The fantastical scene before him did not surprise Lü Yongchang too much.

Or rather, such a scene is actually quite normal.

Water is not uncommon in the solar system.

However, due to temperature, most of them exist in solid form.

The evidence found in Gale Crater suggests that liquid water once existed on Mars.

Based on previous scientific inferences, Mars had a core that was active 4 billion years ago.

Thanks to this, although it is not as good as Earth, the environment on Mars is not as bad as it is now.

At the very least, its surface should be capable of supporting liquid water.

Lü Yongchang fell into deep thought.

What exactly caused Mars to become what it is today?

"Professor, according to the latest information sent back by Captain Bai Yixuan, a massive flood occurred in Gale Crater approximately 3.9 billion years ago."

Zero's voice rang out again.

Scenes then appeared in the holographic image.

“This is…” Lu Yongchang frowned deeply as he looked at the giant wave-shaped pattern on the screen.

“The reverse dunes are about 9 meters high each, and the distance between each reverse dune is about 140 meters.” Zero quickly marked the detailed data of these wavy patterns on the holographic projection. “According to calculations, these are traces left by a great flood.”

Reverse dunes

"After this great flood, the liquid water on Mars quickly disappeared, resulting in its current state."

Looking at the simulated images in front of him, Lü Yongchang nodded thoughtfully.

"The Great Flood 3.9 Billion Years Ago..." he murmured to himself. "Zero, I remember that the Greek Basin, the largest impact crater on Mars, was also formed 3.9 billion years ago, right?"

"Yes, Professor."

Faced with such coincidental data, he suddenly had a somewhat unreliable guess in his mind.

"Zero, let's first simulate a Mars whose core hasn't cooled down yet."

As soon as he finished speaking, a reddish-brown planet with a relatively dense atmosphere and a slightly blue tinge on its surface appeared before him.

Lü Yongchang nodded in satisfaction.

For someone with a large amount of data, this level of simulation is relatively easy and accurate.

If no unforeseen accident occurred, this should be Mars from 4 billion years ago.

At this time, Mars had just been born for 500 million years.

Conservative estimates suggest that there was no life on Mars at that time.

The reason is simple: the time was too short.

Even Earth, which was born 4.6 billion years ago, did not show signs of life until 4 billion to 3.8 billion years ago.

"Continue, simulate the impact of the meteorite that formed the Greek Basin."

As soon as the words were spoken, a massive meteorite, carrying immense kinetic energy, crashed violently into the Greek Basin on Mars.

A complete upheaval!

In just a moment, Mars underwent a very obvious change in the simulation of Zero.

Large amounts of magma overflowed from the Earth's core, and some of it even escaped Mars' gravity and was ejected into space!

Time passed quickly.

The large amount of magma ejected gathered and solidified in space, forming two satellites.

Phobos and Deimos.

As for Mars, after losing so much magma, the cooling process of its core accelerated rapidly.

But as the Earth's core cooled and the magnetic field disappeared, another major event occurred.

The heat from the meteorite impact completely melted the ice caps at the Martian poles!

Subsequently, greenhouse gases and water vapor worked together to briefly transform Mars into a warm and humid planet!

Amidst the torrential rains that swept the globe, that blue and crimson planet reappeared before Lü Yongchang's eyes!

Good times don't last long.

This suitable living environment quickly dissipated as the Earth's core cooled and the magnetic field disappeared.

The powerful solar wind blew away the Martian atmosphere, and the original oceans gradually dried up.

Gradually, Mars has become what it is today.

"call……"

Lü Yongchang exhaled a deep breath.

The scenes that had just unfolded before him were like an epic disaster movie, deeply shocking him.

After a moment of silence, he asked again, "Zero, how long did Mars last in that final stage?"

“Professor, according to the simulation, the ocean formed by the flood should have lasted for about 200 to 300 million years,” Zero said quickly. “We don’t have enough information to determine the liquid water in the remaining smaller areas.”

"That's enough." Lü Yongchang's eyes sharpened, and he said in a low voice, "This amount of time is enough for some basic life forms to evolve!"

"Zero, tell Bai Yixuan to be extremely careful when bringing back the samples, as there is a high possibility that there are residual microorganisms inside!"

...

Mars, Gale Crater.

The drilling, sampling, and mapping mission, which lasted for several days, exhausted the six astronauts.

The two Xuan Nu II ships rested quietly on the vast, crimson land.

Inside the cabin of the first ship, Xuan Nu No. 2.

Wearing protective clothing, Hong Fan carefully carried three spacesuits covered in damp Martian dust to the cleaning room.

To prevent microbial contamination, these spacesuits need to undergo thorough disinfection and cleaning before they can be reused.

The improved spacesuits are not heavy. Even with three spacesuits combined, thanks to the relatively low gravity on Mars, Hong Fan can still easily carry all three spacesuits while walking.

Thinking of the recently updated mission, Hong Fan's lips curled up slightly.

They need to send the drill samples back to Mars City.

This means they can get a good night's rest in Mars City.

This was undoubtedly a huge temptation for them.

Recalling the soft bed in Mars City, Hong Fan's steps suddenly became lighter.

The spacesuit in his hands was flipped up and down more frequently as a result.

suddenly.

A small drop of deep red, damp Martian sand fell onto the deck of the Mysterious Maiden II.

The next moment, Hong Fan's electromagnetic boots stepped on it.

With a slight friction, the small drop of damp spark sand spread evenly on his electromagnetic boots and the deck of the Mystic Maiden II.

The marks became blurred.

...

"Brother Fan?"

"Have the spacesuits begun to be cleaned and disinfected?"

When Hong Fan returned to the cockpit, Xia Wanyi's voice came from behind him.

“Of course.” Hong Fan said as he sat down in the chair and fastened his seatbelt.

"Captain, can we go back now?"

Sitting in the main seat, Bai Yixuan turned his head and glanced at Hong Fan, then shrugged slightly and said, "Once Andrew and the others are ready, we can set off."

As he spoke, Bai Yixuan pressed the switch on the team's internal radio.

"Andrew, are you ready?"

"..."

There was no response.

After waiting a few seconds, Bai Yixuan raised an eyebrow slightly and pressed the communication button again: "Andrew? Please respond if you receive this!"

There has still been no response.