Although Mars was close by, it was too early to start celebrating victory now.
Soon, the moment Xu Fu made contact with the gravitational field of Mars, it would endure its most difficult test since it set sail.
Unlike other smaller spacecraft, it was not an easy task to accelerate or decelerate this large and complex colonial ship.
Especially deceleration.
If the speed was too low, they would not be able to catch up with Mars. If the speed was too fast, they could pass directly through the gravitational field of Mars. The window period for Xu Fu to decelerate was small. They must reduce the speed so that they could be caught by the gravitational field of Mars.
Especially since Mars did not have an atmosphere, the leapfrogging method of slowing down at the edge of the atmosphere like that on Earth was not feasible here. They could only achieve the deceleration of the spacecraft by reversing the propulsion jets.