Dead on Mars

Tang Yue and Tomcat drove the Mars Wanderer around Kunlun Station, labeling and retrieving samples from the soil beneath them in sequence. As a transportation vehicle, the Mars Wanderer was undoubtedly lacking, but as a research apparatus, it was probably the most complex and expensive geolab in human history.

Ignoring the cost of delivering it to Mars, just the cost of building it was 400 million American dollars.

Apart from the driving and engine systems, most of the expenditure was on the experiment module which didn’t have any driving force. All it had were four wheels, allowing it to be dragged along. On it was almost all the functions one needed for any testing. From surveying and mapping to drilling to spectroscopy, to carbon and hydrogen analysis, these intricate and expensive apparatuses made for an all-rounded geolab with power delivered by solar panels.

Tang Yue sat on a chair, on the work desk in front of him was a microscope and a computer screen. On the other side of the work desk was a neat row of test tubes filled with soil samples. The experiment module was very cramped as it was filled with all sorts of equipment. If two adults were to sit in the module with their backs together, it would be difficult for them to even turn around.

“Is the analysis of B3 done?”

Tomcat stood on a rock outside the vehicle as it surveyed the area. It lowered its body to retrieve soil samples before pasting a label on the test tube.

“Sample B3 is being analyzed.” Tang Yue wore a mask and protective goggles as he used a stirrer to loosen the soil sample, ground it even, before pushing it under the microscope.

Tomcat and Tang Yue had separate jobs. Tomcat was responsible for driving and retrieving samples, while Tang Yue was to sit in the experiment module to do measurements and analysis.

Tang Yue had taken off his EVA suit because there was no way he could do work with any level of precision in the bulky clothes. The Mars Wanderer’s geolab was an air-tight module with two doors. On this point, it was different from the driving compartment. Therefore, inside the experiment module, passengers could take off their EVA suit, and carry out ordinary work with an IVA suit or even ordinary clothes.

However, the experiment module didn’t provide an OGS, so the oxygen had to be provided by the Radiant Armor.

“How many layers does your face mask have?” Tomcat asked.

“Two.”

“I think you should wear another two more,” Tomcat said.

Tang Yue was taken aback. “Why?”

“You need to know that the soil in front of you comes from Mars. There are objects that the immune system of Terran creatures, which took hundreds of millions of years to evolve, have never made contact with before,” Tomcat slowly replied. If you were to accidentally suck the fine dust into your windpipe or mouth, letting it make contact with your skin, who knows what sort of strange reaction or allergies you would have.

“For example, your windpipe’s inner walls might quickly swell, blocking it and leading to suffocation. You would die in three minutes,” Tomcat added nastily, “Or something abnormal happens to your immune system, and your lymphocytes fail in detecting problems, causing your lungs to bleed profusely. This would also kill you in three minutes.”

After a moment of silence, Tang Yue took the IVA suit’s helmet and put it over his head.

The microscope magnified the dust samples by a few hundred times. Under the magnification, the dark brown dust became gorgeous and colorful. The crystalline, multi-faced particles looked like quartz or diamond. As Tang Yue moved the mouse, the minute minerals sparkled under the background light.

“Tang Yue, how’s the soil quality for this batch?” Mai Dong asked.

“I can’t tell a thing.” Tang Yue shook his head. “Wait a moment. I’ll send you a screenshot. You decide.”

Tang Yue took a screenshot of the microscope’s image and sent it to Mai Dong.

“Hmm… This is the third specimen on the B row?”

“Yes.” Tang Yue nodded.

“Tang Yue, look carefully at these minerals under the microscope. The layered ones are silicate compounds, mainly nontronite, montmorillonite, and muscovite. Finally, the shiny ones are calcites.” Mai Dong gave the analysis. “Clearly, these are gravel formed from weathered rock. They have no means of retaining water, making them unsuitable for planting tomatoes.”

Tang Yue’s blank expression was colored with a look of enlightenment.

He looked blank because he didn’t know any of the names of those minerals.

He was enlightened because he now knew that the soil couldn’t be used to plant tomatoes.

However, Mai Dong’s understanding of the Martian soil far exceeded his expectations. As a researcher in vegetation, did this lady also take the opportunity to study the Martian soil for the plantation of tomatoes?

Tang Yue didn’t have a deep understanding of Mai Dong’s background. All he knew was that she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from Zhejiang University and a Master’s degree from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. She had planned on heading to Princeton or MIT for her doctoral studies, and even though he knew that this lady was a scholarly academic, he had no idea how scholarly she was—the beginner kind that did well in exams or the supreme kind that had a thorough understanding of everything.

Based on the present situation, Mai Dong might very well be a scholarly academic that had hidden how scholarly she was. The possibility that she was a supreme scholar couldn’t be eliminated.

“Sample C1.”

Tomcat opened the first hatch of the experiment module and placed the test tube in.

At a glance at the test tube’s soil, Tang Yue wasn’t surprised if it was another sample that wouldn’t be conducive for the planting of tomatoes.

After he finished grinding it, dissolving it in water, and filtering it, he placed the solution into a spectrophotometer.

The results were as he expected.

“Tang Yue, look at that absorption spectrum. The highest peak represents perchlorate ions, and the one behind is chloric acid ions. These two are far beyond the norm, which means that this sample’s dissolvable perchlorate salts and chloric acid salts are too high. Having high a concentration of salt ions can damage the plant’s root cells and osmotic balance. This kind of soil isn’t suitable for planting tomatoes.” Mai Dong shook her head.

Sample C2.

“Tang Yue, this won’t work.”

C3.

“Not up to standards.”

C4.

“Not suitable.”

Tang Yue placed all the samples that didn’t meet the requirements aside. Then, he recorded the results in a notebook.

Tang Yue mused at the fact that Mars was truly not conducive for humans to live on. They couldn’t even find soil that could plant tomatoes. He immediately missed the fertile black soil on Earth. Almost anything planted could be harvested. A grain planted in spring led to a harvest in autumn a thousandfold. It was practically the selfless gift from nature, the source of human civilization.

In the film, “Gone with the Wind,” Scarlett O’Hara’s father once told his daughter that the land was “the only thing in the world worth workin’ for, worth fightin’ for, worth dyin’ for.”

And in truth, the people of the past didn’t deceive him. Scarlett’s father was a philosopher. He immediately saw the core importance that land had in the developmental history of human civilization.

A piece of land that could plant tomatoes was precious.

Now, if someone had this piece of land to offer, Tang Yue was willing to die for it.

“Tang Yue, how many samples do we have in total?” Tomcat patted on the experiment module’s wall.

“Eleven.”

“Any discoveries?”

“Yes,” Tang Yue replied. “We discovered that the soil on Mars isn’t suitable for planting crops. Whatever you plant will die.”