Great Country Academician

"Speaking of which, is it really impossible to expedition to the Barnard Galaxy?"

In the office, after chatting for a while, Academician Chang Huaxiang looked at Xu Chuan and asked curiously.

Hearing this, Xu Chuan looked at him in surprise and said, "Didn't we just talk about it?"

Chang Huaxiang smiled and said, "With the current aerospace technology, it is indeed impossible to expedition to the Barnard Galaxy six light years away, but you still have something hidden in the chat just now, right?"

Hearing this, Xu Chuan shook his head and said, "Putting hope on a technology that has not yet been researched, that is really unrealistic."

He knew what Chang Huaxiang was talking about. It was a theoretically feasible new electromagnetic propulsion technology that the two had talked about last year, "magnetic reconnection explosive electromagnetic engine.

And he also completed the theoretical basis of this technology "Magnetic Reconnection in Electron Magnetic Fluids·Theoretical Study on Magnetic Twist Stability".

Theoretically speaking, magnetic reconnection explosive electromagnetic Propulsion technology can accelerate spacecraft to about one-tenth the speed of light.

But so what?

Not to mention that there is no sign of this technology now, even if it is broken through, the distance of six light years is still an extremely distant concept for today's humans.

Even if it travels at one-tenth the speed of light throughout the journey, it will take at least sixty years to reach the Barnard Galaxy.

For current humans, this is almost a lifetime, and it is a journey that is destined to be a one-way trip.

Even if human cryonics technology is perfected in the future, allowing astronauts or explorers to survive this extremely long time, it is still an extremely difficult task to travel to the Barnard Galaxy.

After all, there are too many problems to be solved in the expedition.

And even if it is the Barnard Galaxy There is a planet suitable for human habitation, but it is too far away for current humans to migrate.

It is even possible that the humans who have migrated there will develop into another independent "race" over a long period of time.

After all, the distance of six light years is enough to isolate everything.

So compared to conquering the Barnard Galaxy, Xu Chuan is more willing to devote his energy to the transformation of Mars.

Judging from the current detection situation, Mars is not without the potential for transformation.

If the results are achieved, this will be more meaningful than the expedition to the Barnard Galaxy.

Because it means that humans will master the technology of transforming planets, and it also means that the exploration and development of the universe will no longer be fixed on completely earth-like planets.

This is far more valuable than sailing six light years to conquer another galaxy. value.

After all, there are countless planets in the universe, and most of them are unlikely to be the same as the Earth.

If they can be transformed, it means that humans can choose a wider range of places to live.

At the same time, on the other side.

In the deep space orbit of Mars tens of millions of kilometers away, after eating a space meal, the rotating deputy captains of the space team Liu Yang and Tang Shengjie went to the cockpit to replace Jiang Xinlin and Tang Hongbo.

Although the Hanhai space shuttle has a very high degree of automation, a series of tasks from takeoff to landing can be completed by the central control computer and AI intelligence.

But considering that this is Mars tens of millions of kilometers away from the Earth, the Mars landing team still chose a rotation system, and two people would come down in the cockpit every time to stare at the status of the space shuttle.

However, for the astronauts sitting in the cockpit, most of the time they just stare at the unchanging scenery outside the window, guarding against accidents that are almost impossible to happen.

After successfully completing the handover, Liu Yang and Tang Shengjie first checked the status of the space shuttle as usual, then returned to their seats, sat down, fastened their seat belts, and stared at the scenery outside the porthole in a daze.

They were hovering in the Mars orbit, and it took about 45 minutes to circle Mars. At this point, they were on the back of Mars, and the scenery outside was almost as dark as the abyss.

After waiting for about 20 minutes while chatting, a touch of color gradually appeared in the dark deep sky outside the porthole.

It was a blue-white light, which was the light emitted by the sun 200 million kilometers away.

Under its shining, the planet under their feet gradually revealed its original appearance.

The thin atmosphere reflected the light of the stars, and the red iron oxide on the surface looked like a raw ruby ​​that had not been polished.

Although the two had seen this kind of scenery more than once, every time they saw it, they would still be shocked by its mysterious and heart-moving scenery.

After staring at the ground of Mars for a long time, a tall mountain that towered into the clouds and seemed to break through the horizon came into their eyes.

"Olympus volcano!"

Liu Yang muttered subconsciously, and her eyes fell on the towering peak on Mars.

No matter how many times she saw it, she was still shocked by it.

This is a scenery that cannot be seen on Earth, even though she is an astronaut, has been to space many times to perform various missions, and has overlooked the beautiful mother planet of the Earth many times.

"It is really shocking. I heard that Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in the entire solar system."

Sitting aside, Tang Shengjie also stared out of the porthole, staring at the majestic peak.

Under the early morning light, the thin atmosphere on the surface of Mars seems to have covered it with a hazy veil, which is very dreamy.

Although the color of Mars is slightly monotonous compared to the Earth, it is a completely different feeling for those standing in deep space looking down at the planet at this moment.

Especially the majestic and towering Olympus volcano, standing in the deep sky is so shocking.

"Tell me, is there life on Mars?"

After staring at the majestic Mount Olympus for a while, Liu Yang asked curiously.

"Who knows?"

Hearing this question, Tang Shengjie shook his head and said, "Judging from the current situation, the possibility of life on Mars is still very small, right?"

As far as the eye can see, although Olympus is majestic and tall, the desolate Mars does not look like it is alive.

After a pause, he seemed to remember something again and added:

"But I heard that a long time ago, Mars seemed to have a vast ocean and atmosphere like the Earth, and the environment and temperature were far more suitable for the survival of life than now."

"Maybe life evolved on Mars at that time."

His eyes fell on the desolate Mars, Tang Shengjie shook his head gently. He is not very optimistic about the existence of life on Mars.

The desolate environment, the thin atmosphere, and the lack of magnetic field make it look like life can still exist.

Of course, there may still be some tenacious life on Mars.

After all, they found traces and fossils of life on the moon, which has a harsher environment than Mars. Although Mars is harsh, maybe some microorganisms or bacteria can survive from ancient times?

Just like tardigrades on Earth, extremely tenacious creatures that can survive in extreme environments, even in oxygen-free environments.

Whether they survive in harsh environments such as high temperature, low temperature, or high radiation, or even after ten years of drying, they can be resurrected by adding an appropriate amount of water.

In addition, tardigrades are able to survive in extremely dry, freezing, anoxic, and high-salt environments.

This ability stems from their ability to enter a cryptozoic state, expelling more than 95% of the water from their bodies, shrinking their heads and legs, and curling into a dehydrated state to adapt to extreme environments.

If tardigrades from Earth came to Mars, these tiny arthropods, which are only one millimeter in size, might actually be able to survive.

And if life really evolved on Mars in ancient times, it might be possible for there to be some tenacious creatures surviving to this day.

In the cockpit, Liu Yang smiled and said: "Whether there is life or not, we have to explore this time when we go down. Maybe we can find a clue from it?"

In addition to becoming the first country to successfully land on the moon this time, they must have come with various scientific research tasks.

For example, Mars sample collection, Mars geological structure detection, Mars resource survey, Mars navigation system construction, etc.

Detecting whether there is life and traces of life on Mars, digging underground rock formations, and searching for life fossils are also planned.

In a few hours, they will be able to stand on Mars.

In the cockpit, just as Liu Yang and Tang Shengjie were chatting, the cockpit door opened automatically.

Outside the door, Gui Haichao, who was wearing a spacesuit inside the cabin, walked in, looked at the two people sitting in the driver's seat with a smile, and said, "Please, Captain Liu, please take over duty for me."

Liu Yang smiled and said: "It's okay, I'll go and rest first."

"Um."

Gui Haichao smiled and nodded, took over the task from Liu Yang, and sat in the driving seat of the space shuttle again.

At the same time, Liu Yang and Tang Shengjie both left the cockpit and prepared to sleep in the crew cabin to maintain energy.

However, the purposes of the two are different. Liu Yang is preparing for tomorrow's launch operation.

She is the only female astronaut in the mission team, and it is inevitable that her position will be missing in tomorrow's mission.

And Tang Shengjie is preparing to succeed Gui Haichao tomorrow.

This time, there are six manned mission teams in total. They have arranged the mission as early as on earth.

Among them, Zhai Zhigang, Liu Yang, Jiang Xinlin and Tang Hongbo are the fire boarders and will carry out the fire boarding operation on time at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning.

Gui Haichao and Tang Shengjie stayed on the space shuttle, making preparations for the reception while conducting a series of scientific research experiments.

Although it would be a pity not to be able to stand on Mars down-to-earth, neither of them are professional astronauts, and they have no objection to this arrangement.

There was no talking all night, and the space shuttle Hanhai sailed quietly in the low-Earth orbit of Mars.

It was 6 a.m. Earth time, four hours before the official launch, but the four-person team on board the space shuttle preparing to launch the mission had already woken up.

In the work cabin, Zhai Zhigang, who had already put on the spacesuit inside the cabin, came to the communication equipment and clicked on the screen.

"This is the Hanhai space shuttle. I am Zhai Zhigang, the leader of the landing team. Calling the Earth Command Center. We have successfully reached the low-Earth orbit of Mars and are about to enter the launch orbit."

A brief sentence was transmitted through the space shuttle toward the distant deep space toward the blue planet.

During the long wait, Zhai Zhigang has been staying in front of the communication equipment, waiting for the response from the earth.

As early as March when the first batch of unmanned exploration space shuttles landed on Mars for exploration, they released communication satellites to establish a complete communication system in the high orbit and Lagrange point of Mars.

This is to ensure their communication with the earth headquarters.

After all, the two are too far apart. If they rely solely on the space shuttle itself, they will lose communication with the earth headquarters when they run to the back of Mars.

So an additional communication satellite system is indispensable.

And now, this communication system can ensure that they maintain uninterrupted communication with the earth.

If the closest distance between Mars and the earth is about 55-60 million kilometers in early August, according to the signal transmission speed of electromagnetic waves, they should receive the signal from the earth headquarters in about six to seven minutes.

Sure enough, after waiting for a while, a distant voice came from the headset.

"This is Xiashu Space Base. The ground command center has received your contact. Please keep the communication normal. I wish you all the best!"

Compared to the previous manned lunar landing project, the space shuttle has all the autonomy when manned landing on Mars due to the long communication time.

Whether to land on Mars according to the normal plan will be decided by the six people on the space shuttle.

If they encounter an accident or force majeure, they have the right to cancel the landing plan and return to Earth directly.

For China today, even if the landing on Mars fails, it is nothing. At most, the reputation in the aerospace field will suffer some blows.

Compared to the successful landing on Mars, it is obvious that the safety of the lives of several astronauts is more important.

In the cabin, the brief words from the ground command center sounded in Zhai Zhigang's earphone, which made his heart surge and his blood swell.

Take a deep breath and he quickly said: "Hanhai received it. We will carry out the landing on Mars according to the plan!"

Now, it's their turn.

Landing on Mars is their mission, a mission that must be completed no matter what!