Deep Space Wandering Fleet-Chapter 200 - Extraterrestrial Life
Chapter 200: Chapter 200: Extraterrestrial Life!
Chapter 200: Chapter 200: Extraterrestrial Life!
Zhang Yuan carefully pondered the astronomical data. He had seen a ring of yellow faintly tinged with purple on Gliese 581g. This ring of yellow and purple was extensively distributed within the twilight line and seemed very orderly, not appearing to be naturally formed.
Because the spaceship was still seven astronomical units from the planet, the photo resolution was not high, and it was unclear exactly what it was.
“Professor Fan, have you detected any signs of intelligent life?” Captain Zhao had also seen the photo and after pondering for a moment, asked.
The astronomer immediately responded, “At the moment, no intelligent life has been discovered; our probes are still en route. But as far as the current data show, there are no regular electromagnetic waves in space.”
“There are also no observables of artificial satellites or large structures on the surface…”
Zhang Yuan couldn’t help asking, “Then what are these yellow things? Such a regular global phenomenon can’t possibly be naturally formed, right?”
Professor Fan said, “These unusual colors are likely large clusters of alien plants, just slightly different in color from the plants on Earth. Our vast primeval forests on Earth are green, while the plants here are yellow and purple…”
“We suspect these life forms don’t need oxygen and obtain energy through oxidizing sulfur, nitrogen, and other reactions. This method of respiration is fundamentally different from our aerobic respiration.”
Alien life?
Zhang Yuan’s heart skipped a beat, as many people sitting around also couldn’t help but quietly discuss.
Especially some biologists, more excited than fearful, found any evidence of alien life to be highly instructive for questions about the origins of life.
“These planets have all been tidally locked by the constant star. The side facing away from the star is too cold, and the side facing the star is too hot. The twilight line is neither cold nor hot, making it an excellent place to live.”
“The large life communities located at the twilight line can receive constant light and are at a suitable temperature…”
“The tenacity of life is truly unimaginable.”
“Cough, cough, everyone quiet down. In a few more days, the satellite will transmit back firsthand data… but I think…”
The professor spoke at length, meaning that according to current data, it was more likely there was no intelligent life. Even if there were intelligent beings, they were probably just natives, not something to be feared.
Anyway, as long as these life forms posed no threat to humans, there wasn’t much to worry about.
Once humanity reached a certain stage of development, a more detailed on-site inspection of this planet’s life would definitely still be required.
Zhang Yuan and many others in the room let out a slight sigh of relief. Their biggest concern was that this star domain already had a powerful interstellar civilization… Although the probability was low, should such a civilization exist, they aboard this spaceship would doubtlessly be in a bind.
“It’s impossible for a civilization to develop to the space age without using electromagnetic waves or satellites, right?”
“Yes.”
Listening to everyone’s discussion, Zhang Yuan stood up and said, “To be cautious, we should still minimize the spaceship’s own radio signals as much as possible until more specific data become available.”
This proposal was swiftly approved unanimously.
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Subsequently, after a series of discussions and combined with the various mechanical devices carried on the spaceship, the group still chose to develop Satellite 1, closest to Gliese 581g.
The six main planets are referred to as b, c, d, e, f, and g, this nomenclature being based on the order in which they were discovered by humans. The satellites accompanying these planets were not named; for simplicity, people directly referred to the largest satellite of the 581g Planet as Number 1.
The diameter of this satellite was nearly four thousand kilometers, bare, and the surface was filled with meteorite craters, with an orbital period of about 14 days.
Due to being tidally locked, its rotation period was the same as its orbital period.
The reason for choosing Satellite 1 was because its distance from the constant star was moderate. Even if the star erupted in flares, the spaceship would not be too affected. Theoretically, according to the conditions of planetary formation, it had all the resources humans needed, including various common metals, rare elements, radioactive elements, etc.
The only drawback was its proximity to the Life Planet which could be a potential threat. Life always harbors infinite possibilities; who knows what kind of bizarre life forms might exist inside.
However, with a distance of a full 360,000 kilometers between the satellite and the planet, if something did happen, there would be time to react. Zhang Yuan did not believe any creature could escape the planet’s gravity by physical means and leap onto the Earth Era ship.
Thus, being near the Life Planet was not necessarily a disadvantage, but could possibly be an advantage instead, at least making future scientific investigations much more convenient compared to other planets that might have irreparable flaws. Number 1 was already considered quite a good planet.
“But still, Old Zhang, at this rate of rotation, if we were to set up a Space Elevator on this planet, the height of the synchronous orbit would be immensely exaggerated!”
Ye Kaifu whispered from under his seat, “The planet’s rotation speed is so slow. I did a quick calculation, and the height of the synchronous orbit would exceed 80,000 kilometers. We don’t have enough raw materials on hand… What should we do?”
“No, you’ve miscalculated…”
Zhang Yuan smiled and corrected, “In this case, the setup of the Space Elevator also needs to consider the massive gravitational pull of another planet. Therefore, our spaceship won’t directly stay on the synchronous orbit…”
“You calculate again, taking into account the satellite’s gravity offsetting the planet’s gravity, then use what’s left for the calculation…”
“That makes sense!”
Ye Kaifu suddenly realized, “Haven’t touched this stuff in years, almost forgot it. Luckily I didn’t ask outright, or I would’ve really embarrassed myself.”
He calculated carefully and found that only 8,000 kilometers were needed to achieve the orbital height, which made him secretly delighted.
This distance was good, significantly reducing the construction difficulty of the Space Elevator; no need to worry about anything else.
As for the energy issue…
“It should be possible to find enough uranium mines on the planet to support the first few steps of human development.”
Moreover, with sufficient sunlight, it could be considered to install solar panels on the sunlit side of the planet, to replace nuclear power. Solar panels are a very inexpensive and simple technology, and Zhang Yuan thought that with the current equipment carried by the spaceship, they could be mass-produced within a year or two.
After a discussion, Captain Zhao decisively declared, “Then that’s settled. We’ll establish our first landing point on Satellite 1!”
