The Science Fiction World of Xueba

Chapter 42: Navigation problem

222The 222nd Mars day.

17 [17:21] JPL: Xue Lin, I'm Tian Mu, and I'm talking to you at Wenchang via Pasadena transit. We have calculated your orbital scheme empirically. The height and speed of Hermes reaching Mars have reached the limit of MAV. You are too risky this time. The long journey of more than 3,200 kilometers from the Asidaria Plains to the Skiaparelli Crater is a big challenge for Watney. In addition, once the MAV of the Skiaparelli crater is activated by Watney, the Ares IV plan must be postponed for one to two years. At that time, you must stay on Mars for at least 1,500 Mars days. Be prepared.

[17:36] Habitat: When I made this plan, I was mentally prepared. We do n’t take risks. Even if we grow 50 square meters of tomatoes, our carbon dioxide absorber can only persist until the 600th Martian day, and we have no choice. Watney will carry out targeted training next, and we certainly will not joke about our own lives.

[17:50] JPL: Well, the Ares Command has recalculated the amount of supplies that Hermes needs to carry out this mission. It is expected that the Long March 9 carrier rocket will be placed on the "饕餮" half a month later. The unmanned cargo spacecraft was launched from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center and rendezvoused with the Hermes. Hermes will enter Mars orbit on the 445th Mars. We have reserved five tons of supplies for you. Do you have any suggestions?

[18:18] Habitat: Hermes is not as usual. When entering Mars orbit, the speed is twice as fast as normal landing. You can guarantee that these five tons of materials can be delivered to me without Damaged during landing?

[18:36] JPL: We have modified the Cargo 饕餮 spacecraft. Your supplies will be stored in a flexible cabin with a diameter of five meters made of metamaterial aerogel. Hermes enters Mars orbit Afterwards, the cargo ship 饕餮 will be released. Cargo 饕餮 will use the remaining fuel for maneuvering orbit, and then make a hard landing on the Asidaria plain. At about 10,000 meters above the surface of Mars, the flexible compartment will be separated from the Cargo spacecraft. The entire landing process is completed by AI. Preliminary estimates indicate that the circle radius of the landing accuracy is about five kilometers. At that time, we will use satellites to help you locate the flexible supply bay. You can drive the rover to drag the supply bay back.

[18:48] Habitat: I am glad to hear the news. As for supplies, I personally recommend that the food supply occupies less than one ton, and the remaining materials are as follows: at least twenty meters long water circulation system pipes, high-pressure water pumps, air Compressor accessories, communication equipment accessories, oxygen sieve molecular sieve, nickel-metal hydride batteries, cables, optical cables, various corresponding interfaces, solar battery packs, habitat carbon fiber canvas, seals, rover parts, it is best to bring some parts Cell algae and incubator. Most importantly, the more carbon dioxide absorbers, the better, to prevent the oxygenator from being repaired. The above is just my personal opinion. You can make your own decisions on the specific types and quantities of supplies.

19 [19:02] JPL: Received, we will draw up a list of supplies as soon as possible with your comments.

Uh ...

Maybe it was all the unexpected accidents that exhausted the bad luck of Pang Xuelin and Watney, and then things turned out unexpectedly.

240 240th Mars Day.

The Long March 9 carrier rocket was successfully launched, sending the unmanned freighter "饕餮" weighing more than 60 tons to near-Earth orbit.

241th Mars Day.

The 饕餮 "饕餮" unmanned cargo spacecraft successfully changed its orbit several times and successfully docked with Hermes. Hermes used the gravitational slingshot effect of the Earth to accelerate its flight to Mars.

The 255th Martian day.

The tomato in the life capsule has grown almost as high as the knee, and it is green.

The 260th Mars day.

The latest data show that as long as the carbon dioxide filter of the humpback cabin is turned on for one hour a day, it is enough to maintain the survival of Pang Xuelin and Watney.

So Pang Xuelin and Watney moved their home from the rover back to the habitat.

In the middle, they harvested another season of potatoes.

Due to insufficient fertilizer, the number of potatoes in this season was only two hundred kilograms, a significant decrease from the first season, but it was still within the acceptable range of Pang Xuelin and Watney.

The food problem is temporarily alleviated, and the problem of carbon dioxide absorption is also not large. This does not mean that Pang Xuelin and Watney can relax, and there is more work waiting for the two.

Watney needed a journey of 3,200 kilometers to reach the Schiaparelli crater. The difficulties in the middle were extremely great. First, they had to make a large-scale transformation of the rover.

For example, the first problem they faced was to find a way to put the carbon dioxide absorber in the berth into the rover.

At present, there are 1,600 hours of small carbon dioxide absorbers, and 300 hours of carbon dioxide absorbers in habitats.

Watney wants to cross a distance of 3200 kilometers, it will take at least 30 to 40 days. In the middle, considering the redundancy of tasks, he must allow 50 days for him.

This means that he needs 1200 hours of carbon dioxide absorber ~ www.readwn.com ~ It will take at least two hundred hours to transform a small carbon dioxide absorber for the rover. After Watney left, he still had to leave Pang Xuelin for 300 hours. the amount. In addition, before Watney left Mars, the two needed EVA missions due to various accidents, so a small carbon dioxide absorber could only leave Watney up to 900 hours, and the remaining was supplemented with a perch carbon dioxide absorber.

The plutonium carbon dioxide absorber is now available for two people for three hundred hours. Watney will depart on the 390th Mars day, with at least 150 hours remaining.

If given to Watney alone, the usage time can be doubled, so it is sufficient for Pen Watney to complete the journey of 3200 kilometers.

The problem is that the volume of the carbon dioxide absorber in the perch is too large. After the rover has installed food and a small carbon dioxide absorber, there is not enough space for the carbon dioxide absorber in the perch.

So the experts of Ares Command opened a big brain hole. Pang Xuelin and Watney used a drill to make a large hole on the top of the rover, and then used the MDV parachute to make a large balloon on the roof to absorb the carbon dioxide in the habitat. Device on top.

It took Heng Pang Xuelin and Watney 100 hours of EVA to complete the renovation.

Then, the two began to slowly transfer various materials to the rover.

Compared to these material problems, the real trouble is navigation.

Watney traveled 3200 kilometers this time. Unless he carried the Mars Pathfinder landing capsule, it was difficult to use Nippon Phobos for accurate navigation, but once the landing capsule was taken away, Pang Xuelin would lose his connection with the earth. For a while, the two were in a dilemma.

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