Technology: Breaking the monopoly global hegemony

Chapter 2522 Return
There is no time to mourn the hair lost by NASA engineers and scientists; the Zhurong spacecraft, about to land on Earth, is eagerly anticipated.

On the 20th day of the Zhurong spacecraft's return to Earth's orbit, during its cruise phase.

Engineers at Kyushu Technologies discovered some unusual phenomena in the microgravity laboratory: the plants in the culture chamber were withering at an abnormal rate.

The AI ​​system, Tiangong, discovered after a lengthy and in-depth inspection that the water circulation module of the life support system was contaminated with a type of nano-sized iron oxide particle.

These particles from the Martian atmosphere were only detected after intervention from the Kunlun City ground command center.

"They are corroding the polymer filter membrane. When did this get into the spacecraft's internal systems? We designed the seal to be of a standard higher than the lunar environment."

"Although the sealing is high enough, you've all overlooked one point: the Zhurong spacecraft will be in the Martian surface environment for a long time, with the three robots frequently entering and exiting. Although there will be an intermediate isolation chamber to keep Martian impurities carried by the robots out, this doesn't mean that these impurities will never be able to enter..."

"The oxygen regeneration rate is decreasing and is expected to approach the critical value in about a month."

In the command center, Li Jian, the most senior commander of Kyushu Xinghai Company, stared at the plummeting curve with a serious expression.

The Zhurong spacecraft was not operating during the optimal mission window. It also experienced a solar flare event on Mars. Although the three bionic robots on board were not human, the spacecraft carried the most important experimental materials and Martian materials.

Even so, Li Jian's orders still leaned towards "humanity".

"Activate the backup electrolysis system, have engineering robots disassemble the emergency compartment panel, and temporarily modify the filtration device using the spare platinum catalyst material inside the compartment."

"Elevate the AI ​​[Tiangong]'s permissions by one level. If there is an increase in communication latency, [Tiangong] must ensure the stable ecological characteristics of the bionic robot and the safe arrival of the spaceship in Earth's orbit..."

When fresh oxygen is inhaled into the lungs of the bionic robot, its lung device filters it and delivers it to bionic devices throughout the body in an instant.

By the time the engineering robots had completed the modification of the filtration system and the first drop of purified water flowed back into the storage tank, the spacecraft had already deviated from its planned orbit by 0.51 million kilometers.

Fortunately, the supplies and energy stored in the Zhurong are still able to stably support the daily needs of the three bionic robots and the experimental cabin.

Kyushu Xinghai Company did not broadcast or announce the incident during the journey.

However, NASA and other space agencies discovered that the Zhurong spacecraft had deviated from its orbit.

However, because the deviation was not long enough and the Zhurong quickly returned to the correct orbit, the experts from these aerospace agencies were only speculating whether the engineers and scientists of Kyushu Xinghai Company, or Kyushu Technology, were conducting a deliberate orbital deviation experiment.

After all, the Zhurong spacecraft is not currently carrying actual astronauts, which makes it a perfect opportunity to conduct such highly dangerous experiments.

If the Zhurong spacecraft is truly unlucky and deviates from its orbit, lacking sufficient energy to return to Earth, then with the technological capabilities of Kyushu Technology, it might still be possible to salvage it.

In the event of such a special accident during a future mission carrying astronauts to Mars or back to Earth, a contingency plan can be activated as a precaution. This has led many experts from international organizations to remark, "Jiuzhou Technology is truly well-funded and powerful. With so many precious material resources on board the Zhurong spacecraft, they dared to conduct such a highly dangerous experiment."

"If my team had been bold enough to take such risks back then, we might have been able to produce the results much earlier."

"I heard that Kyushu Technology has created flesh and blood bodies for these three bionic robots that are exactly the same as humans. They not only need to breathe and drink normally, but also have the same food requirements. If the food is not safe, they may even have stomach pain and diarrhea. Do you think these three bionic robots have the intelligence and emotions of us humans? Are they just simple 'objects'?"

Amid the discussions of these top international experts, the Zhurong spacecraft is getting closer and closer to Earth.

Interestingly, two months after the Zhurong was on the right track, Kyushu Star Sea Company quietly launched a global live broadcast.

Without the full ecosystem push from Kyushu Technology, and even with only the Mars-themed traffic push and advertising from the Kyushu Entertainment platform, over 5 people flooded into the live stream room within just one minute of Kyushu Xinghai Company starting the live stream.

As a live streaming platform that only displays the number of real users, Kyushu Entertainment's simultaneous online viewership of 5 is something only medium to large-scale streamers can achieve during prime time or when they are being quirky and entertaining at the most crucial moments.

"Holy crap, I just opened Kyushu Entertainment and saw that the special feature is broadcasting live, Zhu Rong Hao, I'm here to see you again!"

"It will be hundreds of days before we return. I wonder if the small boat will still be able to understand our local dialect. Waaah."

"Damn it, where did this sentimental freak come from? Get the hell out of here!"

"God, this spaceship has been stuck on an uninhabited planet for over a hundred days. Could it have been invaded by aliens like in the movies? Is our planet going to face catastrophe because of this spaceship?"

"Hollywood needs your script, boy, hurry up and submit it to the Writers Guild!"

"The picture quality of the live broadcast room of Kyushu Star Sea Company is still clear. The picture quality of the live broadcast rooms of other platforms is really not good. They are labeled as 4K, but in reality it is only 10080p."

While netizens were discussing the issue in the live stream, the official governments of these countries and regions on Earth were indeed jointly organizing and launching a discussion meeting regarding the Zhurong ship.

More than two hundred people, of different skin colors, languages, body types and genders, were discussing the same thing in a conference room.

"We must stop the Zhu Rong from landing on Earth! This is a must, because Mars is a planet where demons gather. The Zhu Rong has definitely been corrupted by demons, and it may even have been transformed into a demon itself. Have you ever seen a robot bleed, or a robot eat like us humans? Kyushu Star Sea Company is even broadcasting these scenes live. It's terrifying!"

"Representative, we live in a modern technological society. We respect your religious beliefs, but please think rationally."

“I think we should conduct a full review of Kyushu Star Sea Company, no, we should say Kyushu Technology Company. This company may be controlled by aliens.”

(End of this chapter)