Jinling launch site.
An enormous and magnificent aerospaceplane was already lying on the runway of the launch site, ready to take off.
Its name was Starlight, but it was slightly different from the Starlight from a few years ago. In order to adapt to long-distance flights and more flexible launch missions, the Institute of Aerospace Science and Technology of the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study redesigned its fusion energy supply unit and high-power Hall-effect thruster. At the expense of speed, it improved its cruising range and engine stability.
Now, not to mention Mars, even the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter could be easily reached in a month. However, the Lunar Orbit Committee didn't have a real need to send people that far away. If they only wanted to collect rock samples, they could do it through unmanned probes.
The navigator of this flight was also one of the original Mars rescue team. He was also the only astronaut in the astronaut team who had experience cruising in Mars orbit.
An experimental equipment packaged in a metal cube cargo box was sent into the cargo hold. The entire aerospaceplane had completed its final launch preparations.
Liu Biao and Xu Zhenghong, who had already put on their spacesuits, boarded the gangway under the gaze of the ground crew. They entered the interior of the aerospaceplane and sat in the main and co-pilot seats. They then connected their spacesuits to the cabin life support system.
"Long awaited trip to Mars.
"I don't know if we'll see the wreckage of the BFS spacecraft."
Xu Zhenghong grinned and checked the instruments in the cockpit. He smiled and said, "Haha, it's been more than a year, we probably won't be able to see it."
Liu Biao joked and said, "If the situation permits, we might be able to retrieve it."
During the last rescue operation, NASA was worried that China would obtain the secrets on the BFS spacecraft. Therefore, when Starlight arrived on Mars, they took the initiative to crash the BFS spacecraft hovering in orbit.
However, having said that, they still recorded the coordinates of the spacecraft's crash. If they had enough fuel, it wouldn't be difficult to land on Mars and bring back some "local products".
"The situation probably won't allow it. Why should we care about a bunch of junk, especially a bunch of troublesome junk?" Xu Zhenghong opened the power output gate and looked at the rising magnetic counter. He pushed the ignition switch and switched to the communication screen of the ground command center. He said in a serious tone, "This is Sunglow, we are entering takeoff orbit."
"Roger that. This is the ground command center. Everything is normal in the sky. Proceed with the launch plan. Good luck!"
The pitch-black engine was instantly lit up by blue flames. Propelled by the high-temperature plasma beam, the huge fuselage began to slide forward, and finally pulled the azure glow into the sky. Together with the expectations of the people on the ground, they were brought to the fiery red planet tens of millions of kilometers away.
In the auditorium outside the launch site.
Physicists and reporters from all over the world exclaimed as they watched the aerospaceplane disappear into the clouds.
With his back to the clear sky, the BBC reporter reported the situation to the camera with an almost exaggerated expression.
"An aerospaceplane, about two-thirds the size of a Boeing 777, took off from the runway with the help of a blue light, then disappeared into the sky behind me.
"I can't describe the shock in my heart in words. It's not because of its speed, but because it subverts my understanding of aerospace launch.
"Maybe it's too late to say this now, but I never thought … Maybe NASA never thought that with controllable fusion as a catalyst, ion thruster can burst out with power comparable to a chemical engine!
"I almost forgot to talk about business. The ILHCRC's Z particle clock has successfully passed through the troposphere and is moving toward the edge of the atmosphere. If all goes well, it will reach Mars orbit within two weeks, put down the Z particle clock, and test Professor Lu Zhou 'hyperspace theory … "
Not far away.
A slightly younger man, who looked like a student, stood next to Professor Witten.
He stared at the sky for a long time without blinking. It wasn't until the people began to disperse that he retracted his gaze and looked at Professor Witten.
"Professor …"
"What?"
"If he really did surpass the speed of light, what does this mean?"
"This means that he may be greater than Einstein …" After a pause, Witten felt that his statement was not accurate enough. He added in a serious tone, "Correction, not may, he is."
The news of the launch of the Z particle clock spread all over the world through the news.
According to the navigation plan, after reaching the geosynchronous orbit and dropping the first Z particle clock detector, Starlight would go to the Moon Palace. After completing the "fuel" replenishment, it would continue to fly to Mars orbit.
While the world's attention was focused on the aerospaceplane that was passing through the edge of the atmosphere, in the dean's office of the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study, Lu Zhou was quietly thinking about the calculations on the whiteboard.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in."
The door was pushed open, and a familiar figure walked into the office.
"You're here." Luo Wenxuan looked at the calculations on the whiteboard that he couldn't understand at all. He said curiously, "I thought you would at least be standing in the command tower at the launch site."
"What's the point of standing there?" Lu Zhou didn't look away from the whiteboard. He smiled faintly and replied casually, "Whether I'm there or not doesn't affect the success rate of the launch. Also, it's just a trip to Mars. It's not our first time there, so there's nothing to remember. "
Luo Wenxuan: "What are you calculating?"
"Doing a final check on the calculation results …" Lu Zhou added a few lines of calculations on the whiteboard. After pondering for a while, he said, "Or, find a way to make it more perfect."
Luo Wenxuan: "Surprising, I didn't expect you to not be excited at all. You even have the mood to calculate these things."
Lu Zhou: "Is there something to be excited about?"
Luo Wenxuan joked, "I feel that a physicist greater than Einstein is about to be born. Every explorer of the new age of navigation will shout his name before they set sail, praying for a safe journey. If a spacecraft malfunctions outside the solar system, the passengers will definitely not call God by his name. Instead, they will shout 'GTMD, Lu Zhou'. "
Lu Zhou couldn't help but smile.
"That's ridiculous. The Z particle is just a breakthrough in our hyperspace theory. Whether or not it can become the key to solving interstellar travel depends on how people in the future understand this theory. At this time, being first does not necessarily mean an advantage. Just like direct current and alternating current, although the former was born first, it was the latter that won people's favor in the end.
"But everyone will remember Faraday's contribution to the world."
Lu Zhou: "I don't deny this. This kind of thing has no benefits, so we have to give the discoverer a little reward."
Luo Wenxuan shrugged and asked, "Then why are you doing this kind of thing that has no benefits and will take huge risks?"
Lu Zhou: "Frankly speaking, it's because I'm interested."
Luo Wenxuan paused for a second. He then smiled.
"That's really like your answer."
Lu Zhou: "Did you come here just to chat with me?"
"Of course not."
Luo Wenxuan took out a card from his pocket and handed it to Lu Zhou.
Lu Zhou looked at this beautifully crafted card and raised his eyebrows curiously. He put down the marker in his hand and took it. He unfolded it along the folded lines and glanced at the content on it.
"What is this?"
"An invitation." Luo Wenxuan shrugged and explained while looking at Lu Zhou, "I don't know if you are interested, but I happen to be in Jinling, so I brought it to you."
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