Die on Mars

Tang Yue looked up at the sun hanging low in the sky and set up the solar panels.

The solar panel structure is very simple, without any complicated steering mechanism. Ultimately, it is to reduce weight. There are more than 40 panels in total. All power supply in Kunlun Station is provided by these panels.

The battery board gives priority to powering life support systems such as batteries, OGS, temperature control, fresh water filtration, etc., followed by communication systems, lighting systems and the Kunlun Station main computer. The system computer at Kunlun Station consumes a lot of power. In order to save energy, Lao Mao usually shuts down most functions of the workstation. Anyway, there is no scientific research and observation work now. After the earth disappeared, Tang Yue stopped all academic research.

The last time the system computer at Kunlun Station was fully powered was three months ago when it was delivering supplies to Ophiopogon japonicus to calculate the orbit. Since then, the computer has never received any important tasks.

Conduct a self-check regularly every day, check each functional module of the Kunlun Station, and then send greetings to the Joint Space Station. This is the daily work of the Kunlun Station system computer. Even the oldest 386 computer can do this kind of work. It is really useless. Its powerful CPU and data processing capabilities.

Tang Yue placed the last battery panel, then leaned against the cart and slowly sat down to rest.

Forty solar panels were neatly laid out on the sand. Tang Yue nicknamed them "Battery Farm", and he walked around the solar panels, starting from sunrise to sunset every day. , he really looks like a farmer.

Not far behind Tang Yue is the descent stage of the Eagle spacecraft. The ascending stage of the lander was launched three months ago. The descent stage is still here. It is a five or six meter high cylinder with a thick landing gear. When propped up, the white surface paint has been blackened by the exhaust flames of the engine, but it is still very conspicuous.

Tang Yue often went to the Eagle spacecraft for a walk, just like visiting a neighbor or an old friend, sitting down and talking to it... although the Eagle spacecraft never made a sound and would only listen silently.

He only has so many friends, including Ophiopogon japonicus on the space station, the old cat in Kunlun Station, the lander standing on the sand, and the stray Martian dog in the garage. These people and objects form a small human society. This is Tang Yue's whole world. As long as he doesn't step out of this small world, he can still feel the protection and warmth from human civilization.

"Tang Yue, can you hear me? Another tomato plant in the space station has set fruit!"

Maidong's voice sounded on the channel, his tone was surprising.

Tang Yue couldn't remember how many times Ophiopogon japonicus had told him about tomatoes.

"How many tomatoes did you grow?"

"Hmm... about seven or eight. There are not many tomatoes." Ophiopogon japonicus replied, "There are also ten Arabidopsis plants, eleven lettuce plants, twenty-three lettuce plants, seventeen potato plants, and there is also one Wholesale Nodida.”

"Do you want to turn the space station into a botanical garden?" Tang Yue asked, "If you plant so many plants, they will compete with you for oxygen and water... You are not short of food, so why plant so many tomatoes?"

"I'm very careful. Water consumption is well controlled. The incubator uses capillary osmosis to transport water, which minimizes the waste of water." Ophiopogon japonicus replied, "The space station is too deserted. Plant more plants and it will be lively. A little."

"Be more lively? Plants can't talk..."

Tang Yue was stunned. Speaking of it, he was the same. The Eagle spaceship also couldn't speak, so he still chatted with the other party.

"The growth of tomatoes is very gratifying. The first batch of plants that bear fruit are already very big and the colors are very bright... These are the seeds that I carefully selected at the beginning, and the survival rate is over 97%." You can tell the joy in the girl's voice. She has been taking care of these plants carefully for the past three months. The tomato seedlings that sprouted at the beginning have now grown up and bear fruit. Ophiopogon japonicus is as happy as a vegetable farmer with a bumper harvest.

"Girl, are you majoring in botany or vegetable farming?" Tang Yue asked, "Are you studying scientific vegetable farming?"

"My research direction is 'the relationship between plant growth under long-term high-irradiation microgravity conditions and ecological cycles in a closed environment.'" Ophiopogon japonicus spat out an extremely lengthy sentence.

She paused and then said:

"It's called growing vegetables in space."

"Hello, vegetable farmer."

"Originally, we did not grow vegetables. There were many sample plants used in the experiment, most of which were algae with simple structures, such as Nostoc algae and brown algae. The environmental conditions required for the growth of mature angiosperms are too harsh and they themselves are too fragile. If we want to try to modify the Martian environment in the future, or build a small ecosystem in the spacecraft, we must start with simple algae." Maidong continued, "Algae, a lower plant, is the target of my research."

There was the sound of plant leaves rubbing in the background as the girl spoke. It was obvious that the girl was picking tomatoes while talking.

"Five...six, seven, wow, this is big...I'm going to freeze the tomatoes so that they can be preserved longer."

Ophiopogon japonicus keeps talking about tomatoes. It seems that the research on plants and ecosystems under microgravity conditions and the real goal of algae are all fake. This girl has been completely immersed in the joy of the harvest, counting and counting. Throwing tomatoes in the basket is a vegetable farmer through and through.

"It won't cause pollution, right?"

"It's all soilless cultivation." Maidong shook his head, "It won't cause pollution."

“Can potatoes also be grown without soil?”

Tang Yue was a little surprised. Shouldn't potatoes be buried in the soil? Without soil, how can you grow potatoes?

"Tubers or root-type plants can be grown through aeroponics. Do you know aeroponics? It means atomizing nutrient solution for irrigation, and then you can see potatoes growing suspended in mid-air." Ophiopogon japonicus smiled, " None of this is difficult for me.”

Tang Yue stood up, returned the cart to the garage, and then returned to Kunlun Station - he had finished laying out the solar panels, and he could go back to simply eat something, replenish energy, rest for half an hour, and then start the afternoon's work Work.

Afternoon tasks include:

Check the status of all aspects of Kunlun Station.

Quarrel with the old cat.

Check the status of Mars Stray Dogs.

Quarrel with the old cat.

Recycle your solar panels before the sun goes down.

Quarrel with the old cat.

Tang Yue opened the door of the airlock, staggered into the airlock, turned around, closed the door, and turned on the decontamination system.

"Old cat——! I'm back."

Old Mao opened the inner hatch, and Tang Yue walked in panting. Suddenly, he stumbled and fell to the floor.

"Tang Yue?"

Tang Yue looked down at his feet. His calves were shaking violently, as if they were cramping, and he couldn't exert himself. "Old cat... there seems to be something wrong with my feet."