On the moon, above the lunar sea, a silver-white space shuttle swayed and quickly streaked through orbit with a faint white light.

In the cockpit, Zhai Zhigang was engrossed in controlling the Xinghai into the preset orbit, carefully controlling the speed and altitude.

The Moon is close at hand, but with the current speed of the Xiangxinghai, it is almost impossible to achieve a lunar landing.

He needed to control the space shuttle to slowly reduce its speed, trying to adjust from a 12-hour orbit to a 3.5-hour orbit, and then to a polar launch orbit.

Only in this way can the lunar module be launched close to the surface of the lunar sea.

Piloting the Xinghai, with the help of his teammates and the ground command center, Zhai Zhigang successfully lowered the spacecraft from a 12-hour high orbit to a 3.5-hour orbital orbit.

After confirming that there were no problems, he quickly reported the current status to the ground command center, and drove the Xinghai towards the final polar launch track.

With the switching, the trajectory of Xinghai around the moon successfully changed from a standard circle to an ellipse, and the flight speed, altitude, and direction were further adjusted with the help of small auxiliary Hall thrusters.

finally

With the arrival of the track and the successful switching of attitude, in the cockpit, there was a sound of 'successful orbiting!' It rang in the ears of the trio.

After a long stretch of tension in his chest, Zhai Zhigang reached out and pressed his helmet and quickly contacted the ground command center.

"This is the Xinghai, call the command center, we have arrived at the polar launch orbit, according to the current orbit, we will arrive at the first round of launch points in sixteen minutes. Both astronauts are ready to request approval to launch a lunar module for the moon landing operation! ”

In the headset, after a brief silence, the voice of the ground command center was quickly transmitted.

"This is the ground command center, approve the request! Please make sure that everything is in order with the moon landing pose, and I wish you all the best! ”

"Star Ocean received!"

In the cockpit, Zhai Zhi just ended the call with the ground command center, looked at the team members on both sides, nodded, and said with a smile on his face:

"The command center agrees to the first round of drop-off points to the moon, get ready!"

Hearing this, Chen Dong and Liu Yang both showed bright smiles on their faces and nodded synchronously.

"Hmm!"

After a long journey, they are finally about to take the first step in China!

With a smile on his face, Zhai Zhigang looked at the two of them and gave a new order: "One last time!" Check the status of the lunar spacesuit to make sure all the equipment is in good condition! ”

"Yes!"

"Roger!"

In response, the two unbuckled the seat buckle and quickly helped each other check the situation of the extravehicular spacesuit.

The spacesuit was already worn, and it was impossible to wait until the eve of the moon landing to prepare.

After all, if no one helped with this thing, it would take at least forty or fifty minutes to wear it from beginning to end, and this is still for skilled people.

If it's the first time you're wearing a spacesuit, it's normal to toss for two or three hours.

"The life support device inspection is complete, and the current oxygen storage capacity is 100%, which can maintain six hours of extravehicular activity!"

"Emergency oxygen supply inspection complete! The system is working fine! ”

"Active Injection System Test Complete! The system is working fine! ”

"Call and camera checks complete!"

"The extravehicular operating tool is completely inspected!"

“.”

"The physical condition check has been completed, and the oxygen and nitrogen removal work before leaving the cabin has been completed!"

Under the supervision of Zhai Zhigang, Chen Dong and Liu Yang completed all the test procedures one by one in accordance with the inspection order.

Chen Dong: "All the pre-inspection work has been completed in accordance with the steps of the moon landing and exit, and everything is normal at present!" ”

Liu Yang: "All the pre-inspection work has been completed in accordance with the steps of the moon landing and exit, and everything is normal at present!" ”

Standing in front of the two, Zhai Zhigang nodded, took a deep breath, saluted and said, "Conduct the boarding and prepare to land on the moon!" ”

Relying on the fixed pole, Chen Dong and Liu Yang returned a military salute synchronously, and then floated towards the cabin behind them.

In the cockpit, watching the two leave, Zhai Zhigang silently looked at the gradually closing hatch, silently blessing in his heart.

"Take care! Be sure to go well! ”

All the preparations, just in the next moment.

In a quarter of an hour, their footsteps will be imprinted on the land beneath them, and success or failure will be a matter of success.

Taking a deep breath, he silently returned to the driver's seat, and although he regretted that he had not been among the first to land on the moon, there was no doubt that his task was just as daunting.

As the captain, he has to stay on board the Star Ocean to make sure that everything is in order with the shuttle.

Because it's the only way home!

While the Star Ocean was making final preparations, on the other side.

In the Aitken Basin at the south pole of the moon, the Artemis lunar landing ship and life support unit, which had been successfully separated from the Orion multipurpose manned spacecraft, are lying quietly in a huge crater.

But unexpectedly, the scene was a little strangely quiet, and there was no sign of astronaut activity on the lunar surface except for these two lunar landing devices.

However, the atmosphere inside the lunar module was one of anxiety.

Two astronauts, a man and a woman, kept tapping the hatch opening button to contact NASA.

"Damn it! The hatch won't open, it's out of order! ”

Inside the Artemis moon landing ship, Smedley Moore, wearing an extravehicular work spacesuit, kept pressing the button to open the hatch with fear, unease, nervousness, and anxiety on his face.

However, there was no movement in the hatch behind him.

Next to her, another female astronaut, McAdam Julia, also had an ugly look on her face, constantly contacting the ground command center.

"This is the Artemis moon landing ship! Call the ground command center, our spacecraft had an accident during the moon landing, and the hatch cannot be opened normally! ”

"Repeat, our spacecraft had an accident during the moon landing, and the hatch cannot be opened normally at the moment!"

The brief delay seemed incredibly long at this moment, and McAdam Julia licked her lips nervously with a little panic on her face, short of breath.

Fortunately, fortunately, the voice of the ground command center was smoothly transmitted.

"This is the ground command center, the news has been received, please report in detail about your current situation."

In the originally calm and calm voice, there was also some anxiety at the moment.

Standing in front of the monitoring station, Director Bill Nelson stared at the surveillance footage transmitted back by the Artemis moon landing ship with an ugly face.

Hours earlier, after communicating with the four astronauts on the Artemis lunar spacecraft, NASA had agreed to Melita Corinna's request and finally approved the early landing on the moon.

After several orbit changes, they successfully switched from the 3.5-hour orbit to the polar launch orbit and found the closest tipping point to the Aitken Basin.

The only imperfection was that this tipping point was nearly five kilometers higher than originally expected, reaching a distance of about twenty kilometers.

But time is of the essence, and if the Orion multi-purpose manned spacecraft has to repeat its repair orbit if it is to continue to reduce altitude, their time will no longer allow it.

After careful checking, it was confirmed that the Orion multipurpose manned spacecraft had the ability to return 20 kilometers, and finally chose to launch the lunar module and life support unit.

However, their moon landing, it seems, something went wrong.

After a short wait, the signal from the Artemis moon landing ship was relayed.

"This is the Artemis lunar landing ship, and it is currently confirmed that the hatch of the lunar module cannot be opened normally, the cabin body is tilted at an angle, the communication system is normal, and the oxygen supply system is normal."

A hurried debriefing sounded as he returned from the Artemis lunar module, and Bill Nelson's face turned unusually ugly.

Damn it! They've already tested it, so how can this happen?

Taking a deep breath, Bill Nelson ignored the obviously somewhat anxious control center, forcibly calmed down his emotions, and asked quickly:

"This is the command center, and we're working on a way to get the Artemis moon ship to report on the remaining oxygen supply!"

"At present, the oxygen storage of the lunar module is 100% and can last for 48 hours, the oxygen stock of the extravehicular spacesuit is about 97%, which can maintain four hours of activity, and the oxygen stock of the spacesuit in the spare cabin is 100%, which can maintain the activity for three hours."

The report from the Artemis moon landing ship was delivered, and Bill Nelson breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

Fortunately, the oxygen maintenance system was normal, and there was still some time for them to figure it out.

Taking a deep breath, he quickly spoke: "Now please stay calm, check the equipment on the lunar module according to the process, keep in touch, we will definitely find a solution to take you home!" ”

After quickly calming the two astronauts who were 380,000 kilometers away, Bill Nelson temporarily cut off the call and shouted at the crowd behind him:

"Shet! What about Blue Origin and the folks at SpaceX? ”

Hearing the roar, two experts from Blue Origin and SpaceX walked over quickly and quickly explained:

"After preliminary testing, it is possible that there is a deviation in the landing site of the lunar landing site, which leads to the collision and damage of the landing gear, and then has a chain reaction."

As the two companies involved in the manned lunar landing project, it is natural that there are corresponding experts involved in the lunar landing work in the control room.

As soon as the information and data were transmitted, they made a preliminary judgment on the relevant situation.

And as they judged, if someone were standing on the surface of the moon and observing, it would be obvious that the attitude of the Artemis landing on the moon was tilted. One of its landing gear appeared to have suffered damage during landing, so much so that the designed balance was upset, so that the astronauts in the lunar module could not open the hatch.

"Shit! How did you promise me before? ”

After listening to the explanations of the two experts, Bill Nelson rushed forward quickly, grabbed the expert of Blue Origin by the collar, and roared angrily:

"Damn it! Now that this kind of injury is happening, how do you want me to explain it to the President and our people? ”

"Shet! It's the moon, not your bathroom! You tell me, what do we do now? How can we get our astronauts back! ”

Grabbed by the collar and roared, the Blue Origin expert wiped the spit on his face with an embarrassed expression, and quickly spoke: "We have a backup plan related to the design, but it still needs to be judged according to the specific situation of the Artemis moon landing ship." ”

As a major project such as the moon landing, the lunar landing ship will naturally take into account various problems, and will also set up various backup plans and means to solve problems.

No one wants to use it, but it can be a lifesaver in an emergency.

Now it depends on the specific damage to the Artemis moon landing ship, and hopefully everything will be in time.

Loosening the collar of the expert, Bill Nelson said with a gloomy face: "Damn, if this can't be solved, I swear, I will deal with you before I leave the position of director!" ”

After speaking, he looked at Melita Corinna and the engineer who had provided the plan before, and said nothing.

He swore that he would send these two goddamn fools in for murder!

On the other side, above the Moon's low-Earth orbit.

After a quarter of an hour of sailing and orbit adjustment, Xinghai finally arrived at the site where the moon landing ship was launched.

As the hatch opened, a silver-white oval-cylindrical lunar lander separated from Xinghai.

At this moment, the small chemical fuel propulsion engines on the sides and bottom of the Lanyue lunar landing ship were already activated, and like a meteorite that was not very fast, it drew a slight arc in the lunar sky and fell towards the lunar soil.

On the other side, the Xinghai was already far away, and the two looked at each other in mid-air, drawing a figure-7 curve.

The fifteen-kilometer near-ground launch distance is not long, and with the slow speed of the propulsion engine, the Lanyue has already reached the ground.

With the postponement of the long moondust, whether it is Zhai Zhigang who is sitting on the Xinghai and driving the space shuttle away, or the space center 380,000 kilometers away, or the hundreds of millions of viewers who are squatting in front of their mobile phones, computers and TVs to watch the delayed live broadcast, this is at a moment, everyone's hearts are raised.

At this moment, countless people are holding their breaths tightly and clenching their fists, gritting their teeth and tensing their heartstrings, silently waiting, praying and looking forward to the motherland and the two astronauts who landed on the moon.

Time passed bit by bit, with the stop of the slow engine, in the floating of a cloud of moon dust, the hatch of the lunar module. Slowly opened!

At the same time, a figure in a spacesuit stood at the door of the cabin and waved slowly towards the camera device deployed on the Lanyue support.

(End of chapter)