On an alien planet, Hong Fan, as the team leader, carries the lives of all his teammates on his shoulders.
Even if the probability of encountering danger is only 0.01%, he must choose the most prudent approach.
Under Hong Fan's command, several team members ran nervously toward the planetary landing vehicle not far away.
As for Hong Fan, he followed slowly at the back of the group, holding the entrenching tool he had just thrown on the ground, cautiously observing the surrounding rock walls and sand.
Once all the team members had entered the planetary landing vehicle's hatch, he controlled his mechanical exoskeleton and quickly ran towards the open hatch.
During this time, he gripped the entrenching tool tightly in his hand, fearing that something unexpected might happen.
That's how it's portrayed in movies and TV series!
When the team leader returns to the safe zone, some unexpected things often happen.
And then... comes the classic scene of the Calabash Brothers rescuing their grandfather.
He definitely doesn't want to encounter such a scene!
Hong Fan cautiously surveyed his surroundings while his mind wandered.
Fortunately.
The journey was smooth, with nothing unusual except for the endless yellow sand.
With a powerful push of his right leg and aided by his exoskeleton armor, Hong Fan traversed the final three meters and entered the planetary landing vehicle.
"Close the hatch!"
The moment the words were spoken, the starship-style hatch slowly closed with a dull thud.
The heavy hatch provided everyone with a sense of security.
Only slightly rapid breathing could be heard from the communication device.
The pressure has stabilized.
A gentle female voice came from inside the helmet.
Hong Fan let out a long sigh of relief, chuckled, and said, "Let's go to the disinfection room."
"Let's wait for news from the Earth."
...
Above Dawn Star.
Earth, Command Center.
Fang Xu frowned as he looked at the huge holographic projection in front of him, which was now filled with red warnings.
"Hematite..."
He muttered to himself, "How could there possibly be hematite on Dawn Star?!"
That's right, it's not just Hong Fan's team.
Almost every team responsible for resource exploration sent out similar reports.
There are large quantities of hematite deposits underground on Dawn Star!
This is completely contrary to human understanding!
Could it be...?
Did oxygen really exist on Dawn Star in the past?
Even, life once existed on this barren planet?
For a moment, Fang Xu was in a state of utter confusion.
Before a definitive answer is found, the infrastructure work that had just begun on the surface of Dawn Star has been completely halted.
Meanwhile, the exploration teams scattered across various regions returned to the relatively safe planetary landing vehicles, awaiting instructions from the Earth.
After pondering for a while without reaching a conclusion, Fang Xu turned to the researchers beside him and asked, "Has Feng Yuanliang arrived?"
"They're here!"
A hurried male voice came from the entrance of the command center.
The middle-aged man, panting heavily, rushed to Fang Xu's side: "Academician Fang, you wanted to see me?"
Fang Xu nodded slightly and gestured with his eyes to the holographic projection in front of him: "You study cosmic mineral resources, take a look and see what's going on here."
Before the middle-aged man could catch his breath, he quickly turned his gaze forward.
Just one glance.
He then widened his squinty eyes.
"A-hematite?!"
"How is this possible?!"
Seeing Feng Yuanliang's identical reaction, Fang Xu shook his head helplessly: "Academician Feng, is it possible for hematite to appear on Dawn Star at present?"
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Feng Yuanliang directly denied it.
"And...what about before?"
Upon hearing this, Feng Yuanliang suddenly hesitated: "Hiss..."
"You mean, the ancient planet Dawn once had oxygen?"
"Based on the current data, this possibility is not high."
"Unlike Mars and Gamma-1, Dawn's gravity is strong enough to retain an atmosphere."
“Moreover, we haven’t found any trace of oxygen yet.” Feng Yuanliang paused, “except for these hematite deposits.”
“That’s strange…” Fang Xu rubbed his temples and muttered to himself, “It can’t be that this hematite drifted in from outer space, can it?”
What was said unintentionally may have been taken to heart by the listener.
Feng Yuanliang's confused eyes brightened up instantly!
He clapped his hands suddenly, his expression extremely excited: "Academician Fang! You're right!"
Fang Xu: "???"
"What...what did I say?"
"They drifted in from outer space! The source of this hematite is probably that Guangwei-1 satellite!"
...
After some explanation.
Fang Xu nodded thoughtfully.
"You mean that when Guangwei-1's atmosphere was relatively intact, the violent storms inside it stirred up countless hematite powders."
"And these powders traveled over 100,000 kilometers to fall into the atmosphere of Dawn Star?"
Feng Yuanliang nodded repeatedly: "That's right, that's the process."
“Academician Fang, look.” He reached out and pulled over a holographic projection. “Let’s assume that Guangwei-1 previously had a relatively complete atmosphere.”
"Under the powerful gravity of Dawn Star, its atmosphere is capable of generating incredibly powerful storms!"
"Similar phenomena have been found in human history."
"Back then, humans discovered hematite on the surface of the moon."
"Incredible, isn't it?" Feng Yuanliang's eyes showed a hint of amazement. "How could hematite appear on the surface of the moon, which has no atmosphere?"
"The reason behind it is actually very simple."
"Strong solar winds blow oxygen from the Earth's surface toward the moon, thus forming hematite."
Fang Xu was slightly moved and quickly said, "Zero, simulate it and see if such a situation is possible on Dawn Star."
A few minutes later.
The scene described by Feng Yuanliang appeared in the holographic projection.
"Then... how can we prove the correctness of this hypothesis?" Fang Xu asked softly.
Without conclusive evidence, speculation is just speculation.
"Simple."
Feng Yuanliang pondered for a moment, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.
"Let these exploration teams carry out deep drilling work."
"If nothing unexpected happens, these hematite deposits will only be evenly distributed at a specific depth."
Fang Xu pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized.
That's true.
Under the influence of the powerful storms on Dawn Star, hematite powder would inevitably be evenly distributed around the world.
The so-called specific depth depends on the integrity of the atmosphere of Apollo.
When the atmosphere of Saturn loosens to a certain extent and can no longer generate a sufficiently powerful storm, these hematite powders, like water without a source, will eventually be buried under the yellow sand.
Only a small amount of hematite powder will be lifted up by the powerful storm and dispersed into the atmosphere!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
