"The Eagle lander has been successfully docked. Electrical and control systems are connected."
The Old Cat raised its paw. It had successfully shifted the Eagle's position.
"Okay, Miss Mai Dong, Tang Yue. Attention, the lander is now docked outside the Hope experiment module. The hatch can be opened."
"Roger that, Mr. Cat."
Mai Dong gently pushed the cabin wall, and her body floated away from the Crystal module. She held the edge of the hatch and changed her direction. After living in zero gravity for a long time, the girl had learned how to move with the most ease and energy.
She moved through the tunnel like a soft mackerel, nimbly avoiding the messy control panels and cables.
"Let's hope the lander is reliable enough. The seventh uncle of Cryptic Yang's girlfriend's brother's mentor's nephew better not be lying to him."
Tang Yue placed his hands on the table and looked at the closed-circuit video of the space station. "Logically speaking, such close relatives shouldn't be lying."
"This kind of relationship is considered close?" the Old Cat asked.
"Of course," Tang Yue answered. "Their DNA is more than ninety-nine percent similar."
"Your DNA is also more than ninety-nine percent similar to the Ugandan chimpanzees," the Old Cat said. "So, they are also your seventh uncle?
Or are you their seventh granduncle?
Tang Yue, your relatives are all over Africa. "
Mai Dong put on an in-cabin spacesuit, opened the hatch, and entered the command module of the Eagle lander.
The command module was small and dim. There were no lights, and all the seats were folded. The indicator lights and monitors on the control panel were off, and all the portholes were closed.
Ever since the end of the supply mission, Mai Dong and the other two had not cared much about this thing. They thought that its historical mission was over, and it could retire with glory. Who knew that the veteran would return to the battlefield and turn the tide?
Mai Dong raised her head and looked around. After thinking for a few seconds, she found the control system of each system and turned on the power one by one.
With a soft hum, the Eagle that had been silent for a long time woke up once again. The red, green, and orange-yellow lights lit up one after another as the familiar greeting appeared on the console's display once again.
“WelcometotheEagleLander.”
Mai Dong's hand gently caressed the control panel. There were buttons of various sizes and complicated English abbreviations. It was a dazzling sight. In fact, the manual control system had never been put into use to this day, but every Eagle had such a complicated control panel.
Mai Dong lifted the commander's chair, fastened the seatbelt, and tied herself to the chair.
The shade of the porthole was slowly opening, and the sunlight slanted in. Mai Dong's eyes gradually brightened.
Estimating that the temperature was about to rise, Mai Dong opened her spacesuit's visor and called Kunlun Station.
"Mr. Cat, Tang Yue, I'm in the Eagle lander's command module. The module is powered up, and the situation is good."
While docking with the Joint Space Station, the Eagle's batteries and computer were powered by the space station.
"OK, we see you."
Old Cat and Tang Yue were observing the situation in Kunlun Station. The Eagle lander's power and control system had been successfully connected to the Joint Space Station. At this moment, it was equivalent to a module in the Joint Space Station.
The man and cat in Kunlun Station did not dare be careless. The crappy computer on the Eagle lander had a history of cramping twice, nearly ruining their supply delivery plan.
"The Eagle's computer has an automatic landing control program. Everything that needs to be done for a safe landing has been written into the code by the engineers on Earth. When you came down in it, you didn't have to touch the joystick, right?" Old Cat asked.
"No," Tang Yue and Mai Dong said in unison.
The expedition team's commander was Old Wang. He had full authority and responsibility, just like the captain of a flight. Once the plane took off, the captain had the authority to make any decisions.
Old Wang did not allow anyone to touch the Eagle lander's control panel. Thus, during the landing, the computer was the one controlling the spacecraft. Everyone else was watching from the sidelines. The lander's designers clearly believed that the computer was more reliable than the human brain when it came to high-risk operations. It was quite in line with Airbus's style.
Thus, the Eagle only needed a commander and a dog to control it.
The commander's task was to feed the dog during the flight.
The dog's task was to bite the commander when he tried to touch the control panel.
"There was a problem during the previous docking. The lander's computer misjudged the flight speed. I want to see where the problem is."
"Is this a serious problem?" Mai Dong asked.
"It may be serious, or it may not be."
Old Cat typed furiously on the keyboard. "If it's just the rendezvous sensor that's damaged, then we don't have to worry about it. If it's a bug in the computer itself … then we'll have to spend some time to troubleshoot it."
"How long will it take?" Tang Yue asked.
"It's already been troubleshooted."
Old Cat shrugged.
"It's obvious that there's a problem with the rendezvous sensor. During the previous launch, there was a sandstorm. Sand invaded and accumulated on the laser reflector, causing a problem with the sensor's speed measurement."
Old Cat explained, "It's a very small fault. It's insignificant, but coupled with the lack of propellant, it'll become a fatal problem."
"It won't affect the landing, right?"
"It won't affect it at all."
Old Cat replied, "The Eagle lander's computer's landing control system is all normal. Miss Mai Dong, please get ready and plan the time. We'll be leaving the cabin soon — to check on the spacecraft's ventral heat-resistant tiles."
·
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Mai Dong took some time to take a shower and change her clothes.
There was a foldable bathroom in the space station. The main structure was made of an opaque and impermeable polymer material. It looked inconspicuous when folded, but when spread out, it was a two-meter-tall cylinder. The interior could accommodate an adult standing, but to stand firm, one had to use foot covers to firmly secure oneself to the floor.
In the absence of gravity, a normal shower was impossible. The bathroom in the space station could at most achieve a similar effect. On the ceiling of the bathroom was a high-pressure showerhead, and below the floor was a powerful suction machine. It used the air pressure to move the floating water droplets and also recycle all the waste water.
Mai Dong had not showered in a very long time. Showering in the space station was a rather troublesome matter. To prevent her lungs from breathing in water droplets and suffocating, she had to wear goggles and a breathing mask while showering. It made her look like a seriously ill patient that was quarantined in the ICU.
But how could this stop a lady's desire to shower?
"Have you showered?"
Tang Yue sat on a chair and saw Mai Dong wiping her wet hair with a towel as she appeared in the video.
"Yes, that's right … It feels so good after a shower."
Mai Dong nodded and pulled at the collar of her work uniform. "I even changed my clothes. Can you tell?"
"Is there a festival today?" Tang Yue turned his head and asked Old Cat.
"International Cat Love Day, Cat Food Shopping Festival, and Cat Owners International Exchange Forum," Old Cat answered. "Does it count?"
"Not really."
To Tang Yue, showering was a rather extravagant matter. Kunlun Station's freshwater recycling efficiency was not as good as the Joint Space Station's. Showering was a major water-consuming activity. Unless it was a major holiday, Tang Yue didn't shower easily. The last time he showered was on May 1, International Labor Day.
The next time he showered would probably be on August 15, the Mid-Autumn Festival.
He wouldn't shower on Children's Day since Tang Yue no longer celebrated Children's Day.