Chapter Summaries

Lu Zhou remained aboard the Auspicious after it launched and reached Low Earth Orbit, where he photographed Earth and received a new mission from the system. The shuttle stayed on its planned course, leaving Lu Zhou to worry about how ground control would react to his actions.

• Nie Yun informed ground control that Professor Lu was aboard the Auspicious, and Hou Guang ordered the crew to stay on course and keep Lu Zhou safe.
• Lu Zhou donned an intravehicular spacesuit as the Auspicious climbed above twenty kilometers and changed flight modes.
• During the ascent, Lu Zhou, Nie Yun, and Nie Han watched Earth from the shuttle and marveled at its beauty.
• The Auspicious reached orbit, shut down its fusion engines, and switched to battery power.
• Lu Zhou floated to a porthole, photographed Earth with his phone, and triggered a system mission offering experience points and a lottery draw.

Elon Musk watched a news report about SpaceX’s BFR plans until breaking news announced that Hua Nation’s Auspicious spaceplane had reached orbit using an electric propulsion system. Director Li then learned that Lu Zhou had secretly boarded the craft and hurried to Jinling to check on him.

• Elon Musk expected a report on SpaceX’s BFR rocket to attract attention and toasted its coming success.
• A Columbia Television anchor announced that the Auspicious had launched successfully from Jinling using Hua Nation’s latest Electric Propulsion System.
• Musk dropped his pizza, searched Twitter for information about the Auspicious, and stared in shock at the news.
• Director Li learned from Hou Guang that Lu Zhou had secretly boarded the Auspicious and was safe aboard the smoothly flying craft.
• Director Li told his secretary to book the next high-speed rail ticket to Jinling.

Director Li attended an emergency meeting where leaders approved developing military spaceplanes and elevating the space program’s priority. The meeting ended with officials learning that Professor Lu had gone up with the Auspicious, and the top leader let him do as he pleased.

• Director Li was summoned to an emergency meeting about the Auspicious and found a proposal for an aerospace strategic bomber project.
• Minister Qin argued that Hua Nation should develop military spaceplanes, while another official warned that doing so could alarm other countries.
• The top leader approved developing spaceplanes with limits on weapons and called for greater investment in space exploration, including the Lunar Landing Project.
• The meeting discussed aerospace industrial parks and incentives for private investment.
• The head of the Space Administration reported that Professor Lu had gone up with the Auspicious, and the top leader said to let him do as he pleased.

Lu Zhou joined Nie Yun and Nie Han aboard the Auspicious, which sent a New Year's greeting to Hua Nation as it passed overhead. In North America, the launch sparked widespread disbelief and forced NASA into a chaotic press conference, where reporters seized on ambiguous remarks about the spaceplane's return.

• At the Federal Security Service in Moscow, an official reviewed intelligence on the Auspicious and ordered agents to monitor its propulsion system and report new information to Mr. Vladimir.
• After Nie Yun confirmed Lu Zhou was safe aboard the Auspicious, Hou Guang resumed command of the ground operation.
• As the Auspicious passed over Hua Nation, Lu Zhou, Nie Yun, and Nie Han recorded and sent a New Year's Day greeting to CTV.
• North Americans reacted with shock to reports that the Auspicious had reached space using electric propulsion, drawing attention from aerospace workers and NASA employees.
• NASA held a press conference to address reporters, and its spokesperson's ambiguous comments about reentry led journalists to suggest the Auspicious might fail on its return.

Aiden realized that the Auspicious’s electric propulsion might depend on a compact controlled-fusion power source, which could be more significant than the propulsion system itself. At Starry Sky Technology, Chen Yushan’s anxiety about Lu Zhou eased when she saw the public’s reaction to his space greeting, but a report claiming the Auspicious might be unable to reenter renewed her fear.

• Aiden confronted NASA officials after the Auspicious launched, while Gerstenmaier denied responsibility for their mistaken assumptions about electric propulsion.
• A NASA expert said that enough power could let electric propulsion perform tasks usually associated with chemical propulsion, prompting Aiden to ask how much power a heavy spacecraft would need.
• After hearing that the system might require hundreds or thousands of megawatts, Aiden recalled classified information about Hua Nation researching compact controlled fusion for spacecraft.
• Chen Yushan called Hou Guang to ask why Lu Zhou had boarded the Auspicious, and Hou Guang explained that nobody had realized he was staying aboard before launch.
• Chen Yushan watched the public’s excited response to Lu Zhou’s space greeting and began to understand his decision, but then saw a New York Times report alleging a design flaw could prevent the Auspicious from reentering.

After completing its tests in orbit, the Auspicious began its return to Earth despite public fears sparked by a report predicting disaster. As NASA tracked the spacecraft, its unusual trajectory revealed that it still had a great deal of fuel.

• The New York Times questioned the Auspicious's design and warned that it might not survive reentry, stirring public concern for Lu Zhou.
• After nearly twenty-four hours in orbit, Lu Zhou prepared to return with Nie Yun and Nie Han; Nie Yun made Lu Zhou promise not to fly in space with him again.
• Nie Han confirmed the spacecraft's systems were ready, and Nie Yun ignited the engines to begin the return.
• Guided by ground control and its navigation system, the Auspicious moved from its cruising orbit into a transfer orbit.
• At NASA, Aiden hoped the spacecraft would crash into the Pacific, but an engineer noticed its unusual trajectory and concluded that it still had plenty of fuel.

The Auspicious returned safely to Hua Nation after its maiden flight, and Lu Zhou emerged eager to improve the spacecraft. On the ground, Director Li and Yuan Huanmin confronted him with unexplained apologies, while a woman rushed to embrace him.

• The Auspicious entered Hua Nation's airspace and landed safely at the Jinling Aerospace Launch Center, prompting Russian officials to stand down their Pacific Fleet.
• Chen Yushan, Yan Yan, Wang Peng, and the launch center staff celebrated the successful return as Hou Guang announced the mission's completion.
• Nie Yun landed the Auspicious after twenty-six hours in flight, while Lu Zhou remarked that its wings and engines needed further adjustments.
• Lu Zhou left the welcoming crowd to find Hou Guang, but Director Li approached and blamed his haggard appearance on Lu Zhou.
• Yuan Huanmin seized Lu Zhou's hand and apologized for misjudging him, then a woman rushed forward and embraced Lu Zhou as Yan Yan watched from a distance.

After the Auspicious returned safely, Lu Zhou celebrated the vindication online, while NASA blamed The New York Times for misrepresenting its remarks. As Lu Zhou recovered from post-flight examinations, he reflected on why he had gone into space and watched winter snow fall.

• Lu Zhou posted a taunting message on Weibo after the Auspicious returned safely, and it quickly spread across social media and news outlets.
• NASA denied predicting the Auspicious would break apart and accused The New York Times of misrepresenting its press conference.
• CTV released a documentary portraying Lu Zhou as a heroic risk-taker, including a dramatic quote that irritated him.
• At 301 Hospital, Chen Yushan guessed Lu Zhou had flown to show that space travel was less dangerous than people thought, and he gave her half credit.
• Lu Zhou watched snow fall outside the hospital window and remembered the successful ignition of the STAR-2 experimental reactor.

After a week of examinations, Lu Zhou was cleared to leave the hospital and learned that the government planned a major aerospace technology park that would support his electric propulsion work. Before he could return to Jinling, Director Li told him that troops had found the object Lu Zhou had mentioned, and Lu Zhou decided to investigate it himself.

• Lu Zhou completed his final examination with Academician Zhao Zhongji, who advised him to take care of his health and congratulated him in advance on his expected election as an academician.
• Lu Zhou finished his discharge procedures and returned to his ward, where Director Li told him the central government planned to make the space program a key national strategy again.
• Director Li explained that an aerospace science and technology park would be built between Jinling and Tianjiang and that officials hoped Lu Zhou would provide technical support for companies there.
• Director Li told Lu Zhou that troops near the Junggar Basin had found the thing he had mentioned.
• Lu Zhou ordered the site preserved and said he would bring people to investigate it himself.

Lu Zhou traveled with Wang Peng, Yan Yan, and Director Li to a guarded military camp in the Gurbantunggut Desert to inspect the object he had dropped from low orbit. He identified the pyramid-shaped device at the camp’s center as the Lightning escape pod.

• Wang Peng drove Lu Zhou and the others through the desert toward the military camp and explained that the site was heavily guarded because the object was worth two hundred million U.S. dollars on the black market.
• The group passed a security checkpoint and met Li Gaoliang, a battalion commander and former comrade of Wang Peng.
• Li Gaoliang told them that troops had caught criminals carrying two RPG-7 launchers while trying to approach the area.
• Li Gaoliang led the group to a cordoned-off dune, where they saw the escape pod and its drogue parachutes.
• Lu Zhou identified the pyramid-shaped device as the Lightning escape pod and explained that it could bring someone down from a thousand kilometers up.

Lu Zhou inspected the Lightning escape pod after its test descent and confirmed that it had performed well enough to keep an occupant alive. He left the landing site to survey the desert for Hua Nation's Biosphere 2.

• Lu Zhou crossed the cordon, opened the Lightning escape pod, and used Xiao Ai to retrieve the dummy's sensor readings and the pod's flight data.
• Lu Zhou found that the pod had landed about 174 meters from its intended target and said its performance was acceptable.
• Lu Zhou told Director Li that a trained adult without heart disease or high blood pressure could use the escape pod, though each unit would cost roughly ten to twenty million dollars.
• Lu Zhou said researchers from Jinling would inspect the pod and landing area before the equipment was sent back to Jinling.
• Lu Zhou revealed that his main purpose was to survey the desert as a potential site for Hua Nation's Biosphere 2.

Lu Zhou established the Spark Plan to develop a resource-efficient artificial biosphere as preparation for lunar settlement and space colonization. He selected Hu Yang to lead the demanding desert project, and Hu Yang accepted responsibility for it.

• Lu Zhou planned the Spark artificial biosphere after concluding that the mission chain would likely require a permanent or semipermanent lunar settlement.
• Lu Zhou and experts chose the Gurbantunggut Desert as the site for Biosphere A, designed to minimize outside supplies rather than reproduce a complete Earth-like ecosystem.
• Lu Zhou met Hu Yang, the Hua Agricultural University researcher chosen to lead the project, after Hu Yang arrived at the desert camp with two doctoral students.
• Lu Zhou explained that the project required years of isolation and arduous work, and Hu Yang said he had already made up his mind.
• Lu Zhou entrusted the Spark Plan site to Hu Yang.

Lu Zhou established the site and funding for Biosphere A, then learned he had been nominated for both academies. As he focused on improving the Auspicious, officials debated whether the Academy of Sciences should elect him in the same year as the Academy of Engineering.

• Lu Zhou chose a desert site for Biosphere A and finalized the Spark Plan’s 1.5-billion-RMB funding.
• After returning to Jinling, Lu Zhou learned he was on the preliminary candidate lists for both academies and thanked several senior academicians who had nominated him.
• Lu Zhou set aside the selections and met with the Auspicious designers to discuss improvements before its next launch.
• Wang Shicheng visited Director Qian to discuss whether the Academy of Sciences should defer Lu Zhou’s candidacy because the Academy of Engineering was expected to elect him.
• Director Qian told Wang Shicheng that Lu Zhou’s election mattered far more to the Academy than it did to Lu Zhou.

Lu Zhou proposed a tiltrotor spaceplane design to address heat damage during the Auspicious's atmospheric reentry. He left the existing Auspicious bid unchanged while setting the redesigned vehicle as a goal for the coming year, and named it Radiance.

• Hou Guang completed the Aerospace Technology Research Institute's move and presented a report on the Auspicious's test flight and inspection findings.
• Lu Zhou proposed moving four auxiliary engines to pivoting wings so the spaceplane could use reverse thrust to slow before entering denser atmosphere.
• Lu Zhou showed a simulation of the new design, which Hou Guang agreed to have the technical department study for feasibility.
• Lu Zhou said Starry Sky Technology would still submit the Auspicious for the current tender and pursue the new design the following year.
• Lu Zhou named the redesigned spaceplane Radiance.

The Auspicious won the launch vehicle contract for the manned Moon Landing Program, and preparations began for a mission scheduled before the 2021 Spring Festival. As Aerospace Science Group experts discussed how to integrate their lunar spacecraft with the Auspicious, Lu Zhou explained that he pursued problems because they were there to be solved.

• The Auspicious won the Moon Landing Program launch vehicle contract, and Starry Sky Technology used its new funding to prepare for the mission.
• The government scheduled the manned Moon Landing Program for the day before the 2021 Spring Festival, and the participating organizations began coordinating the launch plan.
• Sun Chengping and Aerospace Science Group experts visited the Space Shuttle Assembly Center and saw the Auspicious for the first time in person.
• Hou Guang proposed lunar orbit rendezvous, integrating the command module into the Auspicious and deploying only the lunar module to the Moon's surface.
• Sun Chengping asked Lu Zhou why he pursued spaceflight despite considering mathematics more important, and Lu Zhou said the problem was right there waiting to be solved.

Construction of Biosphere A began in the Junggar Basin as international attention turned to Hua Nation’s artificial ecosystem project. At a White House meeting, the NASA administrator proposed the Ares Plan to send people to Mars while Hua Nation pursued its lunar ambitions.

• Hu Yang reviewed the construction plans and urged the site manager to prioritize quality over speed.
• Construction of Biosphere A drew praise from academics, while major North American newspapers portrayed it as a possible outpost for space colonization.
• The United States’ National Space Council discussed Hua Nation’s growing ambitions in space.
• The NASA administrator proposed the Ares Plan, arguing that the United States should send people to Mars while continuing its Return to the Moon Program.

Lu Zhou read about America’s Ares Plan to colonize Mars and considered the aerospace competition between the United States and Hua Nation. Secretary Yang then visited him to ask whether international organizations should be allowed to participate in the Artificial Biosphere Program, leaving Lu Zhou to give his advice.

• Lu Zhou read that NASA planned a three-phase Mars colonization effort and reflected on the United States’ aerospace capabilities and Hua Nation’s Spark Plan.
• Secretary Yang visited Lu Zhou at Jinling University and explained that the central leadership wanted his opinion on several matters.
• Secretary Yang said the International Federation of Biological Organizations and the International Science Council had requested participation in Hua Nation’s Artificial Biosphere Program.
• Secretary Yang explained that the leadership was divided over the requests because the program involved space strategy and uncertain risks, then asked Lu Zhou what approach he recommended.

Lu Zhou urged Secretary Yang to involve international researchers in the Spark Plan and other projects, then wrote a letter advocating global scientific cooperation. He learned that the space cultivation unit for his lunar mission was complete and due at the launch base within a week.

• Lu Zhou told Secretary Yang that international researchers should be allowed to join the Spark Plan and other projects that did not involve core technologies.
• Secretary Yang agreed to pass Lu Zhou's suggestions to the leadership, and Lu Zhou wrote a letter supporting international scientific cooperation.
• Chen Yushan called Lu Zhou and told him that the space cultivation unit had been completed and could reach the launch base within a week.
• Chen Yushan described the unit's hydroponic design, ten-square-meter growing area, and five-tonne weight, then sent Lu Zhou its technical specifications.
• Lu Zhou read the specifications and expected to earn the experience points from his mission.

Hua Nation opened the Tinder project to international researchers, drawing applications despite hostile American media coverage. With the Auspicious ready to launch a lunar mission in two days, Director Li confronted Lu Zhou out of fear that he would join the crewed moon landing, and insisted on keeping watch over him.

• Hua Nation announced that international researchers could apply to participate in the Tinder project, and applications poured in from around the world.
• American talk shows and The New York Times portrayed the invitation as a bid for space hegemony, but Lu Zhou dismissed the coverage as ineffective.
• As the Spring Festival approached, the Auspicious was loaded with equipment for the lunar mission, with launch preparations complete and forty-eight hours remaining.
• Director Li arrived at the launch site and warned Lu Zhou that a crewed moon landing was far more dangerous than ordinary spaceflight.
• Lu Zhou assured Director Li that he would not join the mission, but Director Li refused to trust him and vowed to stay beside him on launch day.

Lu Zhou reunited with his parents and Xiao Tong before the upcoming launch, and spent the evening catching up with his sister. As CCTV News reported on the mission, Lu Zhou insisted that the Lunar Landing Project had to succeed.

• Lu Bangguo, Fang Mei, and Xiao Tong arrived at Lu Zhou's villa, and Lu Zhou apologized for not calling home before Spring Festival.
• Lu Zhou and Xiao Tong discussed her studies in the United Kingdom and her choice between pursuing a PhD at Oxford or working for HSBC.
• Xiao Tong teased Lu Zhou about his relationship with Chen Yushan and jokingly asked if he liked men.
• After watching a news report about the launch mission, Xiao Tong asked whether they could succeed, and Lu Zhou said they had to.