After the sampling work is completed, as the motor rotates in reverse, the long drilling rod is quickly pulled out from the surface.

There was nothing unusual in the first five meters.

The surface of the drilling rod is covered with red rock chips.

But the following picture is a little different.

A dark red.

Seeing this obvious color difference, Bai Yixuan's eyes showed a little uneasiness.

On a different planet, when facing this unknown situation, anxiety and worry are extremely common psychological phenomena.

Not only Bai Yixuan, but the other five teammates all had some concerns on their faces.

"Captain, this..."

Xia Wanyi's voice came from the radio.

"Be calm." Bai Yixuan said softly while taking a deep breath, "So wait until all the drilling rods come out before you can see the situation."

There was silence in the radio channel in the team.

Everyone's eyes were staring at the drilling rod in front of them.

The motor stopped.

Bai Yixuan and Hong Fan, as the two closest to the drilling rod, discovered the problem immediately.

"Wet?" Hong Fan stared blankly at the drilling rod in front of him.

Bai Yixuan subconsciously reached out and touched the drilling rod gently, and then gently twisted it with his fingers.

"No, to be precise, it should be tide."

...

Mars City No. 1.

"Five meters underground is wet soil?!"

Lu Yongchang looked at the holographic image in front of him incredibly.

"Professor, it should be the wet Martian dust that is glued together." Zero meticulously corrected Lu Yongchang's misunderstanding.

“It doesn’t matter!”

Lu Yongchang waved his hand casually, frowning in a ball.

"The point is, how can it be wet? How can it be wet?!"

"Zero, what is the surface temperature of Mars now?"

Zero quickly responded to his question: "Currently, Gael Crater is noon, and the surface temperature is 10 degrees Celsius. Affected by the sun, the temperature is about 20 degrees Celsius higher than the same period in previous years."

Lu Yongchang frowned.

At 10 degrees Celsius, this does have the possibility of liquid water.

“What is the night temperature?”

"Last night, the surface temperature of Gail Crater was -25 degrees Celsius, about 15 degrees Celsius higher than the same period in previous years."

Lu Yongchang shook his head with a serious expression: "No, this is not right."

"This temperature is definitely not enough to melt the ice layer five meters underground!"

"Can it be the effect of underground magma?" Just as Lu Yongchang was struggling, a familiar voice came from the door.

Lu Yongchang's body trembled slightly, obviously shocked by the sudden sound.

He quickly raised his head and looked towards the door.

"Brother Xu?"

"Why are you here?" Seeing the visitor, Lu Yongchang's eyes showed a little surprise, "No, when did you come?"

Fang Xu skillfully pulled open the chair in front of his desk and greeted the robot arm beside him: "Zero, help me make a cup of tea."

After seeing the robotic arm move, he turned his head and looked at Lu Yongchang: "I just arrived, probably when you were confused about the temperature of the Martian surface."

A cup of hot tea was handed to Fang Xu.

He reached out to take the teacup, nodded to the robotic arm and continued, "I came here for the medical cabin."

"Medical cabin?" Lu Yongchang's brows frowned even deeper, "What's wrong with the medical cabin?"

Fang Xu shrugged: "Academician Mao said that the basic functions of the medical cabin have been studied almost enough, and it is estimated that it will be truly realized in no time."

Hearing this, Lu Yongchang's frown suddenly relieved a lot of his brows.

This should be the first good news after coming to Mars.

A breakthrough in medical cabin technology will greatly extend the average life expectancy of humans.

Although the life span of more than a hundred years is somewhat inconspicuous for interstellar civilization, no matter what, it is always a good thing to make a breakthrough.

"So, what you just said, what's going on in underground magma?"

Lu Yongchang brought the topic back to the topic: "There are no large-scale magma activities on Mars, you should be clear about this."

"You said too, there is no large-scale magma activity." Fang Xu said while drinking tea. "I just provide you with a guess. Maybe there is a little magma activity underground in the Gael Crater."

Lu Yongchang nodded silently.

Perhaps this is the only reason that can explain the existence of liquid water.

"Professor, the complete report on the drilling sample has been released."

As Zero's voice sounded, a report appeared in front of Lu Yongchang.

“Sedimentary rock?!”

“There are obvious signs of water erosion and sedimentation?!”

Looking at the data in front of him, Lu Yongchang's eyes shone with excitement.

"Sure enough, Mars was really a habitable planet before!"

Fang Xu also put down the teacup in his hand at this time and looked at the detection data provided by Zero in surprise.

This is a subversive discovery!

"If there is water flow, then the mineral species on Mars may be more than we imagined?" Fang Xu asked softly.

"That's the reason." Lu Yongchang nodded quickly.

"But it's still not as good as the earth."

"Of the 4400 minerals known on the earth are currently more than 2,900 of them are related to biological activities."

"It is obvious that these minerals are not possible on Mars."

As he said that, Lu Yongchang turned his head and issued an order to zero.

"Zero, let Bai Yixuan and the others drive the Xuannv No. 2 to do a complete survey of the Gail crater."

...

A few days later.

"Professor, the surveying and mapping data are out."

The holographic projection quickly unfolded, and the full picture thumbnail of Gael Crater appeared in Lu Yongchang's office.

"Zero, make a simulation of the structure and texture of the crater interior."

“Look at where the water comes from.”

A few minutes later.

"Professor, the simulation results are out."

Arrows and water flow began to appear continuously on the holographic projection: "According to the simulation results, part of the water comes from the surroundings, which is the so-called rainwater."

“The other part is from Mount Sharp.”

"Rain? Sharp Mountain?" Lu Yongchang's brows frowned immediately.

These two sources...Sharp Mountain is a little easier to explain.

After all, in the drilling inspection of Mount Sharp, a large number of underground ice layers were indeed detected.

In ancient times, it was possible that there were glaciers on Mount Sharp.

Just rain...

Lu Yongchang's eyes moved slightly and he whispered.

"Zero, continue to simulate, Mars' surface temperature rises by 70 degrees Celsius, what are the results?"

As he finished speaking, a red image of Mars appeared in front of him.

Over time, the ice caps at the poles of Mars melted rapidly, and a large amount of carbon dioxide and methane were released.

The injection of greenhouse gases greatly improves the warmth of Mars' atmosphere.

Then, the water vapor began to condense and rain appeared on Mars.

The ocean and lakes appear.

A blue and red planet appeared before him.
Chapter completed!