Huayu 05, our science fiction movie universe

Chapter 648 The Martian (Part 2)
While the Chinese space agency on Earth was in chaos because of Zhang Beihai's survival, the team members on the return journey aboard the "Tianwen-6" spacecraft were completely unaware of this and were still immersed in the grief of losing their captain.

On the other hand, on the more distant Mars, having initially resolved the survival crisis and having more time to maneuver, Zhang Beihai has begun to make longer-term plans.

He knew that the space agency's next Mars exploration mission would not be until three to four years later, and he also knew that the landing site for this mission would be the Skiaberelli Crater, 3200 kilometers away from the "Zhurong Outpost".

This means that four years later, he will need to be at his destination when the astronauts land.

However, the current problem is that the "Zhurong Outpost Base" only has one landing vehicle, and its maximum range is only 35 kilometers when the battery is fully charged.

This is only the first problem. In addition, based on the maximum speed of the lander, it will take about 50 days to travel from the Zhurong outpost to the landing site of the next Mars expedition.

That means he needs to prepare 50 days' worth of supplies in the car.

For this purpose, Zhang Beihai even risked driving a Mars rover to test it out, but the cold of the night almost made him freeze to death.

Therefore, Zhang Beihai had to take a huge risk and activate the radioactive heat source (plutonium-238) that they had previously buried in the ground.

In addition, in order to make contact with Earth, he thought of another method and risked traveling to the ruins of the "Tianwen-1" Mars probe, which is 800 kilometers away from the Zhurong outpost. This is the earliest probe sent to Mars by China, and it may still have repairable communication equipment.

After towing Tianwen-1 back to its base, Zhang Beihai successfully activated its camera system and established a basic connection with the China Aerospace Command Center on Earth.

Although they had to wait 20 or 30 minutes between each conversation, they basically got to know each other's situation.

The China Aerospace Command Center on Earth now knows that Zhang Beihai is not only alive, but also that he can live even longer on Mars.

Everyone was stunned, especially when they learned that Zhang Beihai had already grown potatoes on Mars.

In response, Zhang Beihai also joked about it:

"According to the previous naval rules, if I plant crops with this shovel, the land will be ours."

However, soon after communication was established, a more serious problem was presented to both parties.

How can we rescue him? And when should we rescue him?
Or perhaps... we should give up?
During the exchange, both Zhang Beihai and the aerospace command center remained silent for a long time. In the end, it was Zhang Beihai's former team leader, now the chief commander of the Mars exploration mission, Zhang Hongyi, who made the final decision and personally spoke to Zhang Beihai:

"Comrade Zhang Beihai, the organization is now giving you one last task: do everything possible to survive."

"Live as long as possible, that's an order!"

"Guaranteed to complete the mission!"

Zhang Beihai's deep voice echoed in the screening room, and the massive Huaxia organization began to take urgent action at that moment.

The space agency first contacted the Tianwen-6 spacecraft to inform Cheng Xin and others that Zhang Beihai was still alive.

This left the team members on Tianwen-6 with a mixture of shock and elation.

Afterwards, the aerospace department organized a large number of experts to discuss how long Zhang Beihai could survive on Mars given his current condition, and whether he could hold on until the new "Tianwen-7" spacecraft was in place and launched.

If that's not possible, are there any other methods? Could we arrange for a new spaceship to bring Zhang Beihai back, or send him a batch of supplies?

After careful discussion, the experts concluded that Zhang Beihai's current potato cultivation area on Mars could sustain the plantation for 900 days.

At this time, China's space agency could have accelerated the process of building and launching Tianwen-7 to Mars.

If this trend continues, Zhang Beihai might suffer a bit on Mars, but he should be out of danger.

But this is a movie. Deng Shuang glanced at his watch and saw that only half of the screening time had passed, so he knew that things were definitely not that simple.

Sure enough, just as Zhang Beihai's potato field was reaping another bumper harvest and the Mars survival plan seemed to be progressing smoothly, on the morning of the 134th Martian day, a disaster struck without warning.

The use of hydrazine (NH) to catalyze water production caused abnormal air pressure inside the base. In addition, the aging of the connection between the entire base and the airlock led to a sudden depressurization and explosion, and the powerful airflow instantly destroyed the greenhouse.

In the low-temperature, low-pressure Martian environment, all the potato plants and the microbial communities used for cultivation in the greenhouse died almost instantly.

Zhang Beihai watched in despair as his months of hard work vanished into nothingness.

After taking stock, the remaining potato reserves, plus the original supplies, were only enough to last about 600 days.

In the most recent communication with Earth, the resupply rocket currently planned by China's space agency will take at least 800 days to arrive, leaving a time gap of more than 600 days.

What should I do?
Someone in the department suggested that since China's rockets cannot be deployed at present, could we borrow readily available rockets from other countries?
Because of the Three-Body Crisis, relations between countries on Earth have improved somewhat.

So China first sought help from Europe, and then from the United States.

Fortunately, the United States does have a heavy-lift rocket that can fly to Mars.

With the coordination of various parties, the American rocket "Iris" took off ahead of schedule, carrying supplies for Zhang Beihai.

To make matters worse, the hastily launched "Iris" exploded and disintegrated shortly after liftoff due to a loss of balance, because it had not undergone sufficient testing.

Upon hearing the news, Zhang Beihai found himself in an unprecedented crisis:
With food running out and hope of rescue fading, he even prepared to record his will. However, he then thought that his parents had both passed away, so who could he leave this will to?

Zhang Beihai lay curled up in the base, the makeshift plastic sheeting used to repair the breach in the base howling in the wind, making him anxious that it might be blown apart at any moment.

In this half-dreaming, half-awake state, he seemed to dream again of his conversation with his father in the hospital room.

They talked about family matters and the development of the Space Force. Mr. Zhang also shared his thoughts and offered many suggestions for Zhang Beihai's future career as a father.

Together they imagined the appearance and size of China's future space warships, and discussed space warfare weapons with great interest...

As they were about to say goodbye, Zhang Beihai finally asked one more question.

"By the way, Dad, what about the future?"

Yes, what about after thinking about it?

Zhang Beihai woke up from his dream. It was already daylight outside, and it was a new day on Mars.

We must not only think, but also take action!
Zhang Beihai looked at the last task given to him by his former captain, Zhang Hongyi, written on the blackboard.

Do everything you can to survive!

Yes, even if his situation is difficult and dangerous now, is it as dangerous as the situation that Captain Zhang Hongyi faced back then?

If the three of them were able to return to the Tiangong Space Station alive back then, I'm sure I can too this time!
Zhang Beihai rallied and, with a positive and optimistic attitude, established contact with the China Space Command Center on Earth.

He actively participated in the rescue mission and shared his experience and insights gained during this period. Even if he doesn't make it back, this information on growing potatoes on Mars will undoubtedly provide valuable assistance for China's future base construction on Mars.

It was under this collective wisdom and effort that the China Space Command Center on Earth quickly came up with a new and audacious, almost insane, plan:

That is to use the "Tianwen-6" spacecraft to accelerate via a gravity slingshot during its return to Earth, change course, and return to Mars to carry out a rescue mission, rather than waiting for a slow resupply mission.

This eliminates the need to launch a heavy-lift launch vehicle to Mars again. Instead, the Tianwen-6 spacecraft can dock with the Tiangong-3 space station to replenish supplies and fuel before setting off again.

Such a plan could shorten the rescue time to several months.

Of course, this plan also carries significant risks.

The first step was the docking of the Tianwen-6 and Tiangong-3 resupply spacecraft. Considering that it needed to use Earth's gravity as a slingshot, Tianwen-6 could not slow down and had to use its gravitational inertia to fling itself back to Mars.

This requires the two spacecraft to dock while in relative motion.

Furthermore, even if the spacecraft reaches Mars orbit, there will be no new spacecraft to land on Mars. Therefore, Zhang Beihai will need to find a way to launch himself and enter "Tianwen-6".

They need to accurately calculate the spacecraft's orbital position when it passes Mars; the opportunity is only once, and the risk is extremely high.

Fortunately, whether it was the China Aerospace Command Center on Earth, the astronaut team on Tianwen-6, or Zhang Beihai on Mars, they all fully utilized the advantages of democracy and maintained a consensus on their opinions.

The Tianwen-6 probe returned to Mars to pick up their captain.

Meanwhile, Zhang Beihai also resumed his busy work on Mars.

Under the dual guidance of Earth and Tianwen-6, Zhang Beihai launched his final life-or-death sprint.

He modified the Mars rover, removing unnecessary parts to reduce weight, adding solar panels and a radioactive heat source (plutonium-238) to withstand the Martian cold, and loading all the stored food and water onto the vehicle.

Zhang Beihai had already gone all in. He abandoned the relatively safe Zhurong outpost, drove the modified Mars rover, traversed Martian canyons and impact craters, endured sandstorms and equipment malfunctions, and finally arrived at the location of the launch vehicle that the "Tianwen-7" mission was intended to deploy.

In order to allow the spacecraft to reach the orbital altitude required to rendezvous with Tianwen-6, Zhang Beihai removed all non-essential components from the spacecraft, including the hatch, seats, and control console. He even replaced the top cover with a plastic sheet, reducing its weight to a simple but lightweight "metal bucket".

At this moment, after completing its gravity slingshot maneuver, Tianwen-6 swept through the Martian atmosphere at an extremely high speed.

However, when Zhang Beihai took off in the airlift vehicle, it failed to reach the predetermined docking altitude because the quality still exceeded expectations.

At the critical moment, Cheng Xin decisively ordered the decompression of the spaceship's airtight compartment to slow it down.

The reverse thrust generated by the explosion caused Tianwen-6 to decelerate drastically, but it still maintained a critical distance of 300 meters from Zhang Beihai.

In a life-or-death moment, Zhang Beihai made a final, desperate decision—he used a tool to puncture his spacesuit glove, using the rapidly leaking oxygen to generate thrust, just like he had trained with a surface jet aircraft when he was in the navy, and flew towards his teammates in space.

Cheng Xin disregarded the danger, secured by a safety rope, and leaned out of the cabin. With remarkable decisiveness, she finally grabbed Zhang Beihai's arm in space.

At this moment, time seemed to have flowed backwards for six years.

In Wang Hao's film "Gravity," it was Zhang Beihai who grabbed Cheng Xin's hand, but now, it is Cheng Xin in "The Martian" who brings him hope of life, completing a small loop in the cinematic universe.

As the two were pulled back to the spaceship in each other's arms, hundreds of millions of people on Earth witnessed this interplanetary rescue through live broadcast, with applause and cheers shaking the heavens and the earth.

In the final scene of "The Martian," Tianwen-6 successfully carried Zhang Beihai on his journey home.

After a long interstellar journey, the spacecraft safely returned to Earth, and the astronauts also returned home safely, setting foot on their motherland's soil.

At this moment, even Zhang Beihai, a soldier, couldn't help but want to kiss the ground beneath his feet.

Only through experience can one understand the meaning of "home"—a place where the soul and bloodline are intertwined.

Logically, Zhang Beihai should have become a globally renowned hero, but during their mission, the "cosmic flicker" phenomenon created by the Trisolaran civilization (see The Three-Body Problem 1) brought the situation on Earth into a new phase.

Everyone is paying attention to the upcoming "Wallfacer Project," the space elevator project currently under construction, and the launch of a new macro-nuclear fusion project.

Even Zhang Beihai's return did not cause much of a stir in the media.

Fortunately, Zhang Beihai himself didn't care about these things. He declined the high-profile publicity from the official media and the commendation from the aerospace department, and returned to the ranks of the Chinese Space Force to accelerate the construction of the Space Force in order to deal with the crisis brought by the Trisolaran civilization.

He also shared his own experience of surviving on Mars and returning safely at a meeting within the Space Force to prevent the spread of defeatism within the military.

According to Zhang Beihai, he also experienced moments of despair on Mars.

The feeling of being all alone on the entire planet, 80 million kilometers away from Earth, is hard not to feel despair.

But what comes after despair?

Since its founding, has the Chinese People's Liberation Army faced countless desperate situations?

Was the Long March not difficult enough? Or was the Korean War not dangerous enough?

If we broaden the scope, haven't the darkest moments and desperate situations that the Chinese nation has experienced been numerous enough?
Why was the Chinese nation able to break through the darkness, and why was the People's Army able to ultimately achieve victory?
Zhang Beihai reached into his military uniform pocket, pulled something out, and placed it on the conference table.

It was a potato, grayish-brown, the most ordinary kind, seemingly just dug out of the ground.

"Our predecessors used to eat this stuff in the freezing cold during the Korean War, and it was thanks to it that we won the victory."

This same thing helped me survive alone on Mars for 6 days.

We have the most romantic sentiments, and we have long looked up at the starry sky and named our nation after the Milky Way.

It also possesses the most simple and unadorned culture, deeply rooted in the soil.

The former gave us direction, but when we have no direction... it's okay, at least we can calm down and focus on filling our stomachs and surviving first..."

With Zhang Beihai's voice, the Space Force's conference room disappeared, and he appeared in a cemetery, walking to a tombstone.

He took off the medal he received for the Mars mission and placed it in front of the tombstone, which bore his father's name.

As he turned to leave, the last words spoken by the father and son during their conversation were uttered in a narration style.

"Beihai, all I can tell you is that you should have thought about it more before!"

(End of this chapter)