My Little Pony: My Little Pony The Martian

AMICITAS Mission Three – Mission Day 419

ARES 3 solar day 412

"Speaking of which," Mark said, pulling out a bundle of wires from the wiring trough, "you've already figured this out. The cables inside the cockpit we used to land on the moon were fourteen miles long. It depends on you. Magic-based communication and life support systems, your ship has far fewer wires.”

"No matter what you say, this life is still boring." Tingting muttered. As a technician, she was definitely not in the mood to listen to Mark's "actually it could be worse" rhetoric when she was involved in one of the most hateful tasks that she could encounter in her career, such as inspecting the wiring harness, let alone How much comfort I can feel.

A large number of subsystems and control panels have been removed and discarded in the process of finding ways to reduce weight everywhere. The entire launch rating system, and all the customizable switches that come with it—gone. There are also subsystems that control the maneuvering thrusters - after NASA saw the technical specifications of the thruster modules and assured her that they could modify the MAV's control system and replace its own heavier thrusters with these thrusters, she immediately Became waste. Engine Throttle - Where's the Engine? Goodbye!

In most cases, however, the cables connecting these systems were preserved during the dismantling process because it was too much trouble to dig out every relevant buried bundle and ensure that only the completely useless wiring was removed. . Strictly speaking, it is actually just as difficult now, because even if they can operate according to the color code of the wires, it is absolutely wishful thinking to be able to accurately identify the one to be stripped from a large bundle of thin wires. But this is a sure thing. You have to pull out all the cables and check each one carefully to make sure that no insulation layer of the line is damaged or the wires are exposed, causing the metal conductors to contact each other or A short circuit with the metal shell of the spacecraft caused sparks.

Mark had told them before about an accident that had occurred on a certain human spacecraft; at that time, the cabin environment was filled with pure oxygen, and a spark erupted from a wire at that time. The life-support system carried by their spacecraft did not use pure oxygen, but provided air with normal atmospheric composition. However, Mark's description of the accident was still deeply engraved in Xiaoying's mind: a rapid attack The fire swallowed up the dead astronauts, and the fire was so fast that the bodies didn't even have time to cook. Such a horrific sight almost—note, almost—made the tedious task of inspecting every wire left in the spacecraft a tolerable sacrifice.

But the lifeless nature has not changed at all.

The work I did yesterday was actually relatively easy. They found the end of each cut wire, and if it was short enough for them to operate, they simply ripped it off (there were not many such wires), and exposed the ends of those wires that were too difficult to remove. They are all wrapped with tape and insulated. (Countless - an entire roll of electrical tape was used by Ting Ting until only a thin layer was left on the core of the roll. But it's not that exaggerated; about a quarter of the outside of the roll of tape was due to exposure to Mars. It was completely frozen in the severe cold environment, just like the fate of the spacecraft's technical guide, which was directly frozen into shreds after the crash.) Overall, the progress is quite fast - the severed ends are generally In an obvious location that is easier to find and easier for them to operate. After all, it is usually near a dismantled device.

But wiring inspection is even more boring than watching paint dry. When looking at paint, you can drift away without using your brain, but now when you are inspecting, you are faced with miles of slender wires that are still miles long after being greatly reduced. You cannot relax every inch, and you absolutely must maintain 100% concentration.

Thank God; before Tingting was about to ask for some rest, Mark couldn't hold it in any longer. "I need to give my eyes a rest." He said after checking the No. 7 wiring harness (port thruster control, port thrust ignition and separation control circuits, accommodation section and machinery compartment lighting), "I haven't mentioned it to NASA yet. But in recent months I feel like I’m starting to become a little farsighted.”

"Farsightedness?" Dragonfly was a little confused, "Do you mean you can see the future?"

"What? No," Mark was confused by her question for a moment, "I mean I will have to wear reading glasses after I return to Earth."

"Oh. There's nothing wrong with you looking at the computer screen."

"The computer screen is still a little far away from my face, and the fonts are relatively large. But when I checked your wiring harness, I had to squint hard to see the labels on it." Mark sighed, "This kind of In fact, it is a typical symptom of being affected by a zero-gravity environment for a long time - I mean vision loss - but I had thought that the gravity of Mars was strong enough and hoped to avoid this phenomenon."

"Hmm." Watching Mark lie down with his back against the partition of the living cabin, Dragonfly also joined in with a similar posture. "That's weird. Your eyes are much smaller than ours, but they are also the most fragile."

"Yeah, I've been wondering how ponies live with such big eyes. It probably costs a lot of money to buy eye drops." Mark said and chuckled, "Allergy season It will probably be very uncomfortable.”

This sentence made Ding Ting a little confused again. "Uh, not really." She replied softly, "Of course, some ponies have allergies, but it's not serious enough to affect their lives."

"Oh. Uh-huh."

The conversation stopped, and Mark closed his eyes and began to relax, stretching out a hand to rub his temples.

"Hey, there's one thing that only you can do but we can't," Tingting said casually, "We can't rub both temples at the same time."

"Ah."

Return to silence.

"I've been thinking recently," Dragonfly asked again, "Why don't we move to a cave to live in the last few days we stay here?" She had been brewing this proposal in her mind for several weeks, but now she suddenly felt that it was the right time. Mature can be put on the table.

"Huh?" Mark still closed his eyes when he answered, "I haven't thought about it much. First of all, the first reason I can think of is that I don't plan to move the Pathfinder at this time. We took apart the Sojourner before. What I saw at that time is already very telling; I think we were extremely lucky when we basically had the Pathfinder ready to use as soon as it was plugged in. This kind of thing is impossible to say, and now it is possible that it can be easily used. The slightest touch can make the Pathfinder belch. The living area still has our workspace, the equipment we won't take with us, six hydrogen fuel cells for extra energy storage, and most importantly, safety backup. There's definitely a lot more in place than a cave or a rover. It's still our safest option."

"That's right, but... let's put it this way," Tingting still felt a little hesitant to express her thoughts, lowering her voice and muttering in a low voice, "You are a botanist - simply put, you are a farmer. Farm. Wouldn’t it feel more like home here?”

Mark snorted contemptuously, but his eyes were still closed. "In my opinion, the cave is definitely the strangest place on Mars for me." He replied, "Yes, there are plants here. But the entire environment is underground, hidden in a place that can almost make the earth It's an extremely huge crystal cave that dwarfs its kind in the world, and 90% of it is driven by a natural force that we humans have attributed to myths and legends so far." He said with a smile and added, "Well, I should say Most of humanity. I've heard some people believe that there are hidden evil magicians among humans who can cast curses and steal men's dicks."