Chapter 315 - Return To The Space Center (1/2)
Chapter 315 Return To The s.p.a.ce Center
The Jeep came to a halt, stalling after circling the area halfway. It wasn’t because they had managed to find the other two, but the sandstorm was so severe that the dust and debris soon overwhelmed the intake, clogging it up. At first, the engine seemed underpowered, and the vehicle struggled to move. Not too long after, the engine sputtered before dying completely. In this case, it was impossible to start the engine again. Things didn’t go well for the second Jeep too. It was just the matter of which one would stop functioning first. Left with no other option, NASA had to give up on searching for the other players and hunkered down in the vehicle until the storm pa.s.sed. It was then that a small accident occurred. A flying stone hit the right pa.s.senger window and shattered a hole through it. Everyone scurried to block the crack with layers of clothes to prevent sand from flying into the car.
However, n.o.body expected the sandstorm to last an entire day and night. Hours upon hours pa.s.sed, and when the wind started to die down, they could finally exit the car. Seeing how it was buried halfway in the sand, those in the car wouldn’t survive if the sandstorm lasted any longer, let alone those completely exposed to the elements. Under such an unforgiving environment, it would be almost impossible for missing people to survive.
Even so, the captain chose to contact Area 51 immediately the moment the winds died down a little. He also requested a second rescue party to be sent out to search for the two trainees that NASA lost in the sandstorm.
Before they moved on, the captain sent Zhang Heng back to Kennedy s.p.a.ce Center as he was due for a one-week quarantine before he could get on the rocket. It was essential that he stayed away from his family and colleagues to avoid catching any viruses, colds, or any common diseases.
During this time, and unless absolutely necessary, only staff screened by the medical team could get close to the quarantined astronaut. Considering the odd virus and floating particles in the air, the astronaut wasn’t allowed to leave the isolation chamber either. If their spouse or child came for a visit, they had to first undergo a stringent medical examination. NASA even restricted the duration of their stay.
This would ensure the wellness of the astronauts’ health could be monitored to the greatest extent. Of course, all the trouble they went through wasn’t for nothing. NASA couldn’t afford to have the astronauts miss the launch window or postponing the mission because of a runny nose. Thankfully, this problem didn’t exist the moment the s.p.a.cecraft entered orbit. No bacteria or any infectious viruses were in the vacuum of s.p.a.ce, and it was rare that astronauts got sick while they were there.
Due to the mysterious infectious disease that ravaged the base, NASA paid particular attention to the quarantine process. Thanks to the unexpected sandstorm, Zhang Heng was quarantined a day less than initially planned. After the medical team conducted a comprehensive physical examination, confirming him in perfect health, NASA’s executives couldn’t be more relieved.
No one had expected things to move in this direction. Armstrong and Collins’ surprising return gave NASA a much-needed boost and even restored Congress’ confidence in the moon landing. NASA was in complete shock after seeing how accidents strangely kept happening to this batch of urgently recruited candidates. In the end, only one of the seven survived.
Fortunately, NASA eventually pulled together enough astronauts for the mission. That said, Zhang Heng, who survived, had the best training performance out of the seven, and although not the outcome that NASA had hoped for, they were content with who they got in the end. The selection process had unexpectedly turned into an elimination round. Thus, the final candidate was now set in stone.
Zhang Heng had to spend the next four days in the isolation room.
After entering the quarantine period, the astronauts would no longer be a.s.signed any tasks or training. Of course, a good amount of everyday exercise was mandatory to ensure the astronaut was in the best of health. The astronauts could also use this time to adjust their sleeping patterns to adapt to the work schedule in s.p.a.ce. In terms of diet, NASA no longer set any restrictions. In theory, astronauts could request whatever they wanted from the dietician. They were even allowed relatively high-calorie ‘junk food’ because s.p.a.ce food could never be compared to the delicacies on earth. Whatever they could eat on earth now was considered as compensation for whatever the astronauts would miss out while in s.p.a.ce.