After recovering the return capsule, the Rosy Glow continued traveling in Mars orbit for another thirty-four weeks before initiating its return procedure and shifting its trajectory for the journey home.
Before departing, Xu Zhenghong pulled a key from his chest pocket, inserted it beneath the control console, and gave it a twist. A black dot was then ejected from the Rosy Glow's cargo bay and fell toward the fiery red planet below.
Through the porthole, Liu Biao caught a fleeting shadow. He craned his neck to look outside, but he could no longer find the trace he had glimpsed earlier.
"Did you see something outside just now?" After looking for a while, he finally asked.
Staring at the speedometer on the console, Xu Zhenghong casually replied as he reached out to activate the main engine nozzles.
"Didn't see anything. You probably imagined it."
Liu Biao was certain he could not have been mistaken.
Before joining the Astronaut Corps, he had flown fighter jets. Even if a fly passed by the cockpit, there was no way he would miss it.
"Could they have fallen out?"
"No." Xu Zhenghong casually answered, then skillfully changed the subject. "Once the acceleration is over, go greet them. Tell them what they need to watch out for aboard the Rosy Glow, then arrange them separately in the passenger cabin. Oh, and remember to turn on the 'body camera.' Keep the black box secure too."
Liu Biao grinned and made an OK sign.
"Understood."
From the return capsule breaking through the Martian atmosphere to the Rosy Glow successfully recovering it, only a little over ten minutes had passed. Cameras installed beneath the Rosy Glow's fuselage perfectly recorded that historic moment.
When the more than twenty-minute video traveled tens of millions of kilometers back to the Jinling