Reborn in 2011, I am the chief designer of aerospace.

"They need three people to land in a MEM and then drill several deep core samples."

Sheng Tianhong began to realize what was going on. He looked through the photos again, asking, "Which area are these photos from?"

"This is one of the most eye-catching external passages, Sheng Tianhong. This is the Mangala Valley, a desolate place on Mars, our future landing area."

Sheng Tianhong grinned.

Mira, standing to the side, still didn't understand what Ganggang meant and hoped he could explain it again.

……

As they prepared to ignite the fire, Dima's tape was playing from the tape recorder in the cabin, drowning out the clicking and buzzing of the MEM equipment.

"The propellant tanks for the lift propulsion system have been pressurized," Jima stated.

"Received," Mira replied.

The upward channel is open; the downward channel is closed.

On the ground, Sheng Tianhong is the commander today.

"This is Gyeongju, less than ten minutes away, and everything looks fine. Just a reminder, we expect LGC's rendezvous radar mode switching to be the same as Surface 59... We assume the maneuverable target is in orbital mode automatically."

Mira stated, "Stop, press the button to reset, reset to the aborted phase."

Jima pressed the button, "Reset."

"Our guidance is PGNS, you have been approved to ignite."

"Roger that, we're in first place on the track..."

As Mira and Dima checked the pre-launch checklist item by item at an altitude of approximately 160 kilometers above Earth, the Memory Enhancement Module (MEM) and the command module spacecraft drifted slowly in formation. The command module, carrying pilot Yang Gang, resembled a jewel-encrusted work of art, gliding gently across the Earth's skies. The 30-meter-tall Memory Enhancement Module, like a luminous cone, far exceeded the size of the command module, surrounded by scattered discarded heat shield panels, its surface gleaming with metallic foil.

Its six landing legs were extended in a crouching position, but MEM was destined to fail to land.

Mira was strapped into a cramped compartment on the ascent platform, standing side by side with Dima. She wore an orange pressure suit, which made her look bulky and cramped. In front of Mira was a square instrument panel covered with various knobs, switches, and instruments. The two of them each held a remote control. Circuit breakers covered the walls, and wires and pipes were scattered on the floor.

The cabin has two small triangular windows, located on either side of the main deck. The window frames are engraved with mesh markings to guide the Mars landing. Blue light shines through the windows onto the deck.

There are three seats behind Mira, two of which can be folded up. During the landing phase, a third crew member, a mission specialist, will be stationed here as a passenger during MEM’s short single flight.

The hull of this experimental vessel is designed to be practical and highly functional. Most of it is unpainted, and the metal plates are only fixed with bolts. The electrical wiring is tied by hand. From the overall structure, it is clear that this MEM experimental vessel is the product of a conservative design, a crystallization of wisdom accumulated through thousands of hours of patient handcrafting. Its design follows the effective technical solutions of the past.

The building's structure has a rough exterior, with all the components riveted together, giving it a very casual feel. This rugged texture of the spatial hardware is quite unexpected for people accustomed to mass-produced technology, and it is completely different from the style of Star Trek.

But for Mila, MEM is real and almost authentic.

Landing on Mars in a spaceship assembled by humans is exciting enough for Mira, as being in space is already thrilling enough, but this idea makes her even more excited.

Of course, as long as the mothership is still operational.

"We're about to enter the two-minute offensive phase," Yang Gang shouted. "T minus two minutes."

"Received," Jima said, turning off the recording device.

Mira glanced at the control panel and found that the ascending segment had been activated and was no longer dependent on the lower segment battery for power; this was the first time it was ready to operate independently.

In this test simulating a launch from the surface of Mars, the entire seemingly unlikely MEM assembly was supposed to disintegrate, thereby releasing the rod-shaped ascending section with its bulky propellant tank.

Mira knew all too well that this was the moment the engineers feared most. The possibilities for this device to malfunction were simply too numerous. For example, what if the engine bay door was still deeply embedded inside the MEM descent section when the ascent stage ignited? If the ascent stage hadn't yet detached from the hull and encountered backlash or some kind of overpressure situation, the consequences would be unimaginable…

They will find out soon.

Jima stated, "PGNS includes automatic heading control, dead zone minimization, heading control, and mode control."

"Start it," Mira replied.

"Wait a moment," the ground responded.

The steering system has been included in the abort guidance procedure.

Mira activated the ignition system. "Okay, main arm is in place."

receive.

"You can leave now," Sheng Tianhong said.

"Received. Clear the runway."

Jima turned to him. "Are you ready?"

"Definitely."

"That guy might give us a good beating," Jima reminded her of the training. "Okay, Mira, in five seconds I'll trigger the stop procedure and start the engine, and you'll need to press the continue button."

"Start counting, nine, eight, seven, six, five."

Through the narrow window in front of Mira, the azure horizon of the earth slowly swept by, like a three-dimensional cloud sculpture arranged in a staggered pattern above a sea of ​​clouds.

Mira's computer screen suddenly flashed "99", prompting her to continue. She glanced at Jima across from her.

Jima shuts down the main ignition arm, and the engine arm rises.

Mira pressed the continue button.

A loud bang was followed by a clicking sound from the cabin floor. The pyrotechnic circuit breaker was blowing away the nuts, bolts, wires, and water pipes connecting the upper and lower levels of the MEM.

"The engines have started for ascent," Dima said. "We're taking off now." He added with a smile, "Great!"

After being assigned to the Mars main manned spacecraft mission, Mila was initially happy to accept the Type D test mission. Her first spaceflight might not be the most glamorous part of the MEM test program; that would be the only remaining Type E mission, which attempted to send an enhanced MEM through Earth's atmosphere and land in the Gobi Desert near an air force base—a mission assigned to a veteran crew led by Yang Gang. But the Type D mission, an eleven-day Earth orbit adaptation flight, might be the more important test. On the untested spacecraft, the crew would practice every aspect of the Mars landing mission, except for atmospheric entry and the final powered descent phase. They would also practice numerous contingency procedures that could potentially save future missions.

In the Micro-Aircraft (MEM) project, Mila and Dima have already embarked on an expedition from their base, covering a distance of over 100 kilometers. The spacecraft they piloted is the first unmanned rendezvous attempt in history, and its heat shield is far from strong enough to ensure a safe return. To make matters worse, the entire mission takes place in low Earth orbit, where the communication and navigation challenges are even greater than those of a lunar landing mission.

If this flight is successfully completed, the spacecraft will be qualified for manned missions. Only the Mars heat shield is yet to be tested. This is a space journey for experienced astronauts, designed specifically for real test pilots.

In addition, Mira is happy to fully immerse herself in the mission to escape the attention that comes with the Mars mission. As the first person to land on Mars, she is gradually adapting to this state, but this attention is both ruthless and distracting, and has nothing to do with her.

In her view, she is Mira, whole and complete, and not a symbol of someone else's agenda.

After they entered orbit and completed the opening of the hatch between the command module and the MEM docking module, Mira found herself floating in a blizzard of white fiberglass, blown out from the thermal blankets on the bulkhead. Mira and Dima spent the first few hours inside the MEM module, constantly vacuuming up the debris until their hair, eyelashes, and mouths were covered in the white substance, making them look like plucked hens.

Subsequently, Dima and Mila repeatedly crawled the MEM system, conducting comprehensive tests on each subsystem. However, without exception, these tests revealed problems, requiring diagnosis and repeated testing.

For example, the environmental control system of the surface shelter emitted a strange, acidic smell. After investigation, the odor was eventually located behind a panel where a piece of worn insulation material was slowly burning. The electrical system also suffered a serious malfunction; the entire instrument panel suddenly lost power, the inertial guidance system completely stopped working, and the entire metal sphere became stuck, constantly losing its locking function. The MEM's large antenna array also jammed, causing it to be temporarily unable to communicate with the command module or the ground...

In this turmoil, relations between the aircrew and the ground team became strained. As they dealt with the aircraft, Commander Dima worried that Jingzhou was unwilling to compromise on the scientific and public relations aspects of the flight plan, factors that Dima and Mila considered insignificant compared to the mission's engineering objectives. Suddenly, Dima displayed an unexpectedly tough stance, engaging in a heated confrontation with flight control. He canceled the television broadcast and crossed out entire sections of the flight plan with a blue pen.

Mira finally lost her patience with these troubles. She took a plastic lemon juice bottle from the pantry and hung it between the triangular portholes in the crew cabin, facing the ship's television, so that all the crew members could see their opinions on the new ship.

The only sound Mira could hear was the clicking of the ascending engine's ball valve opening and closing, a sound that was strangely reassuring, as if she could feel the mission progressing methodically.

Earth slowly moved away from Mira, and the launch capsule steadily ascended, heading towards the command module spacecraft. The entire process was so smooth, as comfortable as riding a glass-walled elevator.

Mira had little to worry about. Since there was no backup plan for the upgrade engine, it had to be 100% reliable, so the design was simplified as much as possible, retaining only two moving parts. Ball valves were used to release propellant and oxidizer into the combustion chamber. This oxygen and methane-fueled engine had no throttle valves or chokes. To operate it, simply start the main boom and ignite it, and it would burn continuously for about ten minutes as designed, safely returning the crew from Mars to the parking orbit.

Mira leaned forward, resting against her seatbelt, and through the porthole, she saw the descent platform slowly sliding down, a huge gap carved out of the center of the truncated cone. Cables and hoses severed by the guillotine swayed in the air, and the shockwave from the ascent engine blew off the foil insulation layer on the platform. Mira saw the insulation sheets spread outward like swirling snowflakes, forming concentric rings of ripples.

"26 seconds," Dima said. "We'll make a slight adjustment to the flight attitude. The whole process is very smooth and very quiet."

Mira prepares for MEM's dive. When MEM reaches an altitude of 5,000 meters above the Martian surface, it will initiate the dive procedure and, according to the program settings, rendezvous with the other members of the Soshen combination in Mars orbit.

The horizon tilted to her right.

Mira already felt heavy all over, and was suddenly pushed back onto the restraint device.

The tone was exactly as expected, but the vibrato was more shrill than she had anticipated, sounding more like a hissing.

Outside the window, the Earth's sea of ​​clouds is slowly churning, rising from the horizon to the sky.

Jima roared, "What the hell is going on?"

"The cabin is overheating, Jima," Sheng Tianhong shouted.

Mira realized that they had no idea what had happened.

A dazzling view swept overhead, the shadow of the circuit breaker swirled in space, and the steam from the reaction control system shimmered outside the window.

However, the automatic device was unable to regain control, and the rotation speed continued to increase.

"My God," Jima scoffed, "this is a real oddball. I need to put my eyeballs in a cage."

The track went out of control, and Mira immediately realized that Dima's judgment was correct.

Soon, the MEM completed one rotation per second, and the Earth swept past the window. Sunlight shimmered inside the cabin, dazzlingly bright.

As Mira rummaged through the dial, her vision began to blur; it was time to earn her flight allowance.

She began troubleshooting the malfunctions one by one, systematically pinpointing the root cause of the problem. First, she checked the potentially stuck thrusters. Whatever the cause, she had to stop the rotation immediately, as the navigation system could completely jam at any moment. She had to complete the manual control operation before the navigation system completely jammed.

She gripped the controller tightly and began firing energy into the RCS cluster, using Earth as a reference point, in an attempt to counteract the tumbling force during ascent and stabilize the spacecraft.

A sudden whirlwind intensified, and the RCS engine seemed to completely fail, causing her to feel dizzy. She and Jima continued their frantic attempts to control the MEM; if they couldn't control it immediately, they could both faint at any moment. In that case, even if the spaceship didn't disintegrate, the command module wouldn't be able to dock with the rotating hull.

Ultimately, they successfully shut down the guidance systems for the main propulsion and abort propulsion. With the automatic guidance system deactivated, the radar control cluster began to slow its pitch motion.

Dima cut off the engine in the ascending phase, and the rotational speed continued to decrease.

Mira had to look at the horizon to determine when her posture would finally stabilize, as the spinning nearly shattered her inner ear.

Jima's voice was strained, as if he was struggling to suppress the urge to vomit. "My God, you're right, Mira, this ship is an Edsel."

Mira stared intently at the horizon, the dizziness gradually subsiding. "No," she said, "the Edsel may be old, but it's not dangerous. This mothership is dangerous."

Ground commander Sheng Tianhong informed everyone that Yang Gang on the command module had initiated the return procedure from high orbit and was ready to receive them.