Die on Mars

At 11:30 in the morning, just when Tang Yue and Lao Mao were sitting on pins and needles, a turning point finally appeared.

First, the anemometer detected that the energy of the storm was weakening, and then the wind speed began to decrease. The wind speed of 43 meters per second dropped at a speed visible to the naked eye. The number on the anemometer display jumped every two seconds. once.

43.13 meters.

43.02 meters.

42.77 meters.

42.54 meters.

42.35 meters.

42.07 meters.

41.86 meters.

41.42 meters.

41.21 meters.

40.69 meters.

40.25 meters.

39.44 meters.

The wind speed exceeded the forty-meter mark at an extremely fast speed, and the system computer began to warn. In its view, if the wind speed dropped according to this trend, it would be below the safety line in the next ten minutes, which was very dangerous. There may be a suitable launch window. As for Tang Yue and Lao Mao, they jumped up early. They didn't need to wait for the computer to remind them. The first change in the numbers on the anemometer caught their attention.

Old Mao pulled a chair over, sat down in front of the workbench, and activated the computer. In this small gap, the wind speed dropped from 38.12 meters per second to 37.91 meters per second.

Then it dropped from 37.91 meters per second to 37.22 meters per second.

"Tang Yue, plug in the data cable over there, red into red, white into white, don't make a mistake." The old cat said in a deep voice, and the computer screen in front of it suddenly lit up.

"Received, received, received!" Tang Yue was nervous. He hurriedly sorted out the messy cables and glanced at the anemometer. The number had dropped to 36.08 meters per second.

Tang Yue was overjoyed, has God opened his eyes?

The old cat quickly hit the Enter key, and the progress bar on the screen reached its end within a few seconds. The lander's system computer was successfully connected, and a dialog box popped up on the computer screen, showing "Welcome to Eagle Lander", and it began to enter Eagle Lander. The launch procedure of the spacecraft.

"Old Cat, what's going on?" Tang Yue asked, "Why did the wind speed suddenly decrease? Could it be that God heard my prayer?"

"This has nothing to do with God, and it has nothing to do with your prayers. We may have entered the low-pressure area of ​​the storm." Old Cat replied, "Do you know about typhoons?"

Tang Yue nodded.

"The wind speed of a typhoon may exceed tens of meters per second, but the wind speed at its most central eye is zero, with no wind or waves. This is because there is only updraft at the eye. This phenomenon is determined by the laws of physics and mathematics. , so all the storms in the solar system are the same." The old cat spoke very quickly, but his hands moved even faster, "The storm above our heads should be a huge cyclone. It has been moving slowly on the surface of Mars. We may have entered the low pressure area at the center of it, so the wind speeds are decreasing dramatically."

The wind speed dropped to 35.11 meters per second.

"So, it is possible that the wind speed will drop below the safety line?"

Old Cat nodded, "This is our only chance. The low-pressure area in the center of the cyclone is very small, but the storm is moving very fast. We don't know how long this wind speed can last. It may only be a few minutes, but we have to seize it." In these few minutes, once we leave the low pressure area, the wind speed will increase again."

The wind speed dropped to 34.07 meters per second.

The system computer at Kunlun Station quickly gave a prediction curve for the decrease in wind speed. The green polyline gradually descended and touched a red line after five minutes - the safety line of 30 meters per second. Although this prediction had only a negligible reference significance, Tang Yue was still extremely pleasantly surprised.

"The lander launch program has been started." A soft female voice came from the computer. The old cat raced against time to check the lander's system computer for the last time. This was a necessary step before launch.

"The system computer is normal!" Old Cat growled.

"The navigation system is normal!"

"The engine is in normal condition!"

"The propellant status is normal!"

"The self-inspection before launch is completed, the upgrade lock is unlocked, and the engine is ready." The computer prompted, "The lander is in good condition and can be launched."

The wind speed dropped to 33.79 meters per second.

"Ten!" Laomao and Tang Yue stared at the anemometer screen and counted down together.

"Nine!"

"eight!"

The wind speed dropped to 33.45 meters per second.

"seven!"

"six!"

The wind speed dropped to 32.17 meters per second.

"five!"

"Four!"

The wind speed dropped to 31.88 meters per second.

"three!"

"two!"

The wind speed dropped to 30.97 meters per second.

Fall again! Fall again! Tang Yue roared in a low voice, veins popped out on his forehead. The clothes on his body were soaked with sweat, and he was dripping with sweat. Tang Yue had never been so nervous in his life. The scarlet four-digit number only needed to change once more to reach safety. line, they were just one step away from launching the Eagle spacecraft. The old cat stood next to him, his cat eyes widened, the whiskers on his face trembling slightly, his paws hanging above the keyboard, waiting for the number to change one last time.

One person and one cat almost had their faces pressed against the anemometer, and the black LCD screen reflected two ferocious faces. It seemed that if the wind speed could not be successfully reduced to a safe level, then these two guys would definitely eat the anemometer alive.

The countdown had reached two, but the wind speed no longer dropped, and the old cat's paws were unable to pat down.

30.97.

30.97.

30.97.

Still 30.97.

Damn it...get down here! Tang Yue angrily slapped the screen of the anemometer, thinking that this was how he used to deal with those disobedient old TV sets when he was a child. If they didn't obey, they would be shot to death! The monitor shook, fell back, and made a clang. I wonder if Tang Yue's slap was effective. The moment it fell, the numbers jumped.

29.98.

"One!" Tang Yue and Lao Mao yelled at the same time, and the latter slapped his paws on the keyboard, "Go away--!"

Time seemed to pause for a second, and then a slight vibration spread along the ground to their feet. Then the whole earth shook. Tang Yue and Lao Mao turned their heads. Through the porthole, a bright ball suddenly burst out in the darkness in the distance. The white light was as if someone had lit an incendiary bomb under the water. The light was so bright and intense that it pierced the darkness like a sword. Even a sandstorm could not eliminate it.

Then a loud boom came over, the sound was one step slower than light. It overwhelmed all the sounds in Kunlun Station. There were loud booms in all directions, as if hundreds of millions of people were beating drums at the same time! Tang Yue opened his eyes wide in a daze, looking at the group of light rising slowly like the sun. Tang Yue could imagine that the engine of the Eagle spacecraft spewed out blazing flames several stories high, releasing tens or hundreds of tons of huge thrust. This was the most powerful force at the disposal of mankind. It roared and carried the mountains on its back, tenaciously The earth broke away from the gravity of Mars, and everything around it seemed small in front of this force.

The Eagle spacecraft was successfully launched!