Die on Mars

Tang Yue remained silent.

He leaned on the body of the Mars Stray Dog and used cables to pass through the handrails and steps of the Mars rover, tying himself firmly to it. Tang Yue could no longer stand still. As early as two hours ago, his legs had His legs were already so cold and numb that he had lost consciousness. Now he just felt like he was stuck on two wooden stakes, his knees could not bend, and the instructions from his brain could no longer be transmitted to his leg muscles.

This reminded Tang Yue of being on Earth, where he and Lao Wang were thrown into the Daxingan Mountains for training in a group of two, in a world of ice and snow, with temperatures as low as thirty degrees below zero. This kind of wilderness survival training is an ancestral repertoire, and everyone must participate. The people at the astronaut center plausibly said: "If you fall into no man's land in the wild, I don't want you to turn into wolf dung!" - Although The return capsules of Mars missions actually splash down on the sea.

Lao Wang is a serious professional astronaut and a mission expert, while Tang Yue is a dabbler. He is a payload expert. The talkative king takes good care of Tang Yue. At three o'clock in the morning, the mountain is blocked by heavy snow, and the two of them are squeezed into a thin canopy. In the tent, external communication was cut off, and outside the tent was thigh-deep snow. Tang Yue's hands and feet were numb from the cold, so Lao Wang rubbed his hands and feet until dawn.

At that time, Lao Wang told him, Tang Yue, I can see that you are a cruel person.

Tang Yue asked me where I was cruel? I cut my finger while cutting vegetables and had to stay in the hospital for three days.

Lao Wang patted him on the shoulder.

During the overload training, you were the one who scolded the director in the centrifuge for eight generations of his family, right?

The rover supported Tang Yue, and Tang Yue supported the antenna. This communication antenna was a very large and heavy thing, taller than Tang Yue himself.

God knows how he managed to survive. Perhaps Lao Wang was right. Deep down, Tang Yue was an extremely stubborn person. Sometimes he would be like a mad dog, biting something tightly and not letting go. , he won’t let go even if you beat him to death. Just like when I participated in the overload training at Jiuquan Center, the centrifuge accelerated all the way. The other load experts pressed the alarm when the overload reached 6 G and were defeated. Only Tang Yue held the alarm in his hand, but kept saying "Holy shit" Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!”

He just fucked me until he reached 8G.

Tang Yue glanced at his watch. It was now a quarter past three in the afternoon, and the strong wind showed no sign of weakening.

He listened to Maidong apologize to them on the channel.

The docking failed and the lander derailed. Logically speaking, they had reached a dead end and even Lao Mao had given up. But Tang Yue didn't think so, and an inexplicable ferocity and cruelty came out of his heart. He is a man like a mad dog, who will bite something hard and not let go. Beethoven said that he would bite the throat of fate, but Beethoven is nothing, he will bite the throat of fate viciously!

He is a mad dog, and he wants to lock his fate into a chokehold! Even if you beat him to death, he won't let go.

"Mr. Cat, Mr. Tang Yue, you must live well..."

"Shut up." Tang Yue said coldly.

Maidong was stunned.

The old cat was also stunned.

"Mr. Tang Yue, I...I..." Maidong didn't know what he said wrongly, which made Tang Yue unhappy.

"Shut up." Tang Yue said, "From now on, don't talk, don't say anything! I don't want to hear last words. Now is not the time to leave last words. I'm not dead yet. If you die, I don't want to lose face." Already?"

"I'm not dead yet, and I won't let you die. Damn this cruel universe." Tang Yue squeezed out a little more strength from nowhere and shouted, "Old Cat!"

"I am here."

"Specific situation? Specific situation? The relative position and speed of the two? Let me think of another solution!" Tang Yue asked, "Tell me the specific situation."

The old cat pondered for a long time.

The cursor on the screen flashed regularly, and the computer gave the expected trajectory.

"The joint space station and the lander are still in a coplanar orbit, but the height difference between the two orbits is too big. The height of the space station is 403.5 kilometers, and the height of the Eagle spacecraft is 322.1 kilometers, a difference of 81.4 kilometers. The straight line between the two The distance has increased to 157.5 kilometers." Old Cat replied, "No, Tang Yue... it's too far..."

Eighty-one kilometers, eighty-one kilometers, eighty-one kilometers, eighty-one kilometers. Tang Yue closed his eyes and recited this number silently in his heart. There was still eighty-one kilometers left!

"The worst thing is that the altitude of the Eagle spacecraft is still declining. Its current orbital perigee is as low as 113 kilometers. The lander will pass through the Martian atmosphere at perigee, further consuming energy. It is expected to land after one orbit. The altitude of the spacecraft will be reduced to 284.0 kilometers, and the altitude difference between the two will increase to 119.5 kilometers."

"According to this trend, after six laps, the lander will completely fall into the atmosphere."

"How much propellant is left in the Eagle spacecraft?" Tang Yue asked.

"There are still 20 percent left." Old Cat replied, "Such a tiny amount of propellant cannot complete the orbit change. It can only be used to control the attitude at most."

Twenty percent, twenty percent, twenty percent, Tang Yue closed his eyes tightly, with 20% of the propellant remaining.

"In this case, the connection is hopeless." Old Mao sighed, "Tang Yue... I can understand your mood, and I am also very sorry, but we are running out of ammunition and food, and we are running out of oil and lamps. It is true that we have It’s hopeless.”

"Shut up."

"Mr. Tang Yue, please don't..." Maidong said timidly.

"Shut up." Tang Yue said viciously, "Girl, we are saving your life, do you understand? This is your own life, not anyone else's! If you understand, please shut up! If you don't understand, please shut up. ! If you don’t want to live anymore, then I’ll think about it for you!”

Tang Yue leaned against the rover. He closed his eyes and his body and limbs were cold, but his brain suddenly became clear. The parameters reported by the old cat rolled over and over in his mind, combining and breaking apart each other. , the orbits of the space station and the lander intersected in front of Tang Yue's eyes.

There is still life... there must be the last chance of life! It's hidden in the numbers! Physics and mathematics are indeed iron laws that are welded to death, but he, Tang Yue, is a one-in-a-billion miracle!

Tang Yue opened his eyes, and the wind and sand around him gradually faded away. In the darkness, he saw the damaged space station and the Eagle spacecraft rolling out of control in the distance.

At that moment, something penetrated his brain.

"Old Cat, we still have a chance."

"What?" The old cat was stunned, "What did you say?"

"Old Wang said before that I am a ruthless person with great wisdom and foolishness. The more critical the situation, the faster my mind spins. I didn't believe it before, but now I believe it." Tang Yue stood on the sand, and the wind around him gradually became silent. It was as if he was in the universe, speaking to the void, "Old cat, we still have a chance."

"what chance?"

The old cat was surprised.

"The mountains will not go to Muhammad." Tang Yue said softly, "But Muhammad can go to the mountains!"