I ask you to build tractors, but you build rockets?

"Lost contact, what kind of loss of contact is it? Was the transmitter damaged, or was it completely out of control?"

When Jim and others were thinking about how to judge the news announced by the Aeronautical Development Commission, Zhong Cheng was anxiously asking about the situation.

In fact, Yinghuo 1 had been out of contact for two hours, but at that time he was still receiving the NACA delegation, and the control center temporarily tried to solve the problem, and decided to notify NACA after giving up completely.

Zhong Cheng did not receive the news much earlier than them, this was a complete emergency.

Now he has just arrived at the control center, and the oral message is that Yinghuo 1 has lost contact, but the loss of contact must also be classified into types.

If the antenna is damaged, it is a completely acceptable accident. No one can guarantee that an isolated small machine hundreds of millions of kilometers away will not have any faults. As long as the control system is still intact, the subsequent probes that arrive can find a way to repair the antenna, which is not a big problem.

But if the entire Mars rover is completely damaged or out of control, the problem will become very serious.

Finding out what kind of fault it is is a task that must be determined now.

"The situation is not good."

Lin Ju came earlier than him and knew more, and his expression looked a little mysterious.

"The loss of contact was very sudden. All signals were cut off instantly during normal operation, just like it completely disappeared without any signs.

Well... this time it was not Artemis' fault. It is certain that there was a problem with Firefly 1."

Zhong Cheng: "Can Firefly 1 still be photographed?"

"Of course, it was in the high-resolution photos taken by Lihuo several times over Plain Zero, but Firefly 1 did not move after the loss of contact. It is basically certain that it has stayed in the same place."

Zhong Cheng quickly asked someone to retrieve the satellite image. The image was still clear after high magnification. The position of Firefly 1 in different time periods almost completely overlapped.

If only the communication system was broken, Firefly 1's AI would definitely deal with it according to the emergency procedures. It would be impossible for it to stay in the same place without any movement.

No power? Impossible, the RTG battery is designed to have a lifespan of 10 years. This is not the end.

Frozen? The time of loss of contact was during the day on Mars. Although the temperature was low, even the civilian chips on Earth could withstand it, not to mention the carefully protected Mars rover.

Power system failure? A highly independent rover like Firefly 1 has a fairly complete redundant system that does not interfere with each other. Even if there is a problem, the probability of it suddenly being completely disconnected and stuck is still too low.

Looking at the calm and serious eyes of Lin Ju and others, I am afraid that the answer is only that one.

"How could it be!"

"Yes, how could it be!"

Shen Zuozhou repeated after him. Although what they are doing is to find traces of alien civilization, this sudden incident still caught everyone off guard.

There are many ways to make Firefly 1 suddenly "die suddenly". As long as there is a close-range EMP, or suddenly give it super strong radiation exposure, it will not be too difficult for humans to do it.

Anyway, it is still difficult for "Lihuo" to detect these traces in space, and it cannot detect the situation on the ground in detail.

So far, the detection data of "Lihuo" is still normal. There is no large-scale fluctuation in conventional data such as magnetic field and temperature, and there is no gravitational wave.

The Aviation Development Commission is completely unsure of what means "killed" Firefly 1, so whether the subsequent detectors should go there is a problem.

If we give up the goal in the northern hemisphere, there are still three probes and a large shuttle that can land on Plain Zero. Should we let them continue to conduct reconnaissance?

Now the nature of the exploration mission has changed. It is more like a scout who has to go deep into the front line. Losing a few probes is not a big deal, but it will be very bad if something happens.

The possibility of living aliens in the solar system is generally considered low, but since the gravitational wave transmission system is still in operation, it is entirely possible that there is a self-defense system. If it is activated by the probe, human civilization will disappear immediately.

Tianwen 2 and 3 were originally ready to start landing, but now their orbits have been changed and they are temporarily hovering in the orbit of Mars, terminating the landing plan.

"The higher-ups are already discussing how to deal with it, but I'm afraid it would be better for us to do nothing for the time being to avoid further stimulation."

Shen Zuozhou sighed. Doing nothing is definitely temporary. Even if continuing will bring danger, they must carry out more detailed exploration.

But if the subsequent probes suddenly lose contact and cannot send back any data, the astronauts will have to take risks.

From the heart, it is not unacceptable to sacrifice a few astronauts, but sending them out in the dark is completely disregarding human lives, and the uncertainty is too great.

"The most urgent task is to find a way to restore contact with Yinghuo 1, at least to find out what happened to Yinghuo 1 and what caused it to lose contact."

Zhong Cheng thought about it and said that this is the only way at present.

Lin Ju: "If the higher-ups make a decision, it is better to send another probe down, in fact, it is best to send Zhurong, which has many tools and humanoid robots on it, and can find a way to drag Yinghuo 1 out from a distance. The other probes are sister probes of Yinghuo 1, and it is possible to get nothing if you approach rashly."

Zhong and Shen thought about it for a while, and just nodded slightly.

Lin Ju knew that they were hesitating. It would be easy to replace the lost Mars rovers. The Aerospace Development Commission would not blink an eye and could easily launch ten more.

But Zhurong is not like that. Its size, construction difficulty, and launch cost are all very high. The consequences of loss are too heavy, so it is used with caution.

Just like the Yamato battleship, it has superior performance, but it cannot be easily risked.

Skipping this topic, Zhong Cheng suddenly asked:

"How is the training of the Progress? When will the lunar voyage be carried out?"

Shen Zuozhou: "At the end of this month, the crew has fully adapted to the rotating space station. At the end of this month, they will complete a voyage to the moon and bring some supplies."

"What about the Enterprise? When can it be re-flying again?"

"The Space Force said it's not bad, but the landing method of the Enterprise is a bit too violent. The atmospheric environment is much more complicated than that of the Jiuzhang on the moon. Professional elites need to be selected, otherwise they can't even withstand dizziness."

Zhong Cheng nodded and didn't think it was a difficulty.

"We are not short of elites. Who among the crew members of the Progress is not an elite? So, arrange one or two crew members of the Enterprise as soon as possible to conduct joint training with the Progress.

Well, the Enterprise's second spacecraft must also be accelerated, otherwise it will be very troublesome to balance the weight."

Since the Progress is still rotating as a whole, the center of gravity must be ensured to be at the geometric center. Simply docking with one shuttle will cause imbalance, and two or four shuttles must be docked at the same time when rotating.