Gurbantunggut Desert.

It's a forbidden area for life.

Many years ago, Academician Lu drew a circle here, a six-lane highway and two poplar trees planted along the edge of the road were paved here, and with the completion of an ostrich-egg-shaped closed biosphere, it gradually became a little populated.

The pen in his hand stopped, and Liang Youcheng, who was wearing work clothes, glanced at the cabin air pressure indicator on the workbench next to him, and then closed the diary in his hand.

It has been a full 400 days since the biosphere was last closed.

Liang Youcheng has to do two things every day, one is to video with his wife and children, and the other is to write a diary to record the bits and pieces of life in the biosphere.

This was the advice of a psychiatrist when he was still in training.

“…… The environment on Mars will be even harsher than here, and being in low gravity for a long time will not only cause a load on the bones and organs, but also cause a lot of stress on the heart. Now that the former can be controlled with medication, the latter needs to be adjusted by yourself, so try to keep a diary when you are bored, just write two sentences. ”

In this way, more than a year has passed now, and he feels that his diary is thick enough to publish a book. So that this kind of life is about to end, and he has a trace of reluctance.

"Speaking of which, today is the day when the biosphere opens."

With a sigh of relief, he stood up from the console.

If he's not mistaken, he's the last rotation. Once the last potatoes and corn have been harvested, they can pack their bags and stand at the airlock door waiting for someone outside to open the door.

I don't know where I heard the news, but since the day before yesterday, some people have been saying that it is said that Academician Lu will come today.

For this chief adviser and chief designer of the Lunar Orbit Construction Committee, no astronaut will be unfamiliar.

After hearing the news, almost everyone was excitedly discussing whether this meant that the time for them to fulfill their mission was about to come......

At the same time, outside the biosphere.

Accompanied by several soldiers of the unit, the group walked on the concrete road inside the research base.

Looking around, looking at the neat cement houses on both sides of the road, Lu Zhou couldn't help but say with some nostalgia.

"It's back here again."

Walking next to him, Director Li felt the same in his heart at the moment, and said in a rather emotional tone.

"yes."

Counting this time, he came to this desert a total of three times, whether it was the site selection of the base or the recovery of the lightning airborne capsule, each time he was with Lu Zhou.

Not only that, but every time he came here, he could see a clear difference from this lonely castle standing in the desert.

And this time, the change he saw in his eyes was even more obvious.

It can even be said that it is like a different look, even if the changes he saw in the first two times he came here combined, I am afraid that it is not as shocking as this one.

"I didn't expect the changes here to be quite big."

Hearing this, Lu Zhou smiled.

"What's more? I almost didn't recognize it. ”

When the Tinder Project was first established, he remembered that it was still a barren desert, and the main people stationed here were the nearby militia regiments and scientific researchers transferred from various research units.

At that time, the conditions were very difficult, they slept in a mobile house converted from a container, ate dry food that was easy to preserve, and drank water brought by a water truck from 100 kilometers away.

Now, a few years later, Project Tinder has taken root in this desert. And this research base has changed from a spark to a burning torch, and has become a beacon that cannot be ignored in China's extraterrestrial colonization program and the international biosphere research program!

Walking next to Lu Zhou and Director Li, Professor Hu Yang's appearance looks a lot more vicissitudes than back then.

The dry wind and sand took away his youth from the young and middle-aged professor of the Agricultural University, and at the same time left cracked folds on his face.

If you don't look at your ID card, no one can tell that he is only in his early forties.

"In the last two years, two more research institutes have been moved here, and members of international cooperation organizations have moved in, so many people have been stationed here, and eating and drinking have boosted the local economy, and many locals who do business in this neighborhood have simply built houses along the road when they see that the troops have built water towers nearby. I'm a little worried about whether the relocation of so many people here will damage the fragile ecology of the area. ”

"After all, what attracted us to stay here was the forbidden area of life in the middle of the Gurbantunggut Desert, and if this trend continues, I am afraid that the locals will have to develop tourism here in the future, and we will have to move out sooner or later."

Director Li nodded thoughtfully, and said seriously: "I will report the situation here with the organization, and guide the non-researchers who have settled nearby to a suitable place as soon as possible." ”

Professor Hu Yang sighed: "Then please." ”

As they spoke, the group finally walked to the deepest part of the research base.

This is where the core component of the entire Tinder project is located, Biosphere A.

Since the last experiment, the biosphere has been operating stably for 400 days without the input of external resources. Now that its milestones have been accomplished, today is the time for that floodgate to open.

In the lounge outside the biosphere, Lu Zhou and the others met the astronauts who were about to go to distant Mars.

"Hello Academician Lu!"

As soon as they met, a young astronaut in civilian clothes enthusiastically stepped forward and shook Lu Zhou's hand.

In response to the young astronaut's enthusiasm, Lu Zhou shook his right hand and said with a good smile.

"Hello, hello! It's been a hard time to be in the biosphere for a year! ”

His face was flushed with pride, and Dr. Liang Youcheng said with a hearty smile.

"It's not hard! The automation technology in the biosphere is very mature, and our work is relatively easy! I only have to work six hours a day, and I have a break outside of work, and I have broadband to access the Internet, but the two months when the network was cut off are a bit difficult for psychological stress ability detection, and the rest is okay. ”

The so-called psychological stress capacity test is to test the mental endurance of astronauts under simulated extreme situations.

In the last simulation, for example, the researchers assumed that solar flares damaged communication equipment outside the biosphere, artificially cutting off communication between the biosphere and the outside world for up to two months.

During that time, I couldn't talk to my family on the phone, and I couldn't use the Internet to watch a certain sound.

For a person who has lived in modern society for twenty or thirty years, this is indeed quite torturous.

Looking at the young astronaut in front of him, Lu Zhou said in a serious tone.

"It's going to be worse on Mars than on Earth, and it's probably going to be two or three years, maybe by the time you come back, your kids are already in junior high school...... Have you figured it out? ”

Liang Youcheng straightened his waist, raised his chin slightly, and replied in a sonorous voice.

"From the day I joined the space brigade, I thought it through. As for my son, he would be proud of his father's name! ”

Looking at the unwavering expression on the astronaut's face in front of him, Lu Zhou cast an approving glance at him and nodded slightly.

"It's been a pleasure to work with you."

"Speaking of which, Academician Lu, I want to ask you one thing for my comrades-in-arms, I don't know if it's convenient?"

Lu Zhou: "What's the problem?" ”

"Are we ...... Coming soon? ”

Looking at the astronauts in front of him, with eager expressions on their faces, Lu Zhou was slightly stunned, then nodded with a smile and replied seriously.

"That's right."

"The manned landing program on Mars will be launched within a month!"

Looking at the crowd with joyful expressions on their faces, he cleared his throat and continued in a serious tone.

"I came to the Great Northwest this time to check whether the design of the colony module is up to standard, and the other purpose is to review the warriors who are about to go to space for us......"

"That's you!"

"Your performance has been outstanding, even exceeding our researchers' expectations! It is clear that you have passed all the tests and have impressed everyone, including me, with the perseverance and courage you have shown in your experiments. I hope that you will remember what you have learned in the experiment, and spread all the good and excellent qualities to our civilization to the distant starry sky. ”

"We're not the first to set our feet on Mars, but I'm confident that we'll do what they wanted to do but couldn't."

"In the near future, because of your bravery, our flag will forever fly on the land of Mars."

"Reclaim the wasteland into fertile land, and turn the desert into an oasis!"