Jinling Space Launch Center.

A huge and magnificent aerospace plane is already crawling on the launch runway.

Its name is the Glow, but it is a little different from the one from the one from a few years ago. In order to accommodate long-distance flights and more flexible launch missions, the Aerospace Science and Technology Research Institute of the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study has redesigned its fusion energy supply unit and high-power Hall thruster to improve its cruising range and engine stability at the expense of extreme speed.

Now it is not Mars, even the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter can be easily reached in a month's time. However, at present, the lunar orbit construction committee does not have the practical need to send people to such a far place, and if it is only to collect rock samples, it can be achieved through unmanned probes.

As for the pilot of this flight, he is also the original team of the Martian, and he is also the only astronaut in the astronaut team who has experience in Mars orbital cruise.

With an experimental device encapsulated in a metal cube cargo box sent into the cargo hold, the entire space plane has completed its final preparations for launch.

Liu Biao and Xu Zhenghong, who had already put on the spacesuits in the cabin, boarded the gangway under the eyes of the ground crew, entered the interior of the aerospace aircraft, took their seats in the main and co-pilot seats respectively, and connected the spacesuits to the cabin health protection system.

"A long-awaited trip to Mars."

"I don't know if I can still see the wreckage of the BFS spaceship in the past,"

Grinning, Xu Zhenghong, who checked the normal instruments in the cockpit, smiled and said, "Haha, it's been more than a year, and I probably can't see it."

Liu Biao joked and said, "If the situation allows, maybe we can get it back." ”

During the last rescue operation, NASA was worried that Huaguo would obtain the secrets of the BFS spacecraft, and voluntarily crashed the BFS spacecraft hovering in orbit at the same time that the Xiaguang arrived on Mars.

Having said that, the coordinates of the ship's crash were recorded by them. If there is enough fuel, it is not difficult to land on Mars and get some "local products" by the way.

"The situation probably won't allow it, why should we care about a bunch of rags, and it's still with troublesome rags," opened the power output gate, looking at the rising magnetic counter, Xu Zhenghong pushed on the ignition switch and switched to the communication screen of the ground command center at the same time, and said in a serious tone, "This is Xiaguang, we are entering the take-off orbit." ”

"Roger, this is the ground command center, everything is normal in the sky, the launch plan continues, good luck to you!"

The dark engine was lit up by blue flames for a moment, and the massive fuselage began to glide forward under the impetus of the high-temperature jet of plasma, and finally pulled the azure glow into the sky. Together with the expectations of the people on earth for the future, it was brought to the fiery red planet tens of millions of kilometers away.

In the audience outside the launch center.

Looking at the space plane that disappeared at the end of the clouds, physicists and journalists from all over the world let out exclamations of amazement.

With his back to a clear sky, the BBC TV reporter, with a shocked and almost exaggerated expression, reported the scene to the camera.

"An airplane, about two-thirds the size of a Boeing 777, took off off the runway with a blue glow and disappeared into the sky behind me."

"I can't put into words the shock in my heart, not because of its speed, but because it turned my understanding of space launch upside down."

"Maybe it's too late to say that, but I never thought about it...... Perhaps the people at NASA never thought that with the catalyst of controlled fusion, even electric propulsion could burst out with a power not inferior to that of a chemical engine! ”

"I almost forgot to get down to business, the IMCRC's Z-particle clock has successfully crossed the troposphere and is heading towards the edge of the atmosphere. If all goes well, it will reach the orbit of Mars within two weeks, drop the Z-particle clock, and test Professor Lu Zhou's hyperspace theory......"

Not far away.

A slightly younger, student-looking young man stood next to Professor Witten.

As if he was afraid of missing a moment, he stared at the sky for a long time without blinking, until the people began to fade away, and then he withdrew his gaze and looked at Professor Witten and asked.

"Professor......

"What's wrong?"

"What does it mean if he does manage to exceed the speed of light?"

"That means he might be greater than Einstein......" After a pause, as if to feel that his statement was not accurate enough, Witten added in a serious tone, "Correct, not possible, but just." ”

The news of the launch of the Z-Particle Clock spread around the world through the news.

According to the voyage plan, after dropping off the first Z-particle clock probe after arriving in synchronous orbit, Xiaguang will go to Lunumiya, and after completing the "fuel" there, it will continue to orbit around Mars.

Just when the eyes of the whole world were focused on this aerospace plane that was passing through the edge of the atmosphere, not far away, in the office of the president of the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study, Lu Zhou was thinking quietly in front of the equation on the whiteboard.

At this time, there was a knock on the door.

"Please come in."

The door opened, and a familiar figure walked into the office.

"You're actually here," Luo Wenxuan said curiously, looking at the equations written on the whiteboard that he couldn't understand at all, "I thought you would at least stand in the control tower of the launch center at this time." ”

"Is there any point in standing there?" Without taking his eyes off the whiteboard, Lu Zhou smiled faintly and replied casually, "My absence from the scene does not affect the success rate of the launch." Moreover, it was just a trip to Mars, and it wasn't the first time we had been there, so there was nothing to remember. ”

Luo Wenxuan: "What are you counting?" ”

"Do a final check of the calculation results......" Lu Zhou pondered for a while before adding a few lines of arithmetic to the whiteboard, "Or, find a way to make it a little more perfect." ”

Luo Wenxuan: "It's surprising, I didn't expect you to be not excited at all, and even be in the mood to count these things." ”

Lu Zhou: "Is there anything exciting about it?" ”

Luo Wenxuan teased and said: "I feel that a physicist greater than Einstein is about to be born, and every explorer of the new age of discovery will chant his name before setting sail and pray for safety on his journey." In the future, if any spacecraft breaks down outside the solar system, the passengers will definitely not call God by his name, but shout 'GTMD, land boat'. ”

Hearing this interesting statement, Lu Zhou couldn't help but smile.

"That's an exaggeration. Z-particles are just a breakthrough in our hyperspace theory, and whether they can become the key to solving interstellar travel depends on how people understand this theory in the future. At this time, taking the lead does not necessarily mean an advantage, just like direct current and alternating current, although the former was born first, it is the latter that wins people's favor in the end. ”

"But Faraday's contribution to the world will be remembered by all."

Lu Zhou: "I don't deny this, this kind of thing that is not beneficial, you have to give the discoverer a little honorary reward." ”

Luo Wenxuan shrugged his shoulders and asked, "Then why are you doing such a thing that is not beneficial and will take a huge risk?" ”

Lu Zhou: "Frankly, it's because of interest. ”

Luo Wenxuan was slightly stunned, and then smiled.

"Looks like your answer."

Lu Zhou: "Did you come here to talk to me?" ”

"Of course not."

As he spoke, Luo Wenxuan took out a card from his pocket and handed it to Lu Zhou.

Looking at this beautifully crafted card, Lu Zhou raised his eyebrows curiously, put down the marker pen in his hand and took it, unfolded it along the broken line, and glanced at the content on it.

"What is this?"

"An invitation letter," looking at Lu Zhou, Luo Wenxuan shrugged his shoulders and explained, "I don't know if you're interested, but it just so happens that I'm also here in Jinling, so I brought it to you by the way." ”

Lamp pen