While the Lunar Orbit Committee was busy preparing to move the construction site from lunar orbit to the surface of the Moon, it had been a month since Starlight left Mars orbit and embarked on its return journey.
After the last stage of the orbit change, Starlight turned off its ion thruster system and continued to move toward the Earth-Moon system.
After a month of living here, Travis had basically adapted to life here.
He had clean bedding, plenty of oxygen, and delicious food.
For him, who had spent more than a month in the cramped New Virginia colony experimental area without any personal space, everything here was like heaven.
Especially when it came to bathing, the Chinese were much better than NASA. The entire bathroom was a cylinder that was about the height of a person and two steps wide. It rotated at a high speed around a fixed axis to provide centrifugal acceleration to simulate the gravitational environment on Earth.
If it wasn't for the blueprints, it would be difficult to describe the entire structure and its principles in detail. But to put it simply, after activating the device, lying inside was like lying in a bathtub in one's bathroom. The water droplets that were supposed to be floating around were also obediently "stuck" to the cabin walls, and wouldn't fly everywhere.
Since there was no external reference, staying in this completely enclosed bathroom, after scrubbing the body, the air outlet on the outside of the cabin wall would use a strong wind to suck out all the water in the cylinder until there was not a drop left. The cylinder would only slow down and stop when the humidity in the device dropped to a normal value.
This thing looked like a large centrifuge.
Such a luxurious way of bathing was unimaginable for the BFS spacecraft.
Of course, this might have to do with the fact that electricity was free to the Chinese. From the moment they set off to the moment they were rescued, they had to be careful with their energy usage …
The only thing that Travis was unhappy about was the lack of freedom on the spaceship.
In the narrow room, there was only a bed that was as wide as his shoulders. Apart from a table under the bed, there was no other furniture. Other than taking a shower and eating time, he couldn't even leave his room. Most of the time, he could only kill time by sleeping.
The slightly depressing atmosphere made it impossible for people to feel comfortable. The round porthole above the bed was pitch black, and after looking at it for a long time, it was easy for people to develop symptoms similar to deep-sea phobia. As a result, he had never opened the porthole.
Compared to the luxurious hardware and entertainment facilities on the Heart of Gold, Starlight's cabin was like a cargo cabin.
What do I say?
It feels like I'm in prison.
Travis stood behind the isolation door and looked at Johnson, who was in the opposite room. He said, "How long until we reach Earth?"
Johnson was flipping through a book on his bed. He didn't look up as he replied casually.
"Maybe a month and a half, maybe two months … Maybe longer."
Travis shrugged. He wanted to lie back down, but he couldn't help but ask, "Why do you think the Chinese don't let us go out? Are they afraid of us — "
"Because we're not sure if you're carrying Martian bacteria or viruses, so we can't do a full body check on you."
Liu Biao, who was wearing a spacesuit, interrupted him from the side. He walked over with a lunch box.
He placed the lunch box on the table next to the door and said, "It's a bit difficult, so bear with it. After all, this cabin was originally a cargo cabin. We're only traveling in the Earth-Moon system, so we didn't expect to fly this far. "
Travis looked at the Chinese astronaut and said, "Hey, guys, can you consider putting a game console in the cabin? Not everyone likes to read to pass the time! "
Liu Biao chuckled and said, "I will convey your opinion to the ground staff. If there's a chance, you should be able to see a game console next time."
"Next time? I don't want to sit on this plane again! "
Ignoring the commotion behind him, Liu Biao disappeared through the door of the cabin.
Travis looked at the locked cabin door and the countdown timer on the guest cabin door. He muttered, "I feel like I'm in prison."
Johnson said with a blank expression, "That's what it feels like to live under someone else's roof … Anyway, they took us back, so we should just endure it."
Travis thought about it carefully and realized that Johnson was right.
Suddenly, Travis remembered what the Chinese astronaut said, and he realized something terrifying.
He swallowed his saliva and spoke in a trembling tone.
"Boss …"
Johnson: "What …"
Travis: "If there are microbes or bacteria on Mars that aren't on Earth, does that mean we …"
"Don't think too much." Johnson flipped the page of the book in his hand. He curled his lips and said casually, "Thinking too much will only cause you trouble. Also, it's just a possibility, not a certainty. "
Travis angrily slammed his fists on the heavy door.
"Sh * t! Those b * stards at the White House, what do they think we are? Lab rats? "
In another room, Jones was listening to the conversation between the two. She sat on the bed with her arms around her knees and stared out the porthole.
During this period of time, she had been reflecting on her life, her choices, and the Ares Project itself.
In the beginning, she didn't understand. Everyone did their best, so why did this happen?
But now, she finally understood that the final outcome of the Ares Plan might not be a coincidence.
From the beginning, this hasty trip to Mars was an unwise decision …
…
The day they would enter the embrace of the Earth came a little earlier than they had imagined.
On the 50th day of Starlight's return from Mars orbit, a gray planet gradually appeared outside Starlight's porthole.
"This is Starlight, entering the space station orbit, requesting navigation support."
"This is Moon Palace, navigating for you."
"Roger that, thank you."
After a brief communication, Starlight, which had been decelerated by the reverse thrust of the wing engine, slowly entered the orbit of the Moon Palace.
As time passed, a silver-white lamp gradually rose in the deep and dark sky, reflecting on the ice-cold porthole along with the morning light that shone from the skyline.
Johnson looked at the Moon Palace and closed the book in his hand. His blue pupils gradually enlarged.
"Jesus … Is this China's space station?"
He couldn't believe it when he saw it.
Because everything in front of him was far more shocking than the one he saw in the concept map.
The spacecraft gradually approached.
The space station in the distance gradually approached.
The originally grain-sized silvery-white had finally turned into a soaring dragon.
The thousands of square meters of solar panels were like dragon wings, and the rows of heat sinks were like dragon scales. There were cylindrical space cabins extending outward from the centerline, forming its strong bones and unbreakable steel body.
It was like a fortress.
And a work of art …
On the other hand, Captain Xu Zhenghong, who was sitting in the cockpit of Starlight, had a tired look on his face. He reached out his right fist and bumped it with Liu Biao, who was sitting next to him. He then pressed his index finger on the side of his helmet and spoke in a clear voice.
"This is Starlight, we have successfully entered orbit. Requesting docking!"
Two seconds later.
A response came from the communication channel.
"… This is the Moon Palace."
"Welcome home, our heroes!"
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