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Chapter 1600: Distant Outpost (First update, please subscribe)
In space, water is the key to everything.

Without water, everything is just empty talk. My so-called space dream, the so-called permanent base on the moon, is just nonsense.

Human survival is inseparable from water. There is a saying that "In the desert, gold is useless, only water is priceless." Compared with the earth, which is 70% covered by oceans, the moon is a super desert.

Not to mention providing oxygen from water to meet people's needs for survival in space, even the most basic need for drinking water cannot be met.

For humans, both oxygen and drinking water are the first prerequisites for survival in space.

To ensure this, you can't bring buckets of water to the moon. Of course, you can bring buckets of water to the moon, but it's very expensive.

Everyone is very clear about this. Yuan Jialiu thought for a moment and said:

"We don't know if there is water on the moon, but if there is water on the moon, it must be in the form of ice.

We all know that there are many places at the north and south poles of the moon that are "dark" all year round and not exposed to the sun. They are "permanent shadow areas." Ice can only be preserved in these places, otherwise it would have been heated and evaporated by the sun. "

That is to say, according to common sense, in fact, do they have water in Antarctica? After all, the probes they launched before were either orbiting the moon to obtain photos of the lunar surface, or after landing, they explored certain areas.

"So, there is probably water near the south pole of the moon.

In addition, there are some highlands in the Antarctic region that are covered by sunlight for 70 to 80 percent of the year. Such continuous sunlight can provide a stable energy supply for the base. "

Yuan Jialiu described the advantages of building a lunar base in Antarctica one by one. Finally, he emphasized:
"For example, some craters have shadowy areas that are permanently covered by shadows, where ice and other minerals may exist. Areas that are always exposed to sunlight can provide long-lasting and stable energy.

I don’t think there’s a better place to be.”

“It’s just a possibility.”

Eugene said.

"If we choose Antarctica as the landing site based on this kind of guesswork, the risk is very high."

“Space is an adventure in itself, isn’t it?
Sometimes we should be adventurous.”

Yuan Jialiu said with a smile.

"It's like when Columbus discovered the New World. At that time, he didn't know there was a new world on the other side of the sea. Now we are the same as him. We don't know if there is water there. This is an adventure."

adventure!

This is the nature of the space enterprise, at least until humans actually set sail in space, any space exploration is like this.

"Humans today are just like the Austronesians back then. They came to the sea and put their canoes into it. As for what is in the sea, it's up to fate."

After saying this, Yuan Jialiu was silent for a while, then said:
"It's like rolling the dice. Let's just leave it to luck."

Hearing his decision, Eugene thought for a moment, then said:

"You know, if something like this were to happen in the United States or the Soviet Union, it would not be approved because the feasibility is very slim."

The reason why it would not be approved is very simple. In the space exploration of the United States and the Soviet Union, they must have sufficient reasons to convince their superiors.

Leaving everything to luck like this... is simply unreasonable.

Especially this kind of attempt that costs hundreds of millions of yuan. After all, if there is no water nearby, the space station is doomed to be abandoned.

"Fortunately, we are a company, aren't we?"

Yuan Jialiu's answer made Eugene laugh. He said, "Yes, we are a company, so we have more autonomy, but... until now we have never really made a profit."

In fact, SpaceX has never been a company.

From the very beginning, under the strong intervention of Li Yian, the aerospace departments of the military and aerospace-related units, such as the Naval Research Laboratory, the Army Ballistic Missile Agency, the Air Force Rocket Motor Research Institute and other institutions, were all assigned to Space Exploration Technology Corporation, thus gradually building the prototype of the company.

Although it is a company, it is an independent organization, equivalent to a ministerial unit, parallel to the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Education, and its director is directly appointed and dismissed by the official residence and directly reports to the official residence. This policy ensures the unity of the company and the official residence, and ensures that many plans, whether visionary or extremely stupid, can be carried out with paranoia.

As a company, it is clearly above the corporate principles – it never looks at profits.

What would happen if a company had no profit?

There will certainly be limits on growth. However, for SpaceX, the first consideration is not just profit.

but the future.

Just like the company's mission - persistent in exploration, focused on discovery, and striving to find answers to problems!
"We will be profitable one day, and I believe that day will be in the near future."

"Who knows?"

Eugene said, shrugging his shoulders.

“What rare minerals can we find on the moon.

Perhaps, by that time, the moon can become our new continent, just like the American continent. Provide gold, silver and other materials, and then, I think people will really go to the moon.

Until then… the moon may just be a distant outpost that could be abandoned at any time if there is no financial support.”

"A distant outpost."

Listening to Eugene's description, Yuan Jialiu agreed deeply.

"Yes, the moon is a distant outpost. It may be abandoned artificially due to lack of financial support. Of course, it may also become an outpost for our advancement into space."

What does the future look like?
No one knows.

Even when they, as the heads of the sea space program, talked about this issue, they were just simply imagining it. While they were imagining the future, on Paradise Island in the Indian Ocean, local astronauts were training here.

In the sunlight, a simple vehicle shining silver was driving slowly under the control of a soldier.

In the distance, several scientific researchers were measuring the astronauts' physical condition using monitoring instruments.

“Why do we need to train here?”

Sun Mingli asked curiously. After coming to Paradise Island for the first time years ago, he felt like he had entered an alien planet.

There are all kinds of strange and bizarre plants here, which are unique on Earth. No wonder Star Wars chose this place as a filming location.

Because these plants look like alien products.

But why do they come here to train?
"In terms of terrain, this place is even closer to the moon. Although astronauts can train at the training center in Wanhujiao, the lunar rover needs to be tested here."

Reinhard looked at the lunar rover in the distance and said:

"After all, he may face a variety of environments on the moon. The barren and complex mountains and deserts here are somewhat similar to the moon."

"Lunar Rover..."

Looking at the lunar rover whose wheels looked like a birdcage, Sun Mingli said.

“This is the only lunar rover in the world!”

"Yes, not only is it the only one, but it's also the most expensive... 200 million yuan per unit!"

This price is really shocking.

“Two million a car!
It’s really expensive!”

“It’s a bit expensive, but worth it.”

Reinhard said as he looked at the lunar rover.

“Bringing a lunar rover was a decision made after careful consideration and weighing.

The lunar surface environment is complex and vast, and the area that astronauts can reach and explore on foot is very limited.

The existence of the lunar rover allows astronauts to move faster and more efficiently and go deeper to conduct scientific investigations and collect samples.

The lunar rover can carry more scientific instruments, conduct measurements and experiments at different locations, and obtain more comprehensive data.

Although the lunar rover itself is heavy, the rewards it brings are huge. The scientific rewards gained through the driving and exploration of the lunar rover are huge. "

In fact, it is also the advantage of latecomers. The Soviet Union and the United States were the first to achieve the moon landing, but the scope of their moon landing activities was extremely limited.

According to public information from the two countries, they only explored an area of ​​about one square kilometer nearby.

It is for this reason that SpaceX considers the lunar rover as an inevitable option for a moon landing in order to explore a larger area and a larger range.

Although the lunar rover looks extremely simple and primitive, just a flat plate with four wheels, the design and manufacture of the lunar rover still involves overcoming many technical difficulties, such as lightweight design, high reliability, and adaptability to extreme environments.

"We have to explore a large enough area to have a chance of finding what we need."

Reinhard's answer made Sun Mingli look at the lunar rover with some confusion.

"What we need."

What do we need?
What's on the moon?
The answer is not unknown. As early as last year, SpaceX's 11th unmanned lunar probe, Yutu-5, achieved automatic unmanned sampling on the lunar surface and returned the samples to Earth.

Although the Soviet Union had achieved this mission goal before, scientists found something very interesting in the one kilogram of lunar soil obtained through that exploration.

Because of this, SpaceX has a certain purpose in exploring the moon.

But all this is unknown to the outside world.

To a certain extent, since the Soviet Union and the United States successively landed on the moon, almost no one has paid attention to the progress of SpaceX.

In fact, this is normal, just like most people know that the highest peak in the world is Mount Everest, but few people know which mountain is the second highest.

People can only remember the first one.

As for the second one, it is often unknown. What about the third one?

What people don’t know now is that although they are far behind the Soviet Union and the United States in terms of time, they may go further. At least in their mission plans, they have longer-term intentions and plans.

Sometimes, you don’t need to know all that. That’s the most complicated aspect of the space race. It’s not just about getting to a place and planting a flag.

Whether it is the Soviet Union or the United States, they all have their own plans. As a participant in this game, SpaceX also has its own plans.

Who is the final winner?

No one knows that the first player to plant the flag may not necessarily be the final winner, just like the American continent. Although Spain discovered the American continent first,

But the final winner was someone else.

So, the flag-planting game in space is just the beginning of the game.

If you want to be the final winner, you need to make breakthroughs in many areas. Only in this way can you become a real winner.

(End of this chapter)