Inoue said in a panic. He contacted his men and shouted, "Turning right ahead will lead to the underground safe room. Quickly escort the director there."

Although he said this, he was actually very angry in his heart.

Why did the air raid alarm sound at this moment? Isn't this life-threatening?

If something happened to Director Fukami here, his future would be ruined, and all his previous efforts and years of hard work would be in vain.

Therefore, his first thought was to quickly send the director to the underground safe house and not let the director get even a scratch.

"Don't panic," Director Fukami pushed aside the guard who wanted to take him away. Without any panic on his face, he asked in a deep voice, "Air raid? Who are the attackers? Are they aliens? Where are our troops? Send them out immediately."

"I am asking."

Facing the director's questioning, Staff Officer Inoue's forehead was covered with sweat. Mars City had not been attacked for a long time, and everyone was a little lax. He had focused his main energy on the atmospheric transformation, which could easily yield credit. He could only turn his head and ask into the communicator what had happened.

But before I could get a reply, Chiba Makoto's voice rang in my ears: "A satellite deployed in the asteroid belt has discovered a large number of UFOs flying towards Mars. The images have been transmitted. This is.
Sphia Sphere!!!"

(End of this chapter)