The artificial biosphere technology of the United States is indeed not to be underestimated.

There are no problems with the design of the entire life support unit, and it can even be said that the design is quite perfect.

From air circulation systems to water filtration systems and automatic irrigation systems in growing areas, every resource can be used to the maximum, and it is basically stepping on the boundary between science and fantasy.

Even on the side of the entire life-support unit, there is a circular interface with a diameter of about three meters, presumably prepared to expand the size of the colony.

Just as Space-X and NASA have shown in their Ares program, they are serious about building New Virginia into a 100-person colony, and using the abundant methane and carbon dioxide resources on Mars to achieve a self-cycle of artificial and closed ecosystems through self-cultivation.

The only problem, or the only fault that Lu Zhou, an ecological layman, can find fault with, is probably that the Ares project was rushed too hastily, and it happened to encounter a global sandstorm that I don't know how long it would last......

Natural disasters account for 70 percent, and human factors account for 30 percent at most, and NASA is indeed unlucky this time.

If it weren't for the suddenness of this sandstorm, perhaps the colonists of New Virginia might have been able to gain a foothold on Mars. Once geothermal wells and methane harvesting sites are deployed, solar power installations can survive until the end of a global sandstorm, even if they are unable to work due to a global sandstorm.

Of course, this is an afterthought.

After downloading all the data in the life support unit, Lu Zhou used a small amount of energy to unlock the sample library of the life support unit and the door to the sample library corridor.

The alloy door embedded in the wall of the experimental area slowly opened, and the air with a high concentration of carbon dioxide poured into the experimental area in an instant, and if there were living people inside, it would probably be difficult to breathe at this time.

But for the "reptile", it is just a breeze blowing in the face.

Passing through the dusty corridor, the nimble little guy quickly moved to the sample library, where rows of neatly arranged sample racks were presented in front of the camera.

According to the labels attached to the sample racks, the rock samples from various areas around the colony of New Virginia are stored here, and the numeric and alphabetic numbers record the coordinates and depth of the samples.

Although these astronauts to Mars are nominally called "colonists", in reality their daily missions are mainly scientific expeditions.

And these precious samples are one of the results of their scientific research.

"It seems that there is no direct access to the sample library in the experimental area...... It's a shame that I didn't get these things with me. Looking at the samples displayed here, Lu Zhou, who was sitting next to the terminal, had a regretful expression on his face.

If these samples can be brought back to Earth, humanity's understanding of Mars will surely rise to a new level.

Unfortunately, the circumstances at that time did not allow the colonists to take all these valuable samples with them to the re-entry capsule, so that these items had to be abandoned here.

Xiao Ai: [Master, do you want to start the scanning process?] 0.0】

Lu Zhou nodded and said, "Well, start it." ”

After waiting quietly for five or six minutes, the rover in the sample bank moved to the first row of sample racks, and slowly poked out a part that looked like a searchlight from the top.

As a blue light slowly emanates from the cone-shaped opening, the samples displayed on the shelves are enveloped in turn.

According to the information carried by the reflected beam, under the processing of special algorithms, a series of physical information such as the content of each rock element, particle size, etc., are fed back to the control terminal in front of Lu Zhou.

Not only that, but the data was quickly mapped to the corresponding areas in the map, depending on where and at what depth the rock samples were taken.

In less than ten minutes, a circular resource distribution map with a diameter of about 10-20 kilometers was presented in front of Lu Zhou.

Looking at this resource distribution map, Lu Zhou's face suddenly appeared with interest.

I was already very profitable to get the data of the life support unit, but I didn't expect to get such an unexpected gain from this life support unit!

According to the data on this map, there are at least two volcanic craters with intermittent eruptions of methane gas near the site in New Virginia, as well as a suspected underground ice layer located in a shallow area!

Although as early as March 19, ESA's Mars Express probe had found traces of liquid water under the Martian South Pole ice sheet, and NASA had previously published a paper on the discovery of perchlorate brine components in meteorite craters, it is obviously difficult to directly exploit these resources with extreme conditions and uneven distribution.

If we can identify an underground ice layer with sufficient reserves and relatively shallow depth, it will undoubtedly be of great help to colonize Mars in the future!

“…… It seems that NASA actually has far more information about Mars than they have published and published. ”

Staring at the area marked with suspected underground ice, Lu Zhou pondered for a moment, reached out and tapped twice on the keyboard to mark this area.

There was no need to be on time at all, Xiao Ai immediately understood what he meant.

Xiao Ai: [Master, do you need to explore this area?] (o゜▽゜)o☆】

Lu Zhou nodded and said, "Well, when the ruins of the New Virginia Colony Station are investigated, let the reptiles go here for a walk." If you find ice underground, report it to me immediately. ”

Ai: [Obey!] (????????????)???? 】

Finally witnessed the honor of the life support unit and NASA's black technology, and Lu Zhou's curiosity was satisfied.

Even if the rest of the work is not stared at by him, Xiao Ai's side can perfectly carry out the orders he has given.

After instructing Xiao Ai to preserve the original appearance of the life support unit as much as possible, Lu Zhou copied the data in the terminal to a mobile hard disk, and then took the mobile hard disk through the access control of the underground laboratory and took the elevator back to the first floor of the main building of the Institute for Advanced Study.

Taking out his mobile phone from his pocket, Lu Zhou opened the address book and flipped through it for a while, and soon a number was broadcast.

The phone rang twice and was immediately connected.

A hoarse voice with a bit of tiredness came from the other end of the phone.

"Hello?"

Lu Zhou: "Is it Professor Hu?" ”

Hearing Lu Zhou's voice, Hu Yang was slightly stunned for a moment, and then spoke.

"Yes...... Are you Professor Lu? ”

"Yes, I'm Lu Zhou," after a pause, Lu Zhou continued to ask, "Where are you now?" ”

"I'm here at the Institute of Space Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing...... What's the matter? ”

"Yes," without too many pleasantries, Lu Zhou succinctly and directly got to the point, "If you have time, please come to the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study, I have something that is inconvenient to say on the phone and needs to be handed over to you by hand."

For a moment, Professor Hu held his breath.

With a hint of uncertainty in his excitement, he asked in a trembling voice, "...... Something to do with the Tinder Project? ”

It was as if it was in response to his expectations.

Lu Zhou's next sentence made his eyes instantly rejuvenate with excitement.

"Yes, it has something to do with Project Tinder!"

。 m.