Start with a blacksmith shop.

Chapter 363 The Prodigal Son Returns Home

One is remote observation, and the other is on-site investigation. The difference between the two is actually quite large. Even though Snowy Owl and others don't use many technical terms, they have seen the most phenomena on Mars.

The phenomenon of a meteorite falling is something that ordinary scientists don't usually encounter, and this meteorite falling on Mars is just one of the many things that Snowy Owl and his team have experienced on Mars.

Fortunately, the food they carried on board was almost gone, which put their return journey in the countdown.

After ensuring they had enough food for their return journey, the Snowy Owls and their companions ascended into the Martian atmosphere in their spaceplane, circling the planet one last time.

After circling around, the astronauts stopped somewhere in the Martian sky. Each of them stood in front of the airplane window and looked down at Mars through the thick window glass.

After taking one last look at Mars, where they had lived for nearly four months, the spaceplane turned around and flew off into the distance.

When the spaceplane ascended into Mars' near-Earth orbit, it stopped again, and Snowy Owl stood up from his pilot's seat and stood in front of everyone.

"Everyone, our five-month journey to Mars is coming to an end, and we are about to embark on our journey home."

During this time, I believe everyone has gained some feelings about the planet in front of us. Our planet holds many unforgettable memories, which I believe everyone will never forget.

Now, let's take one last look at Mars, where we've spent over five months striving, and say goodbye!

As the snowy owl finished speaking, all the astronauts silently stood up, looked out the porthole at Mars once more, and silently said goodbye to Mars in their hearts!

Everyone bid farewell to their own Mars and then officially embarked on their journey home.

The spaceplane adjusted its flight path, slowly began to accelerate, and flew towards the only harbor in their hearts.

After activating all safety measures, the spaceplane gradually increased its speed. Only after Snow Owl and the others on board embarked on their journey home did they feel much more at ease.

They had been working tirelessly on an entirely unfamiliar planet for months, without a moment's rest, and only now were they able to relax a little.

However, they still hadn't completely let go of their worries, because they still had about a month of flying ahead, and what they would encounter was still unknown. Fortunately, they had already retraced their steps on the way here.

Although they had traveled this route once, it didn't help them much on their return journey. This is because celestial bodies are constantly in motion in the universe, so returning the same way is impossible. It only gave them some more experience.

Fortunately, the situation is much better now than when they were on Mars, and they have all relaxed a bit. Before, when they were on Mars, almost none of them had a proper night's sleep in their living quarters.

As they embarked on their journey home, and everything was running smoothly, two astronauts remained in the cockpit on duty, while the others went straight back to the living quarters to get a good night's sleep.

Of course, the shifts are rotated, which allows all the astronauts to get plenty of rest.

On Earth, in the Kyushu Space Agency's command center, the command center was unusually crowded at the moment. Why was that?

After the school sent back various data from Mars, the space agency invited more and more scientists to conduct research, and many big names in astrophysics received invitations.

However, due to confidentiality considerations, they were unable to return, which made the command center somewhat crowded.

Meanwhile, the space agency leaders were sitting at a table in a corner of the command center, discussing something.

They had just received a message from Mars, sent by Snow Owl and his crew. The message was just a text message saying that they were on their way back.

What they were discussing at that moment was how to face the return of the spaceplane: whether to openly welcome its return or to keep it a secret.

The difference between these two options is actually quite large. If they choose to make their return public, it will have a huge impact on many things, such as whether or not to make public the things the astronauts obtained on Mars.

Why should they disclose what they have achieved through their own efforts in Kyushu? If they don't choose to disclose some basic information, it will surely provoke international condemnation of Kyushu.

Arguments like "Mars is not just for Kyushu, but for all of humanity" are just annoying.

Choosing to keep it secret, however, is unfair to the astronauts, and the leaders present were all engaged in discussion.

The leaders couldn't come up with a final decision on how to handle the situation, and ultimately reported it to their superiors, leaving the decision to them.

The bigwigs set the tone quite directly on this matter. In their view, Kyushu now has enough confidence to face everything, and there is no need for outsiders to interfere in Kyushu's affairs. The bigwigs unconsciously displayed their domineering aura.

After the bigwigs set the tone, the Kyushu Space Agency immediately began to act within that framework.

First, there was the arrangement of public opinion. On the night that Snow Owl and the others embarked on their journey home, news about the Martian tourists returning home appeared on Kyushu TV's news program.

The news caused a sensation throughout Kyushu. They had just finished digesting the news of sending an expedition team to Mars, and now the Mars expedition team was about to return.

The people of Kyushu were once again in a frenzy over this exciting news, and various celebrations were spontaneously organized by the people.

After this news was broadcast, space agencies in other countries around the world were once again shocked. Although they all knew that the Kyushu expedition team heading to Mars would return one day, they did not expect it to happen so soon.

It hasn't been that long at all, how come the people who went to Mars are already back? But then I thought about it again, and it's actually been quite a while, more than five months.

Then, various space agencies felt anxious and urgent. Some agencies hadn't even figured out how to conduct manned spaceflight yet, and now they were facing the situation of Kyushu returning from Mars.

The most intense reaction came from Nasa. Even though they already knew they had fallen behind in extraterrestrial exploration and wanted to catch up, the difficulty made them realize that it wasn't something that could be achieved simply by trying hard.

In particular, their plan to return to the moon has been plagued by problems in the past six months, leaving them feeling helpless.

After having no other choice, Nasa sent a letter of intent to the Kyushu Space Agency to collaborate on joint research, something only someone with a big face like the US would do.

The result was that the Kyushu Space Agency didn't give them any attention at all, not even a simple response.

This made them angry and helpless at the same time. What could they do when the other side was stronger than them? They could only behave themselves.

……

The spaceplane flew in the dark space of space, staring at the direction of Earth. Snow Owl and his companions once again spent more than twenty days in the enclosed space of the plane.

During this time, they were able to fully recover. After recovering, they had plenty of free time and, just like when they arrived, they became binge-watching enthusiasts on the plane.

Having grown tired of watching the show, the group found mahjong and playing cards in the airplane's living area and started playing mahjong in space. They were the first people to play mahjong in space.

The twenty-odd days passed by as they played various games. After finishing a round of mahjong, Snow Owl went to the cockpit to check the situation. After inspecting the area and finding nothing amiss, he stood on the airplane window again.

In the pitch-black universe, right in front of them, a crystalline sphere was growing larger and larger. They could now see it from their position. Blue and white patterns intertwined on it, and a thin layer of light blue gauze wrapped around the sphere.

In the snowy owl's eyes, this planet was so beautiful, this cradle of life was so magnificent and kind.

"Earth, I'm finally back!" Snow Owl murmured to himself, a feeling of trepidation rising within him as he approached home.

Suddenly, he felt so close to Earth. It was wonderful for him to be able to see Earth again.

"Commander, boss, what's wrong? Why are you standing there motionless? Is there any situation outside the window? I don't see it on the radar!" The astronaut on duty asked after seeing the snowy owl standing in front of the window for a long time without moving.

After hearing someone ask him a question, Snowy Owl finally came to his senses, but still stood in front of the porthole and replied to the team behind him.

"Nothing's wrong, don't panic. I'm just looking at Earth. Come here!"

The astronaut on duty was also curious, wondering what the snowy owl had seen that made it so engrossed. He got up from his seat and walked to the window.

When he stood next to the snowy owl, he gestured with his lip to the astronaut from Congo, indicating that he should look at Earth.

"Look at Earth in front of us, it's so beautiful! In my heart, it's the most beautiful planet, and no one can take its place!"

The astronauts then realized what the snowy owl was looking at. It wasn't just looking at Earth; it was also projecting its emotions onto the planet.

The two stood by the window, staring intently ahead at the Earth, which was getting closer and closer to them.

In the following days, the snowy owl gathered the team members who had been released into the air in the living area for more than 20 days and also brought out various training equipment from the warehouse.

In order to prevent themselves from becoming too lax after returning to Earth due to their carefree lifestyle, Snow Owl led everyone in restorative training.

After several days of training, their overall spirits were fully restored, and they were no longer as lax as before due to various distractions.

They were ready to return to Earth in their best condition, and after another few days of flight, their spaceplane finally arrived at the Tiangong space station and stopped.

Meanwhile, on Earth, Kyushu Television once again dedicated a satellite channel to broadcasting news about the Mars exploration team.

Moreover, from the moment spaceplanes became detectable on Earth, the program consistently featured a split screen displaying satellite footage of the spaceplanes gradually approaching Earth.

At that moment, all the people of Kyushu who were paying attention to this matter saw the spaceplane slowly approaching Earth. Upon seeing this, all the people of Kyushu on Earth couldn't help but feel a sense of pride.

Although they did not drift in the vast universe like astronauts, their hearts were always with these people who had left home. When they saw the plane landed next to Tiangong, the people's worries were finally put to rest.

When the spaceplane re-entered low Earth orbit, all the staff in the Kyushu Space Agency's command center applauded enthusiastically, and cheers resounded throughout the hall once again.

For modern spaceplanes, once they return to Earth's low Earth orbit, the mission is considered a success.

The task of returning to Earth from near-Earth orbit is not difficult at all; leaving and returning to Earth is as simple as drinking water.

When the snowy owl and his companions stopped at the edge of the Heavenly Palace, they finally reconnected to the Earth's network. From that moment on, their connection with Earth was no longer delayed.

Instant messaging was restored at this time, and the entire exploration team was once again seen on the large screen in the Kyushu Space Agency's command center.

When they set out, there were several of them, and the same number returned; not a single one was missing.

As long as none of them return, their Mars exploration mission can be considered a complete success. Moreover, they brought back a lot of exclusive data about Mars, which makes it even more of a success.

Snowy Owl and the others solemnly saluted the camera, their actions simultaneously appearing on the large screen in the command center.

"Report: This Mars exploration mission has been successfully completed. Snowy Owl and the entire exploration team are reporting back to the organization!"

The on-site commander standing in front of the big screen was also very excited after hearing Snowy Owl's words.

"Good, good, it's good that you're back!"

At this moment, on the vast grasslands of Mengzi in Kyushu, inside an ordinary-looking Iveco van, Li Zhenhua is holding Xiao Lizi in his arms and leaning against Li Yun, watching the television in front of them.

The television broadcast showed footage of the snowy owl communicating with the command center.

(End of this chapter)