Chapter 804 "Little Life" From Mars

Earth, North America.

NASA headquarters.

Sitting at his desk, Director Carson was flipping through the documents in his hand.

At this moment, the door of the office opened, and a man in a suit walked in quickly.

Looking up at the assistant who walked in, Director Carson reached out and took off the glasses on the bridge of his nose, and said in a tired tone.

"What's going on? Where are the three astronauts?"

the assistant replied.

"Now on the Moon Palace space station."

Turning the pen in his hand, Carson nodded lightly on the desk while holding the pen.

"What about the timetable for the handover of personnel? When does Huaguo plan to send people back?"

For this expensive Martian rescue operation, they paid at least $1 billion in expenses.

Although Huaguo advertised that it had borne 713 million US dollars in rescue funds out of humanitarianism, who knows how much they really paid.

After all, Xingkong Technology is the only company that can bring people back from Mars at the end of the window period, and they have the final say on how to quote this budget.

Carson estimated that Huaguo's top-of-the-line cost would be three to four billion U.S. dollars, and the entire rescue operation would cost less than an exaggerated $1.7 billion.

Catching Director Carson's gaze, the assistant hesitated for a moment, and said with an embarrassed expression.

"... not sure yet."

"Not sure?" Director Carson froze for a moment, and frowned, "What do you mean...they still plan to detain him?"

"That's not true, it's just that our astronauts... seem to have a little problem."

"……what is the problem?"

Facing Director Carson's questioning eyes, the assistant had a bitter expression on his face.

"Suspected Martian bacteria were detected in the metabolites of the three colonists..."

...

After the successful docking of the Xiaguang and the Moon Palace, the news that the three colonists in New Virginia returned to the Earth-Moon system immediately spread all over the world along the network cable.

However, before the people of the world had time to cheer for this great moment, the news that the Martian bacteria were found on the three colonists was also spread along with the triumphant return of the Huaguo rescue team.

After hearing the news, the international community was in an uproar.

Some people are full of curiosity about these little lives from Mars, or some people say that they don't care what the astronauts bring back from Mars.

However, the emotion that permeates another group of people, or most of them, is panic...

Columbia Television.

Some time ago, Jamie, who was very enthusiastic about the Ares plan and invited three colonists to the scene, changed his previous position this time. An ecologist who slams NASA is on the talk show.

Facing the audience and the camera lens, the old professor who was over sixty years old shouted in an angry voice.

"...I have said long ago that the Ares project was another stupid and inhumane human experiment from the very beginning! NASA clearly knows that the danger on Mars is not only the climate, but also those things that we have never seen before. microbes, even viruses! Yet even so, they sent colonists to Mars and tricked them into returning home one day..."

"Oh God, now they did come back, brought back by the generous Chinese people. But where the hell are we supposed to put them with the Martian bacteria? Who can guarantee that the bacteria they carry are harmless to others Is it harmless to our fragile ecosystem?"

"NASA must be held accountable for this!"

It wasn't just CBS that was shifting positions.

When the word human experiment was put on the table, almost all the media in North America that still had any concerns about political correctness drew a clear line with NASA and the Ares Project.

Just as Director Carson expected, after the news spread that the three colonists were infected with Martian bacteria, NASA and the Ares project were immediately slammed by public opinion.

Although he felt a little wronged.

After all, originally in the Ares plan, there was no plan to bring these Martian colonists back to Earth. If it weren't for the global sandstorm, they wouldn't need to worry about how to appease the anger of the people.

But now it seems that it is too late to say anything.

From the moment Martian bacteria were detected on the three colonists, his political career may have come to an end...

Meanwhile, it wasn't just Chief Carson who was being hit.

As far away as Wall Street in New York, a cloud is also hanging over the sky at this moment. Those aerospace listed companies that were once popular in the financial market are now facing a gloomy capital winter.

Even for Space-X, which has already stood at the top of the industry, and Blue Origin, which is controlled by Amazon, life is not very easy.

However, when public opinion criticized NASA and the Ares plan, there was a completely different reaction from the academic community.

The paper jointly published by Dr. Leslie and Dr. Shuxuan Zhao caused a huge sensation all over the world.

Whether there is life on Mars has always been a controversial topic.

Although humans have launched countless probes to Mars, and even dropped a life support unit, as well as three astronauts, so far they have not brought back an inch of soil directly from Mars.

The only ones that can be studied by astrobiologists are only three meteorites from Mars picked up from the earth, numbered ALH840001, Yamato593 and Nakhla.

Although signs of microorganisms were found in all three meteorites, there is still no direct evidence that these microorganisms did exist, or what they were.

Although the bacteria brought back by the Xiaguang rover from Mars are full of unpredictable risks, they also have valuable research value.

The biological community believes that this is an epic-level discovery. The study of this bacterium will hopefully reveal the thin "ecosystem" on Mars and enrich the current DNA database known to humans.

The astronomy community also stated that the bacteria brought back from Mars by the three colonists will provide key research materials for the study of Mars' historical landform changes and atmospheric environment evolution.

Of course, scholars from related fields also expressed concerns.

Martian bacteria that can survive in extreme environments are likely to show the same tenacious vitality on Earth and have unpredictable impacts on the Earth's ecosystem.

Back then, European colonists brought a series of infectious diseases to North America, almost exterminating the indigenous people living there. And the Native Americans who were killed by infectious diseases were far more than those who died under guns.

Now these three people went to Mars and came back, bringing small life on Mars. Although the physical condition of the three people seems to be unaffected, no one can guarantee that it will always be like this.

And just as the atmosphere of panic gradually permeated, the Huaguo Lunar Orbit Construction Committee issued a public statement.

In consideration of the overall interests of human civilization, the three colonists will not be considered to be brought to Earth until the possible impact of the bacteria on the earth's ecosystem is determined, or until the Martian bacteria carried by the three colonists are found to be completely killed. back to earth.

At the same time, the Huaguo Lunar Orbit Construction Committee also announced that it will build a lunar surface research facility on the surface of the moon to temporarily house the three colonists and conduct research on their conditions.

The facility and the research conducted welcome supervision from all walks of life, and are open to the international community, and other countries are welcome to participate.

However, due to the consideration of various factors such as cost, this will of course not be free...