Mars Day 1. (i.e., the sun day on Mars, is equivalent to 24 hours, 39 minutes, 35.24409 seconds, which is only 2.7% longer than the Earth)

When he woke up, Pang Xuelin and Mark Watney sat together again.

"Watney, I think we need to plan our next work and life!"

Perhaps because Pang Xuelin was too calm, Mark Watney looked much better and his emotions were not as desperate as he was at the beginning!

Mark Watney said: "It's true, no matter what, Pang, we have to find a way to survive!"

Pang Xuelin said: "We are now doing separate operations. You are responsible for counting the supplies in the cabin. I will conduct a quick eva (extra-vehiular activity. The eva spacesuit is generally used for four hours, so one eva activity is equivalent to three to four hours), counting the loss of material outside the cabin, and by the way, check whether the butterfly satellite communication antenna that was blown away by the sandstorm can be retrieved!"

Mark Watney nodded and said, "Okay!"

...

More than three hours later, Pang Xuelin returned to the living room tiredly and took off his heavy eva space suit helmet.

Mark Watney came out of the material compartment and looked at Pang Xuelin with some hope:

"Pang, have you found the satellite antenna?"

If the satellite antenna can be retrieved, it is expected to resume communication with the earth. This is the premise for whether the two can return to Earth alive.

Pang Xuelin shook his head and smiled bitterly: "I searched all three kilometers around, but found nothing!"

The expression on Mark Watney's face couldn't help but solidify.

"What about you, how are the inventory of supplies in the cabin?"

Watney said: "I roughly calculated that our Mars surface mission was originally planned to last 31 days. In order to prevent accidents, we prepared 56 days of food. Eight people used six days before, and there were still fifty days left. Now there are only two of us left, which is enough for us to support two hundred days."

“This is good news!”

Pang Xuelin laughed.

Watney continued: "We also have nine spacesuits, one in-cabin spacesuit for liftoff and landing, and eight eva spacesuits."

Pang Xuelin nodded. They were originally eight of them, each of whom had two space suits, one in the cabin space suit and one eva space suit.

Eva spacesuits are relatively bulky and sturdy, suitable for surface operations outside the cabin. Previously, six people from Ares 3 mission team took MaV to return to Hermes in Mars orbit and wore six spacesuits in the cabin. Watney's own set was pierced by the antenna, so there were still nine sets left.

Watney paused and continued: "I also checked the oxygenator. The oxygenator is in good condition at present, but once there is a problem with the oxygenator, we only have one short-term component to spare. This spare component can only be used as emergency use, because it is similar to the carbon dioxide filter on the eva spacesuit. It cannot directly decompose carbon dioxide to make oxygen, and can only absorb the carbon dioxide we exhaled in the cabin. Moreover, the upper limit of this component is only five days, and it will enter an irreversible saturation state. However, there are only two of us now, so its upper limit should be twenty days. We'd better pray that the oxygenator won't have any problems, otherwise our lives will end within twenty days."

"The water circulation device works well. Even if we exhale half a liter of water vapor every day, the air filtration system in the perch cabin can recover these water vapor. The eva spacesuit also has a certain water vapor recovery capacity. The reserve water in the perch cabin reaches 500 liters. As long as there is no problem with the water circulation system, we don't have to worry about not drinking water. The only problem is that the water circulation system does not have spare parts, so we pray that there will be no problems with this thing!"

"In addition, we have plenty of medicines, and the dose of morphine is enough to make us die in painlessly at the last moment. We also have a lot of large bottles of multivitamins and a constant box of mealworms, which can provide us with rich protein and vitamins, ensuring our nutritional balance on Mars. In addition, we have a lot of seeds of crops, including potatoes, corn, wheat, cabbage, tomatoes, etc., as well as some mushroom spores."

"Now, the only trouble is the carbon dioxide absorber in our outer space suit. This thing is irreversible. It is used once and once. We have carried 800 people this time. We have used 25 people so far, and there are 775 people left. If calculated based on time, we have 3,100 hours of outdoor working hours. What about you, have you found out, what are the losses of our outer space equipment? "

Pang Xuelin said: "Our habitat cabin is basically intact, with the three main cabins, living cabins, material cabins and energy cabins. After the Mars liftoff vehicle (Mav) takes off, some bases are left, including landing gear, fuel storage tanks and supply pipelines. Some fuel is also stored in the fuel storage tank. In addition, our Mars landing vehicle (mdv, equivalent to a landing cabin, is mainly used for personnel logging in. When logging in, the main and auxiliary parachutes are opened one after another. When three meters close to the surface, the rocket engine at the bottom of the mdv starts to buffer the impact force during landing) was buried most of the sand. The soft landing nozzle has been completely damaged, but the main and auxiliary parachutes are still intact, so we should be able to recycle them."

"The two rovers are in good condition, half buried in the sand. I have cleared them out and drove one of them around our camp. We originally set up at four meteorological observation stations one kilometer away around the camp, and two disappeared in the sandstorm. I retrieved two. Most of the solar panels around the camp were buried in the sand and were in a failed state, so I cleaned them out. In addition, our nickel-hydrogen batteries are in good condition. If they are used normally, they can reach the limit of 5,000 charging and discharging."

"The biggest problem now is that we don't have satellite communication antennas. I checked our remaining communication array. If there is no antenna, there is basically no possibility of repair!"

Watney frowned and said, "Is there a way to piece together an antenna with aluminum foil or some broken copper iron around our base?"

Pang Xuelin shook his head and smiled bitterly: "You are thinking too much. The communication between Mars and Earth is not that simple. Even if I do it, I can use it as a walkie-talkie at most."

Watney sat on the chair and said, "Communication is the most critical. We must find a way to restore communication with the earth. In addition, if the subsequent Ares plan is not cancelled due to our death, then four years later, the Ares 4 spacecraft will land in Schiapareli impact crater, about 3,200 kilometers away from the Asidalia Plain where we are now. It is impossible to get there with our personal strength. If we can contact the earth, we may be able to wait for rescue."

Pang Xuelin actually has a clear idea about establishing communication issues.

More than 800 kilometers away from their camp, there is a Mars Pathfinder rover launched in 1996.

In the movie, it was Mark Watney who found the rover again that contacted the earth.

But now, this guy obviously didn't think of this section yet.

Pang Xuelin said: "Watney, I will find a way to solve the communication problem. The most important thing now is food. Our food can only last for 200 days. Even if we try our best to save, it can only last for one year at most. Ares 4 will not arrive in four years. In the remaining three years, we have to find a way to grow food by ourselves. You are our botanist, and it depends on you!"

Watney nodded and said, "We need at least three years of food. 1,095 Earth Days, equivalent to 1,067 Martian days. We have sufficient vitamin guarantees. If protein is protein, the mealworms and some of the aerospace proteins we store can provide, and the only thing that is short is calories. Among these seeds, the most calories are potatoes, which contain 810 calories per kilogram of potatoes, but according to our height and weight, even if we are hungry every day, we have to consume 1,500 calories. That is to say, about 4 kilograms of potatoes per day, or about 1,5 tons of potatoes a year. The yield per acre of potatoes is only 1,5 tons, and our material cabins are only about 100 square meters. Even if they are all used to grow potatoes, the yield is probably only 250 kilograms, which is only enough for us to eat for 90 days."

Pang Xuelin said: "Watney, you forgot a little. Due to climate reasons, potatoes can only be planted in one season a year, but we can provide a constant temperature and humidity environment, and we can even harvest three to four seasons a year! In addition, the branches and leaves of potatoes can be used to feed mealworms, which can also become a major source of our calories."

Watney couldn't help but lit up his eyes. In this way, although it was still a difference from the expected output of 1.5 tons per year, it could barely guarantee that the two of them would not starve to death.

But then, Watney's frowned again: "If planting, we need soil. Each cubic meter of soil requires at least forty liters of water. A planting area of ​​100 square meters requires almost twenty cubic meters of soil, which is equivalent to eight hundred liters of water. Where does our water come from? There are only five hundred liters of water in the water circulation system, and we have to leave at least two hundred liters. So where do we get the remaining five hundred liters?"

Pang Xuelin laughed and said, "The water problem can be solved. As long as we provide electricity, the fuel station under the MV take-off base can produce carbon dioxide for us at a rate of two liters per hour. We can collect this carbon dioxide and then use an oxygenator to make oxygen. As for the hydrogen problem, do you still remember our teammate Friedrich? When we landed on the MDV, his operation was very beautiful, leaving us with at least hundreds of liters of fuel. The diaminid can be broken down into hydrogen and nitrogen. Then we collect the hydrogen and burn it with oxygen. Wouldn't it be possible to make moisture?"
Chapter completed!