Chapter 11: Landing

Words : 1623 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

Titan’s dense atmosphere, with a total mass exceeding Earth’s, is composed primarily of nitrogen—95% by volume. This thick atmosphere meant significant atmospheric friction during descent. Xiao Yu carefully adjusted his spacecraft’s angle to enter the atmosphere at an optimal trajectory. Under the intense friction, the spacecraft’s exterior quickly glowed red-hot. Yet, this was anticipated, and Xiao Yu remained unfazed. The altitude steadily decreased—from 3,000 kilometers to 1,000 kilometers, then to 100 kilometers, entering Titan’s troposphere. The speed began to drop sharply, from 2 kilometers per second to 1.5 kilometers per second, then to 1 kilometer per second, and finally to 600 meters per second... At an altitude of 3,000 meters, Xiao Yu deployed the parachutes. Titan’s dense atmosphere inflated the parachutes fully, reducing the speed to 300 meters per second. In cosmic terms, this was akin to a snail’s pace. However, for landing, it was still too fast. Xiao Yu’s spacecraft was too fragile to withstand a violent impact. The ideal landing scenario required a slow descent. Thus, after reducing the speed to 100 meters per second, Xiao Yu activated the retro-rockets. Through a combination of these measures, the spacecraft’s descent slowed to just a few meters per second, and the speed continued to decrease. Finally, at an altitude of only two meters above the ground, the velocity dropped to a mere fraction of a meter per second. This was within acceptable limits. The high-temperature exhaust from the retro-rockets melted Titan’s surface, causing a large amount of material to vaporize, which then condensed into a thick white mist. Shrouded in this ethereal fog, Xiao Yu descended gracefully, like a celestial being descending from the heavens. As the mist dissipated, Xiao Yu opened the hatch. Six robots emerged cautiously, their movements synchronized like a squad of soldiers. Before Xiao Yu’s eyes unfolded a wondrous world. It was nighttime on Titan, and the sky was pitch black. Beneath the thick atmospheric layer, the stars were mostly obscured, leaving only a few bright stars visible. Fortunately, Titan had a “moon” of its own—a massive, unmistakable presence. It was Saturn, with its faint yellowish hue. From Titan’s surface, Saturn appeared as large as the Sun does from Earth. Saturn, located 1.2 million kilometers away, bathed Titan in its magnetic field, shielding it from the Sun’s solar wind. Titan took about sixteen days to complete an orbit around Saturn. The land was enveloped in an overwhelming darkness, making it nearly impossible to see one’s hand in front of their face. Even the six robots lined up outside Xiao Yu’s spacecraft would fail to capture any images with their optical sensors. Xiao Yu activated his night vision. What unfolded before him was a breathtaking sight. A lake lay ahead, just a few hundred meters away. It was a vast lake, with ripples spreading across its surface under the winds sweeping over Titan. Along the lakeshore, small waves lapped against the edges, producing a soothing splash-splash sound. “This lake is beautiful,” Xiao Yu murmured. “I’ll call it Azure Lake.” Beside the lake, a winding river slowly fed liquid into the lake from an unknown source. Beneath his feet lay a slightly mottled surface resembling sand and gravel, with scattered stones reminiscent of Earth’s Gobi Desert. Behind him was a small hill, not very tall, lying low like an ancient beast from a forgotten age. This was 1.5 billion kilometers away from Earth, a place where the planet was no longer visible to the naked eye. Here, no human footprints had ever been left; it could even be said that no biological traces existed. It was a realm shaped entirely by the magnificence of nature, untouched by human intervention. As an intelligent and self-aware entity, Xiao Yu was the first to arrive at this place and witness its beauty. Above him loomed the colossal presence of Saturn. Ahead, an ocean-like lake stretched into the horizon. Behind, the low hill rested, and beside it flowed a small river. A surge of emotion overwhelmed Xiao Yu, and for a moment, he felt a strong urge to cry. Suddenly, the sensors on one of the robots detected liquid falling from the sky. Shortly after, the remaining five robots confirmed the same observation. Xiao Yu immediately understood the situation. It was raining. Yes, Titan also experienced rain. However, unlike Earth, the rain on Titan was not composed of water but of liquid methane. The lakes, rivers, and streams on this celestial body were all formed of liquid methane. As the rain grew heavier, Xiao Yu could only sigh with amusement and order the six robots back into the spacecraft. The exploration plan would have to wait until the rain stopped. Activating the spacecraft’s collection equipment and various sensors, Xiao Yu silently experienced the alien rain. It was a peculiar sensation, one that transported him back to the carefree days of living on Earth. “I no longer have a home,” Xiao Yu reflected sorrowfully. “Nor do I have any companions.” “I no longer even have a body. I can’t truly call myself human anymore.” As the rain poured down in torrents, Xiao Yu’s thoughts drifted far away. For the first time, he let go of his intense desire for exploration and allowed himself to consider other matters. For the first time, Xiao Yu felt a deep longing to converse with someone. Yet, here on Titan, the only entity remotely resembling a living being, besides himself, was Specimen One, secured in its metal container. In a playful act, Xiao Yu emitted a burst of high-frequency pulses, watching Specimen One grow agitated and restless within the container. Its erratic movements brought a faint smile to his face, lifting his mood. The heavy rain persisted for several days, raising the lake’s water level dangerously close to the spacecraft. However, Xiao Yu was not concerned, confident in the spacecraft’s excellent sealing capabilities. Additionally, he used this opportunity to collect more methane for storage. Taking advantage of the downtime, Xiao Yu dismantled one of the spacecraft’s engines and modified it to burn methane instead of liquid hydrogen. After conducting a series of tests, all systems functioned flawlessly. When the rain finally ceased, daylight arrived on Titan. Titan’s sky revealed a mesmerizingly deep blue hue. As the moon rotated to the side facing Saturn and the Sun, sunlight filtered through, illuminating the surface. While most of the sunlight was reflected by Titan’s thick atmosphere, a small portion penetrated to the ground. Scattered by the dense atmospheric layers, the sky took on its unique color—similar in principle to the blue skies on Earth. However, daytime on Titan was still dim, akin to a clear night on Earth with a faintly visible moon. At least now, Xiao Yu’s optical sensors could detect a bit more detail. While he had grown accustomed to images from night vision devices, visible light still painted a prettier picture. The sunlight slightly warmed the surface, causing liquid methane to sublimate into a gaseous state, much like water evaporation on Earth. The swollen lake levels began to recede. Xiao Yu recognized this as Titan’s unique methane cycle of evaporation and condensation. The damp, muddy ground began to dry. Xiao Yu redeployed the team of six robots, which formed a coordinated grid pattern, starting a systematic survey of the surrounding terrain. For convenience, Xiao Yu’s robots were battery-powered, with each charge lasting six to eight hours in the field. To adapt them for outdoor exploration, he had made a few modifications. Meanwhile, two robots stayed on the spacecraft as a precaution against losing the entire fleet in case of an accident. Under Xiao Yu’s command, the six robots explored the terrain in a circular formation, with the spacecraft as the center. Titan’s surface was remarkably flat, with minimal elevation changes. According to the three-dimensional topographical maps captured during orbital surveys, Titan’s tallest mountain peaks were no more than 300 meters high. The reason for this phenomenon remained unclear to Xiao Yu, though his calculations suggested it might be related to unique geological activity or the influence of Saturn. The terrain survey progressed steadily, reaching areas up to a kilometer from the spacecraft. A known iron ore deposit was located in this region, and Xiao Yu’s goal was to identify the optimal mining site. A large, dark-red patch caught Xiao Yu’s attention. Commanding a robot to approach, it crouched down and activated its flashlights, transmitting the imagery back to Xiao Yu. He immediately began analyzing the data. Dark-red hematite. A thought occurred to Xiao Yu, and his excitement mounted. “Could my luck really be this good?” He could hardly believe the analysis results. It was indeed hematite, primarily composed of iron oxide, which could be processed to extract both iron and oxygen. The iron could be used for steelmaking, and the oxygen as an oxidizing agent. While Xiao Yu still had plenty of fuel, Titan’s virtually limitless methane reserves could also serve as an excellent energy source. The real bottleneck was the oxidizer. The discovery of this hematite seemed to resolve both shortages at once, much to Xiao Yu’s astonishment. Moreover, he found that most of the hematite deposits were exposed on the surface, accompanied by a variety of associated minerals. These included copper, tin, gold, silver, silicon, chromium, and nickel. “This... this is practically a gift from the heavens!” Xiao Yu exclaimed. “Could it be that the universe finally decided to show me some kindness after all my hardships? It must be!” Overjoyed, Xiao Yu quickly summoned the six robots back and had them transport mining equipment to the site. Mining, refining, base construction, spacecraft building... The era of great construction was about to begin.

Chapter 11: Landing

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