Chapter 801: Welcome Home!
The Lunar Orbit Committee was preparing to begin construction on the Moon’s surface. It had been a month since Starlight left Mars.
The last orbital change was complete, and Starlight had consumed most of its working medium. It had already turned off its ion thruster systems and was now relying on its inertia for the rest of the journey.
Travis had already gotten used to living on Starlight.
They had clean bedding, plenty of oxygen, and delicious food.
He spent more than a month in a small experimental room in New Virginia. Compared to that, life on Starlight was heaven.
The Chinese had a much better bathing system than NASA. Starlight had a one-person bathroom that simulated a gravitational environment by using centrifugal acceleration.
Simply speaking, after the device began to rotate, taking a bath on Starlight would feel exactly the same as taking a bath on Earth. Gone were the floating water drops.
After the person finished bathing, an air intake outlet would suck every drop of water out of the bathroom, and only then, would the cylinder stop rotating.
The bathroom was almost like a giant centrifuge.
The BFS s.p.a.cecraft would never have such an extravagant way of bathing.
Of course, the moment they stepped onto Starlight, they had to carefully calculate every drop of their resources. However, Starlight had plenty of electricity…
The only thing that Travis was unhappy with was the lack of freedom.
He only had a single bed in a small room, with no furniture except a foldable table under his bed. He couldn’t even leave his room outside of eating and bathing. He killed time by sleeping.
The depressing atmosphere made it impossible for Travis to feel comfortable. The round portholes showed nothing but the empty dark s.p.a.ce. It gave off a deep-sea submarine vibe.
The Heart of Gold had luxurious furniture and an entertainment system. Starlight, on the other hand, was like a garbage truck.
It was almost like Travis was in jail.
Travis looked at Johnson, who was in his own room, and asked, “How long until we arrive on Earth?”
Johnson was sitting on his bed, reading through a book. He replied casually, “Maybe a month… maybe two months… Maybe longer.”
The captain didn’t seem to be interested in talking. Travis shrugged and couldn’t help but say, “Why don’t the Chinese allow us to walk around? Are they really afraid of us…”
“It’s because we’re not sure if you contracted any bacteria or viruses from living on Mars. We can’t give you a full-body examination either,” Liu Biao said as he floated over with a lunch box.
He placed the lunch box on the table outside their bedrooms and said, “I know the living conditions are harsh, but I hope you guys can power through. After all, this cabin was originally a cargo compartment. We never thought we would have to fly to Mars.”
Travis looked at the Chinese astronaut and said, “Hey, buddy, can you give us a game console or something? Not everyone wants to read a d.a.m.n book!”
Liu Biao smiled and said, “I’ll relay your request to the ground command center. Maybe they’ll give you a game console next time.”
“Next time? I don’t want to be here again!”
Liu Biao didn’t reply. He turned around and left the guest cabin module.
After the cabin module door was locked, the bedroom doors unlocked. Travis muttered, “It feels like I’m in prison.”
Johnson said, “We are asking them for a favor… At least they’re bringing us back to Earth.”
Travis thought about it and realized that Johnson was right.
He suddenly remembered something the Chinese astronaut said.
He gulped and spoke in a nervous tone.
“Captain…”
Johnson: “What…”
Travis: “If there are microorganisms and bacteria on Mars, does this mean we are…”
“Don’t think too much.” Johnson flipped through his book and casually said, “It is possible, but it’s very unlikely.”
Travis angrily slammed his fists on the heavy door.
“Sh*t, is that what the White House thinks of us? As laboratory mice?”
Julia was in her room, and she sat on her bed with her arms wrapped around her knees. She listened to the two guys as she quietly stared outside the porthole.
She had been using this time to reflect on her life, on her decisions, and her plans for the Ares program.
In the beginning, she didn’t understand why her mission failed even though everyone tried their best.
But now, she finally realized that the outcome of the Ares program might not be an accident.
This hasty trip to Mars was an unwise decision from the beginning…
…
Starlight’s journey back to Earth was faster than expected.
On the 50th day of Starlight’s journey, a blue planet appeared outside the porthole.
“This is Starlight, currently entering the s.p.a.ce station orbit, requesting navigation support.”
“This is Moon Palace, providing navigation.”
“Received, thanks.”
After the communication, Starlight slowly merged into the Moon Palace orbit.
A silver-white structure slowly appeared in the porthole, with the sun s.h.i.+ning behind.
Johnson was lying on his bed. He looked at the Moon Palace and put down his book. His blue pupils enlarged.
“Jesus… Is this the Chinese s.p.a.ce station?”
He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
The image in front of him was much more shocking than the concept image.
The s.p.a.cecraft slowly inched forward.
They were getting closer and closer to the s.p.a.ce station.
The rice-sized s.p.a.ce station eventually turned into a dragon.
The thousands of solar panels were like the dragon’s wings. The heat sinks were like its scales. The cylindrical s.p.a.ce modules were its limbs.
It was like a fortress.
Or a piece of art…
Xu Zhenghong, who was sitting in the Starlight c.o.c.kpit, smiled with a tired look on his face. He reached out his fist and made a fist b.u.mp with Liu Bio. He then pressed the b.u.t.ton on his helmet and spoke in a clear voice.
“This is Starlight, we have successfully entered orbit, requesting docking!”
Two seconds went by.
The other side replied, “This is Moon Palace.
“Welcome back, our heroes!”