Tang Yue looked up at the sun hanging low in the sky and set up the solar panels.
The structure of the solar panels was very simple, and there were no complicated steering mechanisms. At the end of the day, it was to reduce weight. There were a total of thirty-nine solar panels, and all the power supply in Kunlun Station was provided by these solar panels.
The solar panels were prioritized to power the batteries, OGS, temperature control, freshwater filtration, and other life support systems, followed by the communications system, lighting system, and Kunlun Station's main computer.
Kunlun Station's computer system was a power hog. To conserve energy, Tomcat usually shut down most of the workstation's functions. After all, there wasn't any scientific research to be done. After Earth vanished, Tang Yue had stopped all academic research.
The last time the Kunlun Station's computer system was running at full power was three months ago, when it was calculating the orbit for the delivery of supplies to Mai Dong. Since then, the computer had not received any important tasks.
Every day, it would conduct a self-check to check the various functional modules of Kunlun Station, and then send a greeting to the Joint Space Station. This was the daily work of the Kunlun Station's computer system. Even the oldest 386 computer could do this kind of work. It was really a waste of its powerful CPU and data processing capabilities.
Tang Yue set up the last solar panel, then leaned against the small cart and slowly sat down to rest.
The thirty-nine solar panels were laid out neatly on the sand. Tang Yue had given them a nickname, "Battery Farm." And he walked around the solar panels, working at sunrise and resting at sunset every day. He really did look like a farmer who was plowing the land.
Not far behind Tang Yue was the Eagle's descent module. The lander's descent module had been launched three months ago, and the descent module was still here. It was a cylinder about five to six meters tall, supported by a thick landing frame. The white surface paint had been blackened by the engine's exhaust flames, but it was still very eye-catching.
Tang Yue often strolled around the Eagle as though he was visiting a neighbor or an old friend. He would sit down and chat with it … even though the Eagle did not make a sound and only listened silently.
He only had so many friends. Mai Dong on the space station, Old Cat in Kunlun Station, the lander standing on the sand, and the Mars Wanderer in the garage. These people and things formed a small human society.
This was Tang Yue's world. As long as he did not walk out of this small world, he could still feel the protection and warmth of human civilization.
"Tang Yue, can you hear me?
There's another tomato bearing fruit in the space station! "
Mai Dong's voice sounded in the comms, and she sounded pleasantly surprised.
Tang Yue couldn't remember how many times Mai Dong had mentioned tomatoes to him.
"How many tomatoes did you grow?"
"Hmm … About seven or eight. There aren't many tomatoes."
Mai Dong answered, "There's also ten Arabidopsis thaliana, eleven lettuce, twenty-three lettuce, seventeen potatoes, and a batch of hair-like Nostoc algae."
"Are you planning on turning the space station into a botanical garden?"
Tang Yue asked. "By growing so many plants, they will compete with you for oxygen and water … You don't lack food, so why are you growing so many tomatoes?"
"I'm very careful. I control the water consumption very well. The incubator uses capillary infiltration to transport water, minimizing the water wastage," Mai Dong answered. "The space station is too quiet. By planting more plants, it'll be livelier."
"Livelier?
Plants can't speak … "
Tang Yue was taken aback. Speaking of which, he was the same. The Eagle similarly could not speak, but he still chatted with it.
"The growth of the tomatoes is very pleasing. The first batch of plants that bear fruit have already grown very large. The colors are very bright … These are the seeds that I carefully selected back then. The survival rate is more than 97%."
The joy in the girl's voice could be heard. She had been carefully taking care of these plants for the past three months. The tomato sprouts that had sprouted had now grown to bear fruit. Mai Dong was as happy as a vegetable farmer who had a bountiful harvest.
"Lady, is your major in botany or gardening?" Tang Yue asked. "Are you researching scientific gardening?"
"My research direction is' the relationship between the growth of plants under long-term high radiation and microgravity conditions and the ecological cycle in a closed environment. '" Mai Dong spat out an extremely long sentence.
She paused before continuing.
"It's called gardening in space."
"Hello, vegetable farmer."
"Originally, we don't grow vegetables. There are many sample plants used for experiments. Most of them are algae with simple structures, such as nostoc algae and brown algae. The environmental conditions required for mature angiosperms to grow are too harsh, and they are too fragile. If we were to attempt to modify the Martian environment in the future, or build a small ecosystem in the spacecraft, then we would have to start with simple algae," Mai Dong continued. "Low-level plants like algae are my research target."
The girl's voice had the sound of leaves rubbing against each other in the background. Clearly, the girl was picking tomatoes as she spoke.
"Five … Six, seven. Wow, this is huge … I'm going to freeze the tomatoes. That way, they can be preserved for a longer time."
Mai Dong was talking about tomatoes all the time. It seemed like the research on plants and ecosystems under microgravity, and the real goal of growing algae were all fake. This girl was completely immersed in the joy of a bountiful harvest. She counted as she threw tomatoes into the basket. She was a vegetable farmer through and through.
"It won't cause pollution, right?"
"It's all soilless cultivation." Mai Dong shook her head. "It won't cause pollution."
"Potatoes can also be grown soilless?"
Tang Yue was a little surprised. Weren't potatoes supposed to be buried in the soil?
How could potatoes be grown without soil?
"Tubers or root tubers can be grown through aeroponics. Do you know aeroponics?
It's the use of aeroponics to irrigate with nutrient solution. Then, you can see potatoes suspended in mid-air as they grow. "Mai Dong smiled." These are not difficult for me. "
Tang Yue got up and sent the cart back to the garage. Then, he returned to Kunlun Station. He had already finished laying out the solar panels. Next, he could go back and have a simple meal to replenish his energy. After resting for half an hour, he would work in the afternoon.
The work in the afternoon included:
Check the status of Kunlun Station in all aspects.
Bicker with Old Cat.
Check the status of the Mars Wanderer.
Bicker with Old Cat.
Recycle the solar panels before sunset.
Bicker with Old Cat.
Tang Yue opened the hatch of the airlock and staggered into the airlock. He turned around and closed the hatch. Then, he turned on the decontamination system.
"Old Cat —!
I'm back. "
Old Cat opened the inner hatch. Tang Yue walked in, panting. Suddenly, he staggered and fell to the floor.
"Tang Yue?"
Tang Yue looked down at his feet. His calves were trembling badly, as if they were cramping. He couldn't exert any strength. "Old Cat … there seems to be something wrong with my feet."