The jeep stopped after less than half a lap, not because it found the other two people, but because the sandstorm was too strong, and the sand and gravel blocked the exhaust pipe. At first, it was just a lack of power, but the engine soon stalled.
In this case, once the engine stalled, it was almost impossible to start again. The other jeep wasn't much better. It was just a matter of who was first and who was last. So everyone could only give up the search and wait for the storm to pass in the car.
During this period, there was a small accident. The glass on the right side of a car was smashed by a flying stone. Everyone had to cover the glass layer with their clothes to prevent the sandstorm from pouring into the car.
However, no one expected the sandstorm to last for a whole day and night. When the wind slowed down and they could get out of the car, everyone found that half of the wheels were stuck in the sand.
If the sandstorm lasted a little longer, it was unknown whether the people in the car could survive, let alone the people outside the car. In such a harsh environment, it was almost impossible for the missing people to survive.
Even so, when the wind subsided a little, the captain immediately contacted the people in Area 51 and asked them to send people to search for NASA's two astronaut candidates who went missing in the sandstorm.
But before that, the captain first sent Zhang Heng back to the Kennedy Space Center because before the rocket launch, the astronauts had to undergo a one-week quarantine. They had to stay away from their families, colleagues, and other outsiders to avoid contracting a cold virus or other common diseases.
During this period, only the staff who had been screened by the medical team could come into close contact with the quarantined astronauts if necessary. Considering the ubiquitous bacteria and floating particles in the air, the astronauts were not allowed to leave the isolation room. Even if their spouses or children came to visit, they had to undergo a medical examination first. At the same time, NASA also limited the visiting time.
This could ensure the astronauts' health to the greatest extent, avoiding missing the launch window due to illness and postponing the launch mission. But after the spacecraft entered orbit, there was no such problem. There were no bacteria and any infectious viruses in space, so few astronauts would get sick in space.
Because of the previous mysterious infectious disease, NASA paid special attention to the quarantine this time.
However, due to the unexpected storm, Zhang Heng's quarantine period was one day shorter than planned. After the medical team performed a comprehensive physical examination on him and confirmed that he was in good physical condition, NASA's executives were relieved.
No one expected things to turn out this way. If the return of Armstrong and Collins was a pleasant surprise, stabilizing NASA's and Congress's confidence in the moon landing, then the subsequent batch of urgently recruited astronaut candidates had a series of accidents. In the end, only one out of seven survived. This was a complete shock to NASA.
Fortunately, NASA managed to gather enough people for the mission. Zhang Heng, who survived, was the one with the best training results among the seven. This result was not unacceptable to NASA.
The selection training had unexpectedly turned into an elimination training. There was no longer any suspense about the final candidate. For the next four days, Zhang Heng spent his time in the isolation room.
After entering the quarantine period, the astronauts no longer had any missions or training. Of course, they still had to exercise every day to keep their bodies in a good condition. Other than that, they could also use this time to adjust their sleep to adapt to the work schedule in space.
When it came to food, NASA no longer had any restrictions. In theory, astronauts could tell the nutritionist whatever they wanted to eat, even if it was some relatively high-calorie "junk food". Since the variety and taste of space food was far inferior to the delicacies on Earth, this was considered a form of compensation for the astronauts before they left.
Of course, there was also a hint of "last meal" in it.
After all, it had only been eight years since Gagarin first entered space on behalf of mankind, and now, mankind was challenging to land on another celestial body. For the Apollo 11 mission team, this was an opportunity to write their own mark in history, but at the same time, it was accompanied by an extremely high risk.
No one knew what would happen when the rocket was launched, just as no one knew if the spacecraft could successfully enter lunar orbit, or if the lunar module could land safely on the moon, let alone successfully return and redock with the command/service module in orbit.
Even though the process had been simulated and calculated thousands of times in the laboratory, when the moment came, no one knew what would happen.
After all, even the insurance companies were unwilling to accept the astronauts' insurance.
For this reason, Armstrong and the others came up with a special way to insure themselves. Before they set off, they left behind hundreds of envelopes with their own signatures, as well as souvenirs related to the moon landing mission, to their relatives and wives. If an accident happened to the moon landing, these signatures would be their last words, and they would have considerable collectible value. The money earned from selling the envelopes would also ensure the survival of their respective families.
Armstrong also suggested Zhang Heng to do the same, but the latter politely declined. Zhang Heng had no one to worry about in the United States in the sixties, and all his family and friends were outside the quest. Still, Zhang Heng helped Armstrong and Collins sign a few envelopes and took a photo with them at the ruins. If they really came in handy, they could probably sell them for a high price.
Zhang Heng didn't think that Armstrong and Collins were too pessimistic. After all, if everything went well, the White House's spokesperson should have started preparing their eulogy. If the moon landing failed, the eulogy would be broadcasted by the newly inaugurated president, Richard Nixon, to the entire United States.
While expressing their condolences, they would also be commended for their courage and fearlessness, minimizing the negative impact of the moon landing failure on the people as much as possible.
However, none of this had anything to do with Zhang Heng. Taking advantage of the rare moment of peace before he set off, he checked on his previous gains. After killing Jia Lai, he received a basic reward of 20 game points. At the same time, he also obtained three game items from Jia Lai: a wooden whistle, a lens, and a glass marble. Zhang Heng guessed that the lens was related to Jia Lai's ability to maintain his vision in the sandstorm because he found it in his goggles.
As for the whistle and marbles, it was difficult to distinguish their respective functions from their appearance. Coupled with the fork and teeth he got from Bruno, it meant that he had obtained five game items in this quest. Behind the high risk, there was indeed a high reward hidden within.
But in comparison, he was more concerned about the small gift given to him by the engineer named Einstein in Area 51, even though it wasn't a game item.
But the moment he opened the box, Zhang Heng couldn't take his eyes off it.
The thing inside the box was an AirPods wireless Bluetooth headset.
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