Chapter 258 An Astronaut's Daily Life

December 20, 2039.

3:00 PM, Hainan Base Data Center.

Lin Mo sat in front of the large screen, waiting for the video connection to be established. The words "Connecting Signal" flashed on the screen, next to the space station's real-time orbital parameters—an altitude of 36,000 kilometers and a speed of three kilometers per second, slowly flying over the Pacific Ocean.

Li Xiao sat beside him, holding a notebook, ready to record the conversation. Zhao Gang stood behind them; although he wasn't directly involved in space station affairs, he came to listen every time there was a call.

"Senior Brother," Li Xiao whispered, "do you think they'll celebrate the New Year up there?"

Lin Mo thought for a moment. "They should be able to. There are still over ten days until the New Year, so they'll still be up there then."

Li Xiao nodded and didn't ask further.

The screen suddenly lit up.

Three faces appeared on the screen—Zhang Pengfei, Engineer Li Wei, and Medical Monitor Wang Yanan. The three of them were crowded in front of the camera, with the space station's living quarters in the background. The walls were covered with various equipment and pipelines, several sleeping bags floated in the air, and there was a plush toy—a panda tied to a fixed point with a rope.

"Chief Designer Lin!" Zhang Pengfei waved with a smile. "The signal is finally connected! We just passed through a dead zone, so it was cut off for a while."

Lin Mo also smiled. "Hard work, everyone. How are things up there?"

"Great!" Engineer Li Wei answered quickly, floating in mid-air, upside down. "Look, we're all floating!"

He let go, did a somersault in the air, then gave the wall a gentle push and floated back to the camera. Medical Monitor Wang Yanan clapped and laughed beside him. "Engineer Li is in a particularly good mood today. He just gave us a space somersault performance, and he won."

Zhang Pengfei shook his head helplessly. "Childish."

Lin Mo was amused by them. Li Xiao was laughing so hard beside him she was doubled over, and even Zhao Gang couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth.

"Alright, alright," Lin Mo suppressed his laughter. "Show me the work progress."

Zhang Pengfei took the camera and began to show the various modules of the space station.

The first was the Core Module. This was the control center of the space station and the place where the astronauts spent the most time. Various instruments, screens, and consoles were densely arranged, and several laptops floated over the workbenches, secured with Velcro.

"Everything is normal in the Core Module." Zhang Pengfei pointed to the data on the screen. "The life support system is running well. Oxygen levels are normal, carbon dioxide concentration is normal, the temperature is controlled at 22 degrees, and humidity is at 55%."

He floated to the window and pulled open the sunshade. "Look outside."

The camera pointed at the porthole. The azure Earth appeared on the screen, with white clouds slowly drifting and the blue ocean shimmering under the sunlight. In the distance, a few stars dotted the black canopy of the sky.

Lin Mo stared at the image and was silent for a few seconds.

"It's beautiful," he said softly.

Li Xiao nodded vigorously beside him. "So beautiful!"

Zhang Pengfei smiled. "I never get tired of looking at it every day."

The second was the Experiment Module.

Engineer Li Wei floated ahead to lead the way, introducing as he went: "This is our laboratory, mainly for materials science experiments in a microgravity environment. Look at this cabinet; it contains three batches of Carbon Nanotubes samples, and we're observing their crystal growth."

He opened the cabinet door, took out a sealed box, and showed it to the camera. Inside the box, several silver-white fibers were fixed on a rack, surrounded by dense sensors.

"This batch of samples has been growing for fifteen days, and the crystal structure is more complete than those grown on the ground." Engineer Li Wei pointed to the data on the screen. "If successful, the performance of our Carbon Nanotubes can be further improved."

Lin Mo nodded. "Good work. Remember to transmit the data back in time."

"Understood."

The third module was the Airlock. This was the passage for astronauts to perform extravehicular activities and one of the most dangerous places in the entire space station. Two Extravehicular Spacesuits hung on the walls like two silent sentinels.

Medical Monitor Wang Yanan floated over and pointed at the spacesuits. "Before every spacewalk, we spend three hours checking these suits. Every pipeline, every interface, every sensor—nothing can go wrong."

Lin Mo asked, "How many total spacewalks have been conducted?"

"One hundred and twenty-seven," Medical Monitor Wang Yanan replied. "A cumulative duration of four hundred and thirty-eight hours. The longest single spacewalk was eight hours and twenty minutes, a record set by Brother Zhang."

Zhang Pengfei waved his hand. "Don't mention it. My hands were frozen stiff when I came back that time."

Lin Mo said seriously, "Safety first. Keep the extravehicular operations as short as possible; don't push yourselves too hard."

Zhang Pengfei nodded. "Understood."

After visiting the modules, the camera returned to the living quarters.

The three of them crowded in front of the camera again, smiles on their faces. But Lin Mo noticed that their eyes were somewhat sunken, and their faces showed signs of fatigue.

"How's your rest?" he asked.

The three looked at each other, then Zhang Pengfei said, "It's okay. We each get about six or seven hours of sleep a day."

Lin Mo stared at him. "Tell the truth."

Zhang Pengfei was silent for a few seconds, then laughed. "Chief Designer Lin, you're really not easy to fool."

He scratched his head and confessed honestly, "Actually, it's only about five hours on average. There's too much work, and not enough time. Sometimes, just as we lie down, an alarm goes off, and we have to get back up to handle it."

Engineer Li Wei added from the side, "One day last week, I only slept for four hours, and I almost fell asleep outside the module the next day."

Medical Monitor Wang Yanan glared at him. "Why didn't you report this?"

Engineer Li Wei shrank his neck. "I was afraid you'd worry."

Lin Mo was silent for a few seconds, then said, "From now on, you must ensure six hours of sleep every day. That is an order."

The three were stunned for a moment, then stood at attention simultaneously. "Yes, sir!"

Li Xiao whispered beside him, "Senior Brother, you're sounding more and more like a Chief Designer."

Lin Mo ignored her and continued to the screen, "How's the food?"

Medical Monitor Wang Yanan floated to the kitchen area and opened a storage cabinet. Inside, various sealed food bags were neatly stacked—rice, noodles, braised pork, vegetables, and canned fruit.

"The food is quite good." She took out a bag of braised pork. "Master Liu made this specially; it's vacuum-packed and can be eaten after heating. We just had hotpot yesterday. Although we couldn't dip things in the broth, the taste was very authentic."

Lin Mo smiled. "Master Liu was very happy to know you like it."

Medical Monitor Wang Yanan nodded. "Please thank Master Liu for us."

"Will do."

After chatting for nearly an hour, the signal began to become unstable.

Zhang Pengfei looked at the screen. "Chief Designer Lin, we're about to enter a dead zone. We have to hang up."

Lin Mo nodded. "A few final words."

The three crowded in front of the camera again, waiting for him to speak.

Lin Mo looked at the three faces on the screen, was silent for a few seconds, and then said:

"Stay safe. Report any problems immediately. No matter if it's day or night, or if it's a dead zone—if you need us, we are always here."

Zhang Pengfei nodded seriously. "Understood."

Engineer Li Wei said with a smile, "Chief Designer Lin, don't worry. We will definitely guard the space station well."

Medical Monitor Wang Yanan added, "And we wish you all the best on the ground."

Lin Mo smiled. "Alright. Let's talk next time."

The screen flickered, and the signal was cut off.

Lin Mo leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath.

Li Xiao said from the side, "Senior Brother, they seem to be in good spirits."

Lin Mo nodded. "Yeah. They're just pushing themselves too hard."

Zhao Gang walked over and stood beside him. "That's how soldiers are. During a mission, they never complain about being tired."

Lin Mo looked at him. "You were a soldier too."

Zhao Gang smiled. "That's why I know."

The three of them stood in silence, looking at the darkened screen.

After a long time, Lin Mo said, "When they return, I'm going to pick them up personally."

Li Xiao nodded. "I'm going too."

Zhao Gang said, "Count me in."

Outside the window, the sun was setting. The horizon was tinged with an orange-red glow, and the distant sea shimmered with light.

Thirty-six thousand kilometers away, the three astronauts were in that small space station, continuing their work.

Guarding that bridge to the stars.