Dead on Mars

In Kunlun Station, Tomcat and Mai Dong were moving the tomato seeds.

“We need a germinating bed. The seeds need to have moisture maintained during the germination stage. Moist cotton or cloth would do… Tang Yue, you’re back?” Mai Dong said when she saw Tang Yue enter. “You are done moving the solar panels? How’s the weather at Kunlun Station today?”

“The solar panels are in place. Clear skies.” Tang Yue took off the Radiant Armor’s life support system and threw it to the side to have it recharged. “There’s one benefit to this godforsaken land. There’s no need to worry about it raining when drying salted vegetables. If I were from Planet Dried Radish, I’d definitely love Mars.”

Tomcat found a metallic tray and placed the ten tomato seeds in it. Then, it tore open some medical cotton and soaked it in water.

Tang Yue crawled out of the bulky Radiant Armor and found a spot where the girl couldn’t see him. He took off his clothes, draped on an insulation blanket, and once again turned into a caveman on Mars.

Tomcat carefully wrapped the moist cotton around the tomato seeds before placing them in the metal tray.

“Remember to maintain the temperature at 25°C before they sprout. Low temperatures aren’t conducive to their germination,” Mai Dong reminded. “Seeds which have undergone vernalization only need about three to five days to protrude. Once that happens, you can transplant the sprouts into soil.

“What do you mean protrude?”

“That’s when the sprouts appear. You will see the plantule,” Mai Dong explained.

Tomcat nodded before placing the wrapped seeds on the rack. Kunlun Station’s room temperature was at 25°C. This temperature was very conducive for the growth of tomatoes. Tomcat rubbed its paws in glee for it could soon see adorable new life appear.

Mai Dong let out a long sigh. The initial work for the planting of tomatoes was finally over. The subsequent work was for Tomcat and Tang Yue to continue acquiring water and fertilizer, while they awaited the seeds to germinate.

“By the way, Tomcat. I’ve just remembered something.” Tang Yue hung the Radiant Armor on the wall. “When I was inspecting outside Kunlun Station, I discovered a hairline crack… It’s about this long, and is on the left wall of the airlock.”

Tang Yue gestured with his hands. It was a length of about 30 centimeters.

“The paint peeled off again? When did you discover it?” Tomcat turned its head over.

“Yesterday afternoon.”

“Hairline crack?” Mai Dong was a little worried. “Will there be any problems?”

“Don’t worry. It happens often. It’s no big deal.” Tang Yue shook his head. “The paint on the hull had a hairline crack. There’s no problem with the main structure. Kunlun Station is an old building after all. It’s normal to have some of its paint peel off.”

Kunlun Station was indeed a research station that had some years to it. It had been on Mars for about ten years. Like the United Space Station, it was a product of the early Mars landing missions. Every subsequent Mars landing mission would have the astronauts carry out a series of maintenance tasks on Kunlun Station, changing its equipment, doing upgrading works, or mending. The hull of the Kunlun Station was painted with a layer of white polyester which was used to protect the internal structure. The layer would constantly be damaged, so it needed periodic maintenance.

“How much more paint do we have left?” Tomcat asked.

“None.” Tang Yue threw up his hands.

“There’s still tape, right? Use tape to mend it.” Tomcat sighed. “New for three years, old for three years, patch it and it lasts another three years.”

“There’s not much tape left… There’s only a few rolls. Damn it, were those people eating tape or what? Or was Old Zheng using the tape to play some bondage game?”

“Who could he play with?” Tomcat asked.

“Old Wang,” Tang Yue answered.

“Oh…” Tomcat imagined the scene. “Using tape to bind Old Wang’s strong-looking muscles. What an amazing scene.”

Tang Yue got out the tape from the cabinet, looked up, and saw the girl on the screen appearing down. He smiled. “Mai Dong, you don’t have to worry about Kunlun Station. This crappy building is very solid. It has a long lifespan. It can last longer than Tomcat, so it won’t break down before we die.”

Tang Yue was speaking the truth. There were many things in Kunlun Station, but the thing with the longest lifespan was the station itself. The oxygen and water recycling systems and the temperature control systems were very intricate equipment. They could only be used for about ten years, but Kunlun Station had a shell that could last a hundred years. Tang Yue had no chance of seeing Kunlun Station collapse in his limited lifespan.

Mai Dong nodded.

Tang Yue donned the Radiant Armor again, carried a huge roll of tape, and opened the airlock’s hatch.

He was about to mend the crack on Kunlun Station’s hull.

“Good luck!” Tomcat waved its paw.

Tang Yue suddenly stopped moving.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“F*ck.” Tang Yue cursed. “My leg cramped again.”

…

Mai Dong gently tapped on a keyboard. She was managing the various modules in the United Space Station. During this period of time, Mai Dong had been learning how to manage the massive object she was in. She adjusted the solar panels and battery reserves’ efficiency to try her best to extend the space station’s lifespan.

The United Space Station was the most expensive and complicated research facility humanity had created to date. It had various unique advantages, something that labs on Earth and the ISS didn’t have.

Back when the Mars United Space Station project was first approved, it was done under the auspice of being a deep-space laboratory. It promised to provide an experimental facility that could last years. It received funding from basic research grants and research institutes. Originally, Congress wasn’t willing to spend so much money building a space station in Mars’s orbit, but the Orion spacecraft could be used as a relay for landing.

As it was a distance away from all human interference and noise, the United Space Station was an excellent observation facility of electromagnetic radiation. It was like a silent room in deep space. Every minute sound on the United Space Station was amplified a thousand times over.

The space station was big enough to carry large-sized observational equipment; therefore, projects in cosmology and theoretical physics fought for a spot on the space station. In the Dawn module, there was a very accurate neutrino detector. It wasn’t large in size, but it was heads and shoulders above the Super-Kamiokande.

There was also an X-ray telescope. Its goal was to prove Hawking radiation, while also making the Hubble constant more precise.

Also, there was a large-scale spectroscopy remote sensing equipment. As this item circled Mars with the United Space Station, it precisely determined the distribution of water and methane on Mars.

There was also Max. He had brought plenty of paper and might have proved Goldbach’s conjecture if Old Wang’s The Elder Scroll’s hadn’t appeared.

There were indeed plenty of achievements here.

The academic world expressed with joy that the future Nobel prizes in physics for the next two decades would come from the United Space Station.

It was rumored that the next Mars mission would carry gravitational-wave observation equipment that was a two-thousand-kilometer long metallic rod. To be honest, Mars didn’t know how they were sending such an object, but the bolder the humans were, the more rockets could be held.

Mai Dong had shut down most of the observational equipment except a couple that were directed towards Earth. At the same time, it maintained its attempts to track Orion I. To date, Mai Dong hadn’t given up the search for Earth and Orion I. She still had a slim hope that a greeting from Earth or Orion I would appear on screen when she woke up one day.

The space station continued collecting radio waves from every direction as the girl silently watched the screen, only to see nothing.

Mai Dong shook her head. Such waiting was meaningless.

She turned to leave the Crystal module.

As she passed through the APAS, she suddenly heard a soft “beep” behind her. She was taken aback as she turned her head.

Could it be that she had heard wrong?

A few seconds later, she heard another beep from the core module. Her mind went blank for she had heard it clearly. Immediately, joy rushed to her head. It was a signal! The space station had received an unknown radio signal!