Dead on Mars

Chapter 139: Sol Two Hundred and Seventy-Five, Fitter, Electrician, Assembler, Plumber, Instrument Engineer, Repairman

The Eagle’s Ascent Vehicle was covered in a layer of heat-resistant material which was a part of the lander’s heat-resistant tiles.

The Eagle lander, in its complete form, was a rounded lifting-body construction that had upper and lower components, a wing-fuselage fusion design. Its atmospheric entry was made with its belly facing down, and at its highest temperature, it could rise to at least 2000°C. Normal materials were undoubtedly unable to withstand such temperatures.

The heat-resistant tiles that lined the lander’s belly weren’t uniformly the same material. In the spots with the highest temperatures from adiabatic compression, such as the nose cone and flange, the engineers used carbon fiber to enhance the silicon-carbide materials. And this material was covered in phenolic impregnated carbon ablator. During the atmospheric entry, the heat-resistant tiles would rapidly rise in temperature to wick away the heat.

“It failed.

“It failed again.

“Yet another failure.

“F**k the faaaaailure—!”

Upon entering the Hab, Tang Yue heard Tomcat roaring angrily.

“What happened?” Tang Yue detached the life support system and left it hanging on the wall to charge.

“It’s the forty-second failure.” Tomcat squeezed the few words through its teeth in a sulky manner. Numbers and diagrams were streaming across the monitor before it, leaving Tang Yue, who had just crawled out of the Radiant Armor, groggy just from looking at it.

“Failure?” Tang Yue couldn’t comprehend it. “What failed?”

“The Eagle lander.” Tomcat sat straight. “I got the workstation to simulate the Eagle’s atmospheric entry forty-two times, and it failed every single time.”

“Why?”

“It’s because it’s not stable at all. Don’t forget that we only have half an Eagle,” Tomcat explained. “It’s not complete. In terms of weight, center of mass, and aerodynamic properties, it’s completely different from the complete version of the Eagle. I’ve attempted throwing it down from an orbit of three hundred kilometers, and guess what happened?”

“What happened?”

“In the first sixty seconds, it descended with its belly faced down, but from the sixty-first second, it begins course deviation, and at the sixty-fifth second, tumbling happens. At the seventieth second, it begins tumbling.” Tomcat clasped a pen in its paws and demonstrated it to Tang Yue. “Following that, the Eagle will begin showcasing space gymnastics, spinning several times continuously… The calculation shows that its fragments will likely scatter across a rectangular region spanning eight hundred square kilometers.

“And that’s the best outcome,” Tomcat added. “There was once when it began tumbling from the thirtieth second.”

“Is there any way to control it?”

Tang Yue knew that the attitude during atmospheric entry was crucial. The Eagle lander wasn’t a ball with heat resistant material covering every inch of its body. Apart from the nose and belly which met the air, its back and tail weren’t heat resistant. Once it lost control during the atmospheric entry, it would begin tumbling and the spacecraft would be destroyed by the high temperatures.

“I haven’t found any solutions for the time being. Th complete Eagle uses the engine and wing structure to stabilize itself, with the attitude of the first 90% handled by the engine. After the altitude drops below 10,000 meters, the pressure on the wings would be sufficiently high allowing the aerodynamic wings to take over,” Tomcat said. “We have nothing except half a shell.”

Tang Yue poured himself a cup of water and began lapping it up like a dog.

“Can the computer on the Eagle help?”

“I’m modifying the program at the moment,” Tomcat said. “After all, Earth’s side had never considered anyone using a condemned lander for an atmospheric entry again. Therefore the Indian programmers didn’t design such a process… But having the computer alone is useless. To control the attitude, we need actual forces. Only with either aerodynamic forces or the thrust from rockets—the combined efforts of Neumann and Newton—will we achieve our goals.”

“Then can we create a wing with the existing materials we have?”

“Are you possessed by Iron Man?” Tomcat asked. “The Marvel Universe isn’t under the purview of Lord Isaac, but you are.”

“I was just saying.” Tang Yue continued lapping the water sulkily.

When the complete Eagle entered the atmosphere, it had exhaustive means of deceleration. It had an inflatable decelerator and a massive parachute, as well as the Raptor rockets in the Descent Vehicle. It was enough to reduce a speed of 5 km/s to zero.

But all of them were abandoned after the first landing.

Tang Yue and Tomcat only had a shell that had half its surface covered with tiles and nothing else. They didn’t have decelerators, parachutes, or engines.

Creating it themselves was clearly impractical. Figures like Tony Stark only existed in movies and comics.

To be able to build a suit of armor, which could fly and spew fire, in a cave with a box of scraps was more magic than technology.

“Can the engine on the Orion be used?”

“The engine on the Orion?” Tomcat frowned. “How do we use it?”

“Think of a way. Install Orion’s engine to the lander, then use it to decelerate.”

“You got possessed by Iron Man again?” Tomcat rolled its eyes. “Do you think building a spacecraft is playing with Lego? You want to get that lass, Mai Dong, to dismantle the engine with a wrench? The exhaust nozzles are thicker than her torso. You are an engineer; shouldn’t you be a little more professional with your words?”

“I’m an electrical engineer, not an aerospace engineer.”

Tang Yue had been forced into a corner for him to cook up ridiculous ideas. Treating a reed as a straw to clutch at, others would pin their hopes on divine powers when they were at the end of their rope, so it wasn’t strange that he pinned his hopes on Orion’s engine.

“The problem is that, apart from Orion’s engine, we do not have any other power systems. Even if it’s a tiny bit of hope, it’s still worth a shot. Despair gives courage even to a coward, so how is dismantling the engine with a wrench impossible?”

“That engine is probably sealed, so how are you going to dismantle it with a wrench?” Tomcat shook its head and sighed. “You’ll need an acetylene torch if you want to do so… Seriously, what kind of world is this? The lady is a botanist, but she’s forced to become a fitter, electrician, assembler, plumber, instrument engineer, repairman. Now, you are getting her to dismantle a spacecraft. Do you know how difficult it is and how much work is involved? Do you know that it’s as if you’re getting her to dismantle a corvette with her bare hands? Doesn’t your conscience prick to force her to do such hard labor?”

As Tomcat nagged on, it opened Orion’s schematics.

Although it was idle chatter, what Tang Yue had said wasn’t without reason. If they weren’t in a desperate situation, he wouldn’t have suggested such a nonsensical proposal. Having bumped into walls in every direction, Orion’s engine was the only way out. It could lead to life, but also death. Even though the path ahead was hard to tell, it was worth trying.

Perhaps there was a one in ten-thousandth chance of succeeding if you embarked on that path.

But not taking it guaranteed failure.

The monitor displayed the completed calculations. Tomcat glanced at the screen and said, “Great. Another failure for the forty-third time. This time, the lander did pretty well. It held out for fifty-nine seconds.”

“Mr. Cat, Tang Yue.” Mai Dong appeared on-screen decked out in a spacesuit. She nudged her visor up and said, “I’m ready. I can head out anytime.”

“OK!” Tomcat turned around. “Miss Mai Dong, suck in some oxygen first. I’ll adjust the arm… Remember, we aren’t demanding you complete the inspection in one go. The Eagle’s heat-resistant tiles cover quite a wide area. You have one and a half hours of EVA time.”

“Got it.”

“Be safe, lass.” Tang Yue gave her a thumbs up.

Mai Dong was taken aback as she pursed her lips into a smile, giving him a thumbs-up as well.