Return to Mars!

Jinling Launch site.

A huge and glorious fully-equipped aerospaceplane was crawling on the launch runway.

Its name was Starlight. But it was different from the Starlight spacecraft from a few years ago. In order to adapt to long-distance flight and more flexible launch missions, the Aerospace Science and Technology Institute of the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study redesigned its fusion energy supply unit and high-power Hall effect thrusters. This improved its cruising mileage and engine stability.

Forget about Mars, it could even reach the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter within a month. However, the Lunar Orbit Committee did not have a need to send people so far away. Collecting rock specimens could be done by unmanned detectors.

The pilot of this flight had also participated in the original Mars rescue mission. He was also the only astronaut in the team with experience going to Mars.