Chapter 1300: Clock on Track

In a dark place…

A black aerospaceplane slowly approached from the edge of the stars. The silent radio reverberated in the vast deep sky, communicating with the ground command center tens of millions of kilometers away, over hundreds of seconds of delay.

“This is the ‘Messenger’, we are close to the ‘New Land’.

“Get closer.”

“Roger that.”

Starlight was the model.

“Messenger” was the official code name for the aerospaceplane.

The aerospace industry had largely advanced. The first model of the Skyglow had gradually been discontinued. There were more than five other newer Skyglows in the sky, same went for the Magpie Bridges.

It was easy to get confused calling the spacecrafts by its model name, so it had been given a code name.

Xu Zhenghong was sitting in the main pilot seat. He reached out his hand and moved the joystick on the right-hand side. He then pressed the button to lock on to the orbit.

With assistance from the automatic navigation device, the co-pilot Liu Biao carefully monitored the speed and distance parameters. He cooperated with Xu Zhenghong to drive the Starlight to the transfer orbit of Mars, near the intersection of the MOI3 orbit.

“Turn on the directional antenna and the laser calibration device.”

“Roger that.”

This was the most critical moment.

There was only one chance. The three main parameters—speed, angle, and distance—had to be precisely met, in order for the spacecraft to enter orbit.

If they missed their chance, they would have to circle Mars for another week to correct the orbit.

The one minute felt like a century.

Finally, when the words “in orbit” appeared on the screen, Xu Zhenghong and Liu Biao, who were still nervous, unanimously breathed a sigh of relief.

“This is Messenger, we have already entered into MOI3 orbit.”

“This is the ground command center. We have received your news. Ground navigation is complete, the rest is up to you.”

“Roger that, please wish us luck.”

The communication was over.

Because of the hundreds of seconds of communication delay, it was unrealistic to rely on the ground command center to guide the Starlight for the remaining complicated orbit switching.

The next step was their job.

However, although there was no navigation assistance from the ground command center, Xu Zhenghong and Liu Biao were actually relieved.

Unless there was a meteorite collision or another accident, there were very few operations that required manual control.

If everything went well, they only needed to press the button to open the hatch after reaching the desired orbit. Then they would throw the Z particle clock out of the cargo hold and complete their mission.

“Should we drink something?”

“No, thanks.”

“Then I’ll have to drink myself.” Liu Biao grinned and unlocked the safety device. He then left the co-pilot’s seat. He floated to the freezer in the living area and took out a can of cold coffee.

In fact, he wanted to drink beer, but since he was still on a mission, he was not allowed to have alcohol.

Liu Biao went back to the cockpit with the coffee. He sat back down on his seat, opened the can of cold brew coffee, then took out a straw.

In a gravity-free environment, the mouth-feel of liquids changed drastically. All liquids had a jelly-like consistency, and the feeling of the cold liquid going down one’s throat was a strange sensation.

Fortunately, the taste was still the same.

Liu Biao looked at the red planet outside the window. He squinted as he sucked from his straw. He stared at the beautiful scenery for a long time before speaking emotionally.

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“This is amazing.”

Xu Zhenghong, who was waiting quietly in the main pilot’s seat, nodded in agreement.

“Yeah.”

After the short exchange of words, the two went silent. They were completely mesmerized by the beautiful scenery that they didn’t have time to appreciate before.

No matter how many times they looked at the scenery, the view never got old.

It was hard to describe this feeling.

It was almost like…

A new world was in front of them.

After about two hours, Liu Biao glanced at the orbital data on the cockpit instrument. He estimated that it was about time. He reached out his hand to turn on the deep-space navigation optical sensor and pointed it at the center of Mars.

After the next orbit change, they would enter the lowest orbit.

If they were lucky, they might be able to see the return capsule of the BFS spacecraft there.

“Sooner or later, we will widen our borders here.”

“I don’t know if I can witness that day in my lifetime.”

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t see it personally, someone in the future will witness it for us… Let’s get to work.”

“Roger that.”

The spacecraft had successfully merged into the lowest orbit after the last deceleration.

Liu Biao listened quietly to the countdown in his ears. He looked at the virtual beacon on his helmet eyepiece getting closer and closer. He placed his thumb on the green safety button on the joystick.

The countdown was complete.

He pressed with his thumb.

They heard an electric buzzing sound. A metal ball was released from the cargo cabin. It was then firmly planted in the Mars orbit.

After Xu Zhenghong checked the orbital parameters of the Z particle clock, he switched the communication channel to the ground command center and spoke in a calm voice.

“The package was successfully put on orbit, the first mission phase is complete!”

It took the command center about four minutes to respond. During this time, their job was to maintain the current flight path and quietly wait for instructions.

Xu Zhenghong’s face finally relaxed a little. He unlocked the safety system and moved his sore shoulders.

Liu Biao suddenly smiled as he watched the black spot on the rear camera disappear.

“… It’s like putting a ring on the bride.”

Xu Zhenghong said with a smile, “That’s quite a romantic way of putting it.”

“I always felt like spaceflight itself is a romantic thing… Speaking of which, what about the rest of the mission?”

“We wait for news from the ground command center. After that, we will return to the MOI3 orbit and wait there quietly.” Xu Zhenghong looked at the metal ball that disappeared. He squinted his eyes and said, “We wait until the end of the experiment, then check the state of the Z particle clock.

“After that, we can go home.”

They received confirmation from the ground command center.

The two people sitting in the cockpit were instantly excited.

On the other hand, at the space ground command center tens of millions of kilometers away…

Lu Zhou stood in the command room. He slowly raised his left hand and glanced at his silver watch.

It was time.

Lu Zhou knew that the preparations were almost done. He raised his head and looked at the crowded people inside the ground command center.

He then looked at the big screen in front of him before saying in a loud voice, “It’s our turn.”