Dead on Mars

Over the past three months, Tang Yue and Tomcat had discussed this in private more than once.

The United Space Station was ultimately limited in its self-sustenance. Even though it was far from reaching the end of its life, it was unknown how long the space station could endure without any supplies. Leaving Mai Dong alone up there left Tang Yue uneasy. If anything were to happen, neither he nor Tomcat could help her.

Another severe problem was Mai Dong’s health. The United Space Station wasn’t a place suited for prolonged residence. No one enjoyed living in cramped tunnels. If one had claustrophobia, it would be a nightmare. Under these repressed conditions, the negative effects of zero gravity and radiation far exceeded Tang Yue’s and Tomcat’s expectations. Mai Dong’s weight was rapidly dropping, and she was even beginning to lose her hair.

On Mars, Tang Yue had at least 0.38 G, but Mai Dong had practically zero gravity on the space station. Her environment was a lot harsher.

Seeing the girl become thinner by the day, Tang Yue got Tomcat to put their brains together, hoping that they could think of a way to get Mai Dong to land safely on the surface.

Tomcat expressed the notion that it was completely impossible technologically wise. Neither the space station nor Orion was designed to enter the atmosphere. The day they entered the atmosphere was the day they would be decommissioned and destroyed. The United Space Station used a large lattice-type frame, akin to a massive Lego toy. The structure could only exist stably in zero gravity, and would rapidly collapse once gravity or air resistance was applied to it.

Be it on Earth or on Mars, re-entry into the atmosphere was the hardest problem in aerospace engineering. It was also the most dangerous stage. Many probes had failed at this step. To re-enter without any driving force, a probe seeking re-entry needed to be designed in the shape of a cone or bell. The Soviets had briefly attempted spherical re-entry modules but later abandoned such plans due to the difficulty involved.

“The United Space Station’s average speed is presently 3,500 meters per second. It’s about ten times the speed of sound,” Tomcat said in a hollow voice. “Do you know what that means? With just a tick-tock, the space station would have traveled seven kilometers. It only needs five minutes to go from Beijing to Shanghai.”

“The United Space Station’s total mass is 600 tonnes. You can calculate its kinetic energy… 2.1 × 10⁹ kgm/s. That’s a very terrifying number,” Tomcat added. “Large amounts of energy are needed to reduce its speed. Hence deceleration is the first obstacle we need to face.”

“We can use Orion II’s rocket engines to produce a reverse thrust,” Tang Yue said.

“I can’t be certain how much fuel is left on Orion II. We had made the space station engage in an orbital maneuver back then, lowering and raising its orbit. That had expended a lot of the fuel.” Tomcat shook its head. “But so what if we can lower the space station’s height? That will only be courting death… I’ve said it before. The space station’s framework isn’t able to withstand the overload and high temperatures. When entering the atmosphere, the surface temperatures of the space station will exceed a thousand degrees Celsius. It will be burnt to a crisp.”

“Is there any module on the space station that can withstand such temperatures?” Tang Yue asked.

“Perhaps… But even if the module can withstand it, it doesn’t mean the passenger can,” Tomcat said. “That module will become a high-temperature container. Anything inside will be cooked just like braising chicken.”

“Overloading and the high temperatures are the second difficulty we need to face.”

Tang Yue fell into a long silence.

He knew that it was a difficult problem. Years ago, the pioneers of space exploration had racked their brains over the heat problem during re-entry. Finally, it was material science that gave an answer. The engineers covered the surface that heated

However, the space station’s outer shell didn’t have such materials. It was comprised of metal, engineering plastics, heat insulation films, and all kinds of random materials. The irregular shape greatly increased the resistance due to air. At the same time, certain areas would become heat spots; therefore, if the space station were to plunge straight into the atmosphere, the final outcome would be akin to throwing a candle into a bonfire.

This was practically redoing the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.

“Finally, there’s deceleration. Even if you are extremely lucky, allowing you to survive the first few obstacles, the space station would be dropping from the sky at supersonic speeds. Can you guarantee that the passenger won’t die from the fall?” Tomcat asked. “There’s no large parachute on the space station.”

Tang Yue grabbed at his hair and took a deep breath. “We still have Orion II’s engine…”

“It’s only a chemical rocket, not a nuclear-powered one. You have to realize that we have limited fuel.” Tomcat cut him off. “That rocket isn’t impressive enough to survive the spacecraft’s atmospheric entry.”

Tang Yue was rendered helpless. He greatly wished that Tomcat would say a “but,” before proposing a workable plan.

“Therefore, it’s impossible technology-wise to let the space station land safely,” Tomcat said with certainty.

At the end of the day, the human body was just too fragile. Any mistake in a long string of possibilities could be fatal. If the United Space Station wasn’t Mai Dong but Optimus Prime, the problem wouldn’t have been this complicated.

Why was there a need to decelerate?

How did overloading matter?

Why would high temperatures be a problem?

He could just jump down directly.

…

Tang Yue was very depressed, even though the outcome was within his expectations.

He and Tomcat had no way to create a possibility from impossibilities.

“Ignoring the supplies and materials, are we not able to bring a human down safely?”

“Not possible,” Tomcat said. “Getting a human to safely land is the hardest. A container doesn’t matter regardless of the shape, whether it’s round or flat, but a living person is different from a dead person. Think about the unlucky Komarov. When the rescue team pulled him out of the Soyuz 1, all that was left of him was a charred piece.”

Tomcat gestured a rectangle about ten centimeters wide with its paws.

Tang Yue facepalmed. Back then, he had promised Mai Dong that he would bring her down, but this promise was never going to be fulfilled. All Mai Dong could do was await her death out in space.

“Mr. Cat, I’m reading about evolutionary history… What’s the connection between Neanderthals and modern humans? They aren’t our direct ancestors, right?” Mai Dong asked.

“Strictly speaking, there’s some hereditary connection. Be it Asians or Europeans, they have 3% of Neanderthal genes,” Tomcat wore the earpiece and turned around to reply to Mai Dong. “However, Neanderthals and humans—who are Homo sapiens—are different subspecies. The former isn’t your ancestor. Humans came from Africa, and the first batch that left the African continent was Homo erectus. The second batch that left Africa were the Neanderthals. Only the third batch that left Africa were Homo sapiens, who were the ancestors of modern humans.”

“So the Neanderthals eventually became extinct?”

“Yes.” Tomcat nodded.

“Why?”

“It’s a long story…”

Tang Yue sat on the chair, propping up his chin as he stared at the computer screen. On it was a three-dimensional model of the United Space Station. The model was repeatedly spinning as Tang Yue fell into a daze watching it.

To successfully allow Mai Dong to land was truly an unsolvable conundrum.

This was different from the sending of supplies. The sending of supplies only needed them to overcome the difficulty of the natural conditions and mechanical malfunctions. The Eagle itself was designed to send goods up, but to get the space station to safely land was fool’s talk. The space station wasn’t designed with that in mind.

Tang Yue suddenly frowned.

“Tomcat.” Tang Yue reached out to shake Tomcat.

“What?”

“I… I have an idea. It can overcome the difficulties you mentioned,” Tang Yue said slowly. “Perhaps, there might be a chance. See if it will work.”

“What?” Tomcat was astonished.

“Eagle.” Tang Yue turned his head over as a glint sparkled in his eyes. “The Eagle spacecraft!”