Earth, North America.

NASA Headquarters.

Sitting at his desk, Director Carson was flipping through the papers in his hands.

Just then, the office door opened, and a man in a suit walked in briskly.

Looking up at the assistant who walked through the door, Director Carson reached out and removed his glasses from the bridge of his nose and said in a tone with a hint of weariness.

"How's it going? And what about the three astronauts? ”

The assistant replied.

"It's on the Luna Palace space station right now."

Turning the pen in his hand, Carson pinched the pen and nodded lightly on the desk.

"What about the timeline for the handover? When does Hua Guo plan to send people back? ”

They paid at least $1 billion for the expensive Martian Rescue operation.

Although the Chinese propaganda has borne $713 million in relief funds out of humanitarian reasons, the devil knows how much they really paid.

After all, at present, the only company that can bring people back from Mars at the end of the window period is Star Technology, and they have the final say on how to quote this budget.

Carson estimates that Huaguo will have a $300 million or $400 million when it reaches the sky, and the entire rescue operation will not cost as much as $1.7 billion.

Met Director Carson's gaze, the assistant hesitated for a moment, and said with an embarrassed expression.

“…… Not sure yet. ”

"Not sure?" Director Carson was slightly stunned for a moment, and frowned, "What do you mean...... Are they still going to hold people up? ”

"Not really, it's just our astronauts...... There seems to be a little bit of a glitch. ”

“…… What's the problem? ”

Facing Director Carson's inquiring eyes, the assistant's face was full of bitterness.

"In the metabolites of the three colonists, suspected Martian bacterial ...... was detected"

……

After the successful docking of the Xiaguang and the Moon Palace, the news of the return of the three colonists of New Virginia to the Earth-Moon System immediately spread all over the world along the network cable.

However, before the people of the world had time to cheer for this great moment, the news of the discovery of the Martian strain on the three colonists was also spread along with the triumph of the Chinese rescue team.

When the news was announced, the international community was in an uproar.

Some people are curious about these little creatures from Mars, or others say they don't care about what the astronauts bring back from Mars.

However, the mood that pervades the other part of the population, or the vast majority of the population, is panic......

Columbia Television.

Some time ago, Jamie, who was also enthusiastic about the Ares plan and invited three colonists to be guests at the scene, this time he changed his previous position and not only became a staunch opponent of the Ares plan, but also invited a certain ecologist who strongly criticized NASA to the talk show.

Facing the audience at the scene, as well as the camera, the old professor who was over sixty years old shouted in an angry voice.

“…… I said a long time ago that Project Ares was another stupid and inhumane human experiment from the very beginning! NASA knows that it's not just the climate that's dangerous on Mars, it's also the microbes and even viruses that we've never even seen! But even so, they sent the colonists to Mars and coaxed them to return home one day......"

"Oh God, now they do come back, brought back by the generous Chinese. But where exactly should we put them carrying the Martian strain? Who can guarantee that the germs they carry are harmless to others? Harmless to our fragile ecosystems? ”

"NASA must be held accountable for this!"

It's not just Columbia Television that's shifting stance.

When the term human experimentation was put on the table, almost every media outlet in North America that had any scruples about being politically correct drew a line from NASA and the Ares program.

As Director Carson expected, after the news of the three colonists being infected with Martian bacteria spread, NASA and the Ares program were immediately attacked by public opinion.

Although he felt a little wronged.

After all, in the original Ares plan, there was no plan to bring these Martian colonists back to Earth. If it weren't for the global sandstorm, they wouldn't have had to worry about how to calm the anger of the people.

But now it seems that it is too late to say anything.

From the moment the Martian bacteria were detected on the three colonists, his political career may have come to an end......

At the same time, it's not just Director Carson who has been hit.

Far away on Wall Street in New York, a dark cloud is also hanging over the sky at this moment. Those listed aerospace companies that were once hot in the financial market are now facing a bleak capital winter.

Even Space-X, which is already at the top of the industry, and Blue Origin, which is controlled by Amazon, are not having a good time.

However, when public opinion is criticizing NASA and the Ares program, the academic community has a completely different reaction.

The paper published by Leslie and Dr. Shuxuan Zhao caused a huge sensation around the world.

The existence of life on Mars has long been a controversial topic.

Although humans have sent countless probes to Mars, and even dropped a life-support unit, as well as three astronauts, so far they have not brought back an inch of soil directly from Mars.

The only meteorites from Mars that have been picked up from Earth are the ones that can be studied by astrobiologists, numbered ALH840001 and Yamato593 and Nakhla.

Although all three meteorites have found signs of the presence of microorganisms, there is still no direct evidence that these microorganisms actually existed, or what they were.

The bacteria brought back from Mars by the Glowing spacecraft are full of unpredictable risks, but they are also valuable for research.

The biological community believes that this is an epic discovery, and the study of the bacterium will hopefully reveal the thin "ecosystem" on Mars and enrich the DNA database currently known to man.

The astronomical community also said that the bacteria brought back by the three colonists from Mars will provide key research materials for the study of Mars' historical landform changes and the evolution of the atmospheric environment.

Of course, scholars in related fields have also expressed concern.

Martian strains that can survive in extreme environments are likely to show the same tenacious vitality on Earth and have an unpredictable impact on Earth's ecosystem.

At that time, European colonists brought a series of infectious diseases to North America, almost exterminating the indigenous people living there. And the indigenous people of North America who were killed by infectious diseases were far greater than those who died under the guns.

Now these three people have gone around Mars and come back, bringing little life on Mars, although the physical condition of the three people seems to be unaffected at present, but no one can guarantee that it will always be like this.

And just when the atmosphere of panic gradually spread, the Huaguo Lunar Orbit Construction Committee issued a public statement.

For the sake of human civilization as a whole, bringing the three colonists back to Earth will not be considered until the possible impact of the bacterium on Earth's ecosystem is determined, or until the Martian strains carried by the three colonists are completely killed.

At the same time, the Chinese Lunar Orbit Construction Committee also announced that a lunar research facility would be built on the lunar surface to temporarily house the three colonists and study their condition.

The facility and the research it conducts are subject to supervision from all walks of life and are open to the international community as a whole, with the participation of other countries.

However, due to various factors such as cost, this will certainly not be free......