Die on Mars - Chapter 199

c199 Day 322 (9) The last party in the universe

Lao Mao and Tang Yue sat in front of the computer for a full six hours, until the sun set outside and the dark star curtain climbed up. During these six hours, neither one person nor the cat dared to take a breath, although the posture adjustment of the space station was a matter of time. Working extremely slowly, Tang Yue could not even see the reduction in angle with his naked eyes, but this was actually the most urgent life and death crisis the United Space Station had faced since its establishment.

During these six hours, the United Space Station flew nearly seven times around Mars. Finally, Maidong was able to position the sun in the center of the porthole – three axes are needed to stabilize the attitude of the space station. The first X-axis has been stabilized. The next step is to solve the roll on the Z-axis plane.

“It’s very troublesome…” The old cat’s two paws were hanging on the keyboard and he was typing, but he still refused to press it. “The degree of freedom of SPT276 is too small, and the thrust direction cannot completely coincide with the rolling direction, so there will be extra velocity components. .”

Tang Yue stared at the space station on the monitor. Generally speaking, the joint space station after the impact was in an extremely complex state of motion. Orion almost cut the space station in half, and the center of mass of the latter has undoubtedly changed dramatically – troublesome The old cat still lacks effective detection methods, so it can only fumble to adjust the thrust of the engine.

“How much propellant is left in SPT276?” Old Cat asked.

“Twenty-seven percent.”

“We may not be able to completely stabilize the attitude of the space station.” Lao Mao sighed, “Based on the current situation, without adding other disturbances, we can reduce the tumbling speed of the space station to at most three degrees per second – —This is already the optimal solution.”

The SPT276 electric rocket is turned on again. This will be its last mission. After stabilizing the attitude of the space station as much as possible, SPT276 will completely run out of working fluid and end its historical mission. It was born in the precision workshop of Kawasaki Heavy Industries. It was launched by an H3A rocket following the Hayabusa III probe at the Tanegashima Space Center. It has set foot in the asteroid belt two astronomical units away. Its journey has been long for forty years. billion kilometers, and finally rested on the Mars Joint Space Station.

Sunlight shines in through the porthole. This circular porthole is probably the only object in the entire crystal cabin that remains relatively stationary with Ophiopogon japonicus. Everything else is slowly rotating. The girl has collected the bits and pieces floating in the cabin. Up, secured in bulkheads and storage boxes, they tumble along with the space station.

There is no physical contact between Maidong and the core module. She can keep the same direction as the sun and Mars, but there will be relative motion between her and the space station. Maidong took a gentle breath, and the water vapor condensed on the glass mask. The core module The bulkhead passed slowly over her head.

The current temperature inside the core module is minus 11 degrees Celsius.

After the destruction of the OGS, the oxygen and fresh water circulation failed, as did the temperature control system. The temperature in the Crystal cabin began to drop sharply after entering the back side of Mars, and only recovered slightly after returning to the sunny side.

She held the straw in her mouth, took a sip of water, and moistened her dry throat.

The remaining three liters of fresh water are all in the water bag of the space suit. There are two sets of indoor suits in the crystal cabin, each of which stores 1.5 liters of fresh water.

Food is more scarce than water.

There were only two compressed biscuits in Maidong’s hands. The reason why these two biscuits survived was because of Maidong’s work habits. A while ago, she worked tirelessly to modify the Orion spacecraft, and she often carried wrenches, screwdrivers and biscuits with her. Later, she developed this habit. As a habit, I always carry food in my pocket and a piece in one pocket.

These two fortune cookies escaped disaster along with Ophiopogon japonicus, while its compatriots have long been scattered in the vast sky.

“Tang Yue…can you hear me?”

The instrument panel of the emergency communication system passed before Mai Dong’s eyes. The only red indicator light was flashing once a second. The old cat’s deceleration was very effective, and the space station’s turning speed had obviously slowed down.

“Huh? Girl? I’m here.”

“Can the space station be saved?” Maidong’s tone was very calm, “If it can’t be saved…”

“Yes, yes, yes! Don’t worry, it’s definitely possible! The space station can definitely be saved. We will control the posture of the space station soon!” Tang Yue interrupted her hastily, “Tianzhou 37 is on the way! As long as Just hold on, and it will take you down safely! You have to believe in the party and the people!”

“Every time you make me believe in the party and the people.” Maidong smiled lightly, “But there is not even a party branch here.”

“I will develop Lao Mao into a party member now!” Tang Yue said, “In this way we will have a party branch, and the organization has already studied and decided on rescue methods! The lifeboat is coming soon! Tianzhou 37 is coming soon! ”

“But it will take another twenty days to arrive.” Maidong said, “I only have three liters of water and two biscuits in my hands, so I won’t be able to hold on until then.”

“Let’s speed it up! We can let Tianzhou 37 ignite the engine and rush over as quickly as possible!” Tang Yue’s voice sounded calm, “Do you think it’s… an old cat? The branch secretary is asking you, Let the Tianzhou 37 cargo spacecraft start the rocket engine and speed up!”

“I have asked Tianzhou 37 to start the engine.” Lao Mao took off his earphones and replied in a low voice, “The estimated arrival time is two hundred and fifty-one hours later, which is ten days later.”

“Make it go faster! That girl only has three liters of water and two biscuits left.” Tang Yue looked ferocious, staying away from the microphone to prevent his voice from being heard by Mai Dong, “Except for the fuel used for landing and reverse thrust, all other propellants are Use it for me!”

If he hadn’t deliberately lowered his voice, he would have almost shouted.

“You don’t need to remind me about this!” Old Cat replied in the same tone, “But how much propellant you spend to accelerate, you will consume how much propellant to decelerate later! Otherwise, let alone landing, you will not even be able to complete orbit! Ten days is already the limit. If it is shortened any longer, it will not be captured by the gravity of Mars and will miss Mars, and that will be the end of it.”

The old cat had a fierce look in its eyes and fur all over its body, as if it had encountered a stray dog ​​trying to steal cat food from it.

Tang Yue and Lao Mao stared at each other for a long time. In the end, both sides took a step back. No matter how much they argued, it was of no avail. No matter which side won the argument, it had no impact on the outcome. Tang Yue was in a hurry, but Lao Mao was. Correct, Tianzhou 37 cannot accelerate without limit and must leave enough fuel to decelerate into orbit.

Tang Yue pressed his forehead and sat down on the chair, “Girl, there are still ten days. As long as you persist for ten more days, Tianzhou 37 will arrive. Although there is a little lack of food and fresh water, it will be a little difficult… but you have to Have confidence.”

“Um.”

“Apart from food and fresh water, the bigger problem is the orbit of the space station.” Lao Mao jumped in. “The explosion and impact of the Orion propellant tank have caused the orbit of the space station to decrease sharply. This is the most fatal, and there is nothing more to it. For a long time, the Mars Joint Space Station will crash into the atmosphere.”

“How long?” Maidong asked.

“It’s hard to estimate. I currently lack detailed orbital data of the space station and cannot make accurate calculations.” Lao Mao replied, “What’s more, the situation of the space station itself is not stable, and many structures are on the verge of disintegration. Judging from the current situation, the remainder of the joint space station Lifespan should be seven days…”

Seven days?

Tang Yue’s heart suddenly shrank.

Lao Mao stared at the computer monitor and added one last sentence.

“…to eleven days.”