Back in 1978, I was admitted to Northwestern Polytechnical University.

Chapter 544 Starship Promotional Video: The Martian

Beijing Capital International Airport is bustling with activity, with planes constantly taking off and landing.

A beautiful C929 passenger plane slowly descended and landed smoothly. Its unique shape always elicits countless exclamations of amazement whenever it arrives at a new airport.

Of course, this is all commonplace for people from the East, after all, this aircraft has regular flights at major airports.

The plane came to a stop and was transferred to the terminal, where passengers began to disembark in an orderly manner.

A middle-aged man walked out of customs and looked around at everything, which seemed particularly new to him.

When I was in the United States, many media outlets portrayed the East as a backward agricultural country, far more backward than the United States!

Now, standing firmly on the land of the East, he finally saw the vitality and dynamism of this land!

The airport's large screens displayed flight information, and the service desk staff even had laptops in front of them! There were also people walking around making phone calls...

This is definitely the most technologically advanced country!
With that thought in mind, he continued walking forward, and then... he saw someone holding up a sign to welcome people to the airport.

"Hello, I'm Kay Michaelson." He extended his hand warmly.

"Hello, I am Qin Liang."

This name... sounds familiar?

Wait a minute, this name seems to be one of last year's Ten Outstanding Young Persons in the World. At such a young age, he became a university president and single-handedly planned many projects. Unfortunately, President Qin was very busy at the time and did not give an interview to the relevant magazine...

"You are... Principal Qin?"

"Yes, that's me."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I never expected you to come and pick me up in person," Kay Michaelson said excitedly.

"I'm also very happy to meet Rocket Man," Qin Liang said with a smile.

This guy wasn't particularly bright as a child, and was later diagnosed with dyslexia. His grades in all subjects were just average. However... he liked to tinker with all sorts of interesting things. When he was 12, his parents bought him all sorts of experimental equipment so he could experiment with various chemical reactions. It was at this time that he developed an interest in rockets.

Unfortunately, his academic performance was so poor that he was forced to drop out of school. After that, he started tinkering with various rocket propulsion products.

In 1964, he invented a rocket-powered motorcycle, followed by rocket-powered snowmobiles, rocket-powered wheelchairs, and so on. Then one day, he felt that he should try to break the land speed record. So, his rocket car broke 72 world records.

His talent quickly attracted the attention of Hollywood, and so he was contracted to make any scenes in Hollywood movies that required rockets. In his lifetime, he participated in the production of at least two hundred Hollywood movies, and as a result, he became rich!
With money in hand, he wanted to do things he enjoyed. In 2004, a year later, he gathered more than thirty rocket enthusiasts and built a rocket that flew out of the Kármán line! That rocket took off that same year.

This is, of course, because they can't get into the official team. After all, NASA's threshold is very high. Now... Dongfang has a private rocket project that is going to fly to Mars!
Kay Michaelson was very interested. Almost as soon as he heard the news, he arranged his work and then... came to the East to find his "home base".

Hearing Qin Liang call him "Rocket Man" filled him with even more excitement: "That's right, my life belongs to rockets. I've always dreamed of entering the real rocket industry. Thank you Starship Corporation for giving me this opportunity. I'm willing to invest five million US dollars..."

In the 1980s, the US dollar was still quite valuable! This five million dollars was the most he had ever taken out without affecting his business!
"Thank you for your support. Is there anything else you require?"

If you want technical skills or management involvement... then goodbye!

"I do have a small request, and I don't know if Principal Qin can grant it..."

Kay Michaelson looked embarrassed.

Qin Liang smiled and said, "It's alright, just ask. We'll do our best to meet your requests, as long as it's within our power!"

"It's like this, my main income now comes from Hollywood. Over the years, Hollywood has practically stagnated in the space film genre. Apart from 'A Space Odyssey' in the 1960s, there haven't been any good movies. Some directors have even turned science fiction into horror films. I think..."

Qin Liang breathed a sigh of relief, as long as they didn't mention anything about technical management.

"please say."

"I want a real science fiction film, and it would be even better if it could combine elements of space exploration and Mars! I can contact directors and investors, but I need a good script."

This……

Isn't this readily available?
Qin Liang smiled broadly: "Simple. Come on, I'll take you to the hotel, and we can eat and chat."

Qin Liang began his introduction in the car.

"The date was set in 1999 AD. At that time, humans landed on Mars for the first time. While exploring Mars, they suddenly encountered a giant storm. The other five astronauts took off urgently and left the surface of Mars. Astronaut Yang Wei was thought not to have survived and was stranded on Mars."

Kay Michaelson's eyes widened: "Space Robinson Crusoe? I love that!"

"When Yang Wei regained consciousness, he found himself far from Earth, with only enough food to last a month, and the next Mars mission would take four years. Fortunately, he was a botanist, so he started planning his life on Mars, such as growing potatoes."

Kay Michaelson looked radiant. A great science fiction movie must be realistic. Growing potatoes on Mars would definitely attract a lot of viewers!
"Meanwhile, the Mars spacecraft was returning to Earth, and the world mourned Yang Wei's tragedy. At this time, a sharp-eyed technician noticed signs on the Martian surface and suspected that Yang Wei was still alive. The two sides made contact, and a Mars rescue mission was launched..."

After Qin Liang finished introducing the general plot, Kay Michaelson exclaimed with great emotion: "This is a very good story. I believe it will be welcomed by Hollywood, and its production cost will not be too high."

After all, most of the story was done by one person; the key was the props.

"Yes, for the filming location, we can choose the Hongya area in Qinghai, China. The terrain there is similar to Mars. Northwestern Polytechnical University can also provide full support for the props needed for filming."

"Great, great, that's wonderful! I'll contact the directors in Hollywood as soon as possible and ask them to come over..."

In later years, The Martian was originally planned to be filmed in Australia, but the people there disagreed, so it was eventually moved to a studio in Budapest. Now, we Easterners are writing the script and providing the location!
The Red Cliffs of Qinghai, with their Yardang landforms and desert environment, bearing salt deposits, bear an appearance highly similar to the surface of Mars. It could easily be used as a filming location for a Martian environment, and in later generations, a Mars simulation base was built here.

Now, everything is ready!
Upon returning to his hotel, Kay Michaelson used the internet to contact directors he knew.

As a result, the famous director flew over that very evening!
The next day, early morning, at the Capital Airport.

"Duoduo, you don't need to come in person. After all, it's our child who's more important."

“It’s okay, Brother Liangzi. Spielberg is my favorite director. Of course I have to come to pick him up at the airport when he comes to Dongfang.”

I never expected that my CEO wife would be such a fan of celebrities, cough cough, she loves the film industry!
“Brother Liangzi, you made the right choice. There are no real sci-fi directors in China. If we’re talking about making blockbusters, we still have to go to Hollywood,” Yang Duo’er continued with a sigh.

Eastern science fiction films were indeed far behind those of the rest of the world. It wasn't until The Wandering Earth that they finally reached a world-class level, allowing the world to recognize the charm of Eastern science fiction films. Unfortunately, a good start was ruined by a group of followers.

The subsequent science fiction films turned what should have been a science fiction film into a romance film.

Of course, they have their reasons. Science fiction is divided into two types: hard science fiction and soft science fiction. Mine is soft science fiction. If you don't understand it, don't spout nonsense.

"Yes, it still has to be Hollywood."

Actually, introducing the movie The Martian wasn't just to fulfill Kay Michaelson's request, but also to continue promoting Starship Inc. and Mars colonization, so that more people would learn about it and invest in it.

There will definitely be various ways to include advertisements in this movie.

I don't know if the director agrees or not.

Steven Spielberg, born in 1946, saw his first movie in 1952 with his father, and from then on, he had a deep passion for film. In 1957, he shot his first film, *Boy Scouts*, using his own camera. In 1963, while in high school, he made his first science fiction film, *Firelight*, with a budget of $300. In 1968, he made his first real film and signed with Universal Pictures, thus entering the film industry. In 1975, his film *Jaws* broke box office records, and at the time, he was just a thirty-year-old young man!

In 1982, this guy directed the science fiction film "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," which grossed nearly $8 million worldwide! Just this year, his science fiction film "Back to the Future," in which he has been promoted from director to producer, was officially released. It can be said that this guy is also a master at making science fiction films.

Now, he's very excited to hear that there's a new script for a science fiction film.

The long flight didn't tire him out much, because he had come in his own private jet. Watching the private jet land at the airport, Kay Michaelson exclaimed excitedly, "Spielberg's here!"

A dozen minutes later, the world-renowned 40-year-old director appeared in front of Qin Liang.

"Principal Qin, I never imagined you were such a screenwriting genius!"

"No, no, I'm just proposing an idea. The script needs to be written by a specialist. However, Northwestern Polytechnical University can fully cooperate in making the film's details extremely realistic."

Spielberg nodded: "Yes, for a movie about landing on Mars, the props must be realistic, including the spaceship, the Mars base, the Mars rover, and even a simple Mars suit. They must be realistic enough to be considered a successful science fiction film."

“We already have some ideas for these. Let’s go to the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Beihang University.”

Going to Northwestern Polytechnical University is too far now. Since Beihang University is also involved with Starship Company, we can hold the meeting there.

Beihang University, Department of Aerospace Engineering, Conference Room.

"Let's start with the Mars suit. We know that carbon dioxide makes up 95% of the Martian atmosphere, while oxygen makes up only 0.15%. Therefore, on Mars, you must be fully equipped..."

As Professor Pan introduced the suit, a Mars suit appeared on the screen. Spielberg immediately shook his head: "No, no, this Mars suit is too bulky. Wearing it will make me look like a Teletubby. We're making a science fiction film, not a fairy tale. This Mars suit has to be cool!"

"However, the atmospheric density on Mars is only one percent of that on Earth. Unless it's an absolutely rigid Martian suit, anything soft will definitely be bulky."

When humans first went on an extravehicular activity, the astronauts had no problem going out, but when they came back, they couldn't get back in no matter what they tried. They had to release some air from their spacesuits before they could get back in.

This is because of the vacuum outside, while the spacesuit has a standard atmosphere inside. This naturally stretches the spacesuit. On Mars, the air density is one percent of that on Earth, so the Mars suit would definitely be bulky as well.

"No, it has to look good!"

All eyes turned to Qin Liang.

What happened to respecting science?

"Let's do it Spielberg's way. The Mars suit can be fitted at the waist if he wants, but during filming, there needs to be some data displayed on the left side of the screen, including air pressure, oxygen levels, and temperature..."

That brings back the sci-fi feel!

Mars rotates on its axis for about the same amount of time as Earth, 24 hours, 39 minutes, and 35.244 seconds, but its orbital period is much longer, about 687 Earth days. It also has four seasons, and its surface temperature ranges from -133 degrees Celsius in winter to 27 degrees Celsius during the day in summer.

The film was definitely shot in the summer when the internal and external temperatures are similar, but when the Martian storm occurs, the surface temperature will drop to minus fifty or sixty degrees Celsius.

So, someone started making changes on the spot.

The waist was cinched, and some powerful-looking embellishments were added... Spielberg was finally satisfied, but other things, such as the Starship Corporation logo on the chest and the China logo on the back, remained unchanged.

Product placement is everywhere!
"Next, we said that growing potatoes on Mars is also entirely possible. According to our analysis of existing data, Martian soil contains many substances, such as sodium, magnesium, calcium, etc. The main deficiency is nitrogen. Human feces contain 30% nitrogenous substances. As long as we add feces and successfully produce water, we can grow potatoes."

This is an important point to note, and it must be supported by sufficient scientific evidence.

"Next is the forward base, which needs to have tall carbon capture towers and fuel manufacturing facilities..."

The Starship logo is everywhere.

"Finally, there's the starship. We've already planned this. The entire starship will have a stainless steel hull..."

This is, of course, Musk's Starship. Below are the heavy boosters, and above is the main body of the Starship. This Starship alone is taller and more powerful than all the rockets currently in China, and with a diameter of nine meters, it is the world's largest!

The entire starship has a rugged appearance, full of violent aesthetics.

Spielberg started frowning again.

Now Qin Liang was also suspicious. What, brother, you're not satisfied with this? This starship must fly to Mars, that's the focus of our publicity, so don't cause any more trouble!

"This starship can serve as a landing platform for Mars, but I believe that for the long journey to Mars, astronauts will still need a larger spaceship. This spaceship needs to be more futuristic, with many solar panels on its surface, and even a rotating ring-shaped device in the center to serve as the astronauts' living quarters..."

This guy understands science fiction.

When flying in space, there is no need to consider air resistance, so there is no need to design it to be streamlined; everything can be done according to requirements.

Because there is no gravity in space, astronauts float inside. This is fine for short periods, but over long periods, calcium and other substances in their bones will be lost. Therefore, early science fiction novels already envisioned making spacecraft into rotating devices. This slow rotation would generate centrifugal force, creating an effect similar to Earth's gravity.

As long as it's big enough and rotates slowly enough, people inside won't get dizzy.

Thus, many spacecraft employ this type of large circular rotating structure.

"Okay," Qin Liang nodded in agreement.

This large interstellar spacecraft could be launched using the lower stage of our starship. There could be some scenes like this in movies, showing it being launched and then assembled in orbit, which would also showcase our starship's ability to travel to and from space.

"Next up is the Mars rover," Professor Pan said, continuing his explanation after Qin Liang agreed.

Planting potatoes is the first step, and driving on Mars is the second. From the landing site on the Martian Arsidalia Planitia, the journey to the Cris Planitia is 3200 kilometers and will take 78 Martian days! That's farther than driving from the capital to Sanya.

This Mars rover is also a key component.

"We believe that this Mars rover must be a fully enclosed structure so that it can be driven better inside. At the same time, in terms of power, using radioisotope batteries, that is, nuclear batteries, is more effective than solar power..."

Spielberg frowned: "No, we need to add solar panels. That way, the astronaut can unfold the panels while resting, lie next to them and sunbathe. That would be such a vivid image..."

What happened to respecting science?

This is also a challenge in filming hard science fiction, but... it's not a big problem, after all, we haven't designed a Mars rover yet, and we don't have nuclear batteries.

“Okay, let’s do it Mr. Spielberg’s way.” Qin Liang nodded.

The meeting lasted from morning until night. Everyone was dizzy and disoriented, but Spielberg was in high spirits.

"I have a strong feeling this will be our best sci-fi blockbuster ever! Tomorrow, I'll go check out the filming location! If everything's okay, I'll go back and secure funding; we need to start filming within a month... Oh, and for the lead role, I'd like to cast a Hollywood star..."

"You can use whoever you want, but his name must be Yang Wei."

"why?"

Of course it's to commemorate our first astronaut! You'd better find someone with an Asian face to play the role! Don't say it's unsuitable; Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee were both famous in Hollywood, weren't they?
(End of this chapter)