The next morning, the Mars live broadcast time.
The large screens in the plazas of each survivor's location were packed with people. Everyone stared wide-eyed, searching for that tiny silver dot on the screen.
The Soyuz space telescope lost focus, and its tracking lens began scanning a wider area of the Martian surface.
People both hope that space telescopes will quickly scan for targets and fear that they will.
People fear that the space telescopes might scan Zhang Fan's lifeless corpse on Mars.
The fact that Zhang Fan disappeared overnight in the Martian wilderness is enough to theoretically confirm his death.
Beep beep, beep beep—
The alarm clock rang. It was seven in the morning. The sun was already out, and the temperature outside the cave had risen to a level where one could move around freely.
Zhang Fan raised his hand and looked at the monitor on his arm. The battery was down to 5%, which he estimated would only last for another hour.
Zhang Fan strode out of the lava tube cave, the sunlight outside was somewhat dazzling.
The Soyuz space telescope automatically tracked, focused, and magnified the image...
"Long live!"
"Hurrah!"
"Onboard!"
"Thank God!"
The human survival points around the world were filled with jubilation.
"It's here! It's here! I told you he wouldn't die, boohoo..."
"My God, how did he get through that night?"
The crowd at the temporary center in Wenchang was also extremely excited, and some of the female staff members were already crying.
“It’s a lava tube!” Liao Changtian, the director of the research lab, murmured as he looked at the big screen. “I should have thought of that earlier. ‘Sailor Valley’ is close to Mount Olympus and naturally has a well-developed ridge-shaped lava tube cave system.”
“We were so focused on Zhang Fan last night that we forgot Mars could also offer assistance,” Director Xiao Yimin said. “So what now? Can he really find a place to recharge in the Martian wilderness?”
"I think... that shouldn't be possible?" Liao Changtian said, frowning. "Electricity is different from lava tube caves. Lava tubes are natural and can be used directly; electricity is a product of human civilization. Where would you find electricity in the Martian wilderness?"
Although Liao Changtian thought it was impossible to recharge in the Martian wilderness, after last night's experience, he dared not speak too definitively.
"Could it be electricity from nature? Like lightning?"
"Impossible!" Liao Changtian answered decisively this time. "Thunderstorms on Mars are different from those on Earth. Using that thing to charge your device would turn you into a charcoal in no time."
“That’s true.” Xiao Yimin nodded, then looked at the big screen and said, “Mars Boy has come and gone several times already; he seems to be looking for something.”
...
After exiting the cave, Zhang Fan immediately continued his search without stopping. His immediate priority was to find a place to recharge his spacesuit.
But this is Mars, not Earth, so there aren't portable power banks everywhere. Even if there were, Zhang Fan didn't have his phone to scan the QR code.
It seems a bit ridiculous to be looking for a place to recharge in the Martian wilderness.
But Zhang Fan didn't have time to joke with his life. From the moment he decided to spend the night in the wild, he knew that the spacesuit's power was insufficient, otherwise he wouldn't have looked for a warm lava pipe to save on heating power consumption.
Zhang Fan silently prayed to God for protection, hoping that the landscape here hadn't changed much over the years, otherwise this place might very well be his final resting place.
I don't know if there's a God on Mars. I guess praying to Buddha or Guanyin wouldn't help. They're gods and immortals from Earth, and they have no jurisdiction over Mars.
Zhang Fan headed towards the center of Sailor Valley. The terrain in the center of the canyon was relatively flat, surrounded by sand, making it easy to walk.
Zhang Fan had to check the map every now and then to make sure he was heading in the right direction. Unlike Earth, where there are mountains and rivers as landmarks, the Martian landscape is all the same, and without navigation, it's easy to get lost.
The spacesuit's alarm system kept flashing red, and Zhang Fan found it too bright, so he manually turned it off. He knew the battery was low, but he had no other choice.
Once the spacesuit's power runs out, the oxygen generation system will stop working. Zhang Fan knew what this meant, and he was anxious, but there was nothing he could do.
The only way is to keep moving forward.
1%.
Beep, beep, beep—
The alarm sounded again.
This is a mandatory alarm; it cannot be turned off manually.
The Martian desert is majestic and desolate. Zhang Fan stands alone in the center of Mariner Valley, with endless red sand as far as the eye can see and the urgent alarm sounding inside his spacesuit in his ears.
Breathe, breathe slowly...
Zhang Fan reminded himself that staying calm was the right thing to do at this moment; panicking would only deplete the spacesuit's oxygen supply faster.
Zhang Fan raised his arm and looked at the monitor again, confirming that his position had coincided with one of the target's coordinates.
Then "it" should be nearby.
Surviving in the Martian wilderness requires not only shelter and fire, but also opportunity and courage.
Zhang Fan looked around, observing any detail in the red sand that might have been overlooked.
Volcanoes and earthquakes shape the Martian landscape, and this geological shaping is particularly evident at the edges of canyons, where various faults and cliffs are often present, making them susceptible to even minor tremors.
The central area of the canyon is flat and open, and the geology is relatively stable, especially for a canyon of the size of Mariner Valley.
Valles Marineris, at a depth of 10 kilometers, is 10 times deeper than the Grand Canyon in the United States. It is like a wound on Mars, with its geological faults dating back 3.5 billion years. To scientists, it is like an open encyclopedia, through which they can read the evolutionary history of Mars over a span of 3.5 billion years.
Therefore, early human exploration of Mars was very keen on sending probes to canyon locations.
Zhang Fan stared at a small dot in the distance. Unlike the surrounding reddish-yellow sand, that dot shone with a gray light under the sun.
Suppressing his excitement, Zhang Fan calmed his breathing and walked quickly toward the small shop.
After walking more than a hundred steps, Zhang Fan knelt down and gently touched it with his hand, his eyes filled with the joy of meeting an old friend in a foreign land.
"Hello, Courage."
Zhang Fan brushed away the surrounding sand with both hands, and the object gradually revealed a metallic luster.
The Spirit rover.
This is a Mars rover launched by NASA at the beginning of the century. The Spirit rover was originally designed to operate for only 3 months, but it actually served for 8 years beyond its intended lifespan.
On March 22, 30 years ago, NASA made its last contact with the Rover Spirit. After another failed attempt to make contact on May 25, the mission of the Rover Spirit came to an end.
The guy in front of me is a senior figure in terms of experience and time spent exploring Mars. I never thought I would have to ask a senior for help.
Fortunately, the "Courage" was not buried too deep in the sand. After digging out part of it, Zhang Fan pulled the entire exploration vehicle out of the sand.
After decades of exposure to the elements, the Spirit rover has long lost its ability to explore Mars.
"Young man, where's your brother?" Zhang Fan continued looking around. "Oh, I see him."
Zhang Fan dragged the wrecked "Courage" forward for several hundred meters.
"Hello, Opportunity."
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