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Chapter 2642 Space Outpost (First Update, Please Subscribe)
Moon!

What prompted humans to go to the moon?

It's the space race!
What made humans decide to stay on the moon?

It is the New Hope Mine.

When SpaceX established Outpost 1 on the moon, even SpaceX didn't know how long the base would last.

"Because gold was discovered in the New World, Europeans began the Age of Exploration. So where is the gold on the moon?"

And that is why, from the day the outpost lunar base was established, the exploration of the moon has never stopped.

It was during this process that they discovered the "X crystal," which was enough to change the fate of humanity. This is the famous "Lunaticon," a compound word combining "Luna" (moon) with the suffix "Ticon" (silicon), meaning "the core material of the lunar era."

The name was given to it by its discoverer, Lawrence.

In any case, the discovery of Lunaticon changed everything. From that moment on, humanity was destined to remain on the moon.

Outpost 1 was the outpost for humanity's advance to the moon.

Subsequently, SpaceX not only further expanded the Outpost 1 lunar base, but also established the first real mine on the moon – the New Hope Mine.

This mine has been in the world's spotlight ever since the discovery of that mind-blowing blue crystal during the initial exploration.

The unrestricted fighting tournament surrounding the moon nearly escalated into a major war. It was precisely because of this that the three nations reached an agreement to divide the moon, partitioning it amidst global protests.

For the next few years, the New Hope Mine was the only mine on the moon until the Soviet Union and the United States discovered new mines, breaking SEA's monopoly on "X Crystal".

However, it was during this process that SpaceX obtained a large amount of funds through the export of "X Crystals," and it was this ample funding that allowed them to expand the mine. The mine is now dozens of times larger, possessing not only large mining equipment but also fine processing equipment.

After years of development, a small town has even been built here – New Hope Town.

This town is SEA's first lunar surface base, and the construction of this base has freed SEA from the situation of its mines being unattended.

Pang Guoxi arrived in New Hope Town on a lunar rover, and to this day, they still stand on either side of the lunar rover.

Although this method seems very primitive, it is the fastest means of transportation on the moon, simple and effective.

It requires only a small amount of fuel to allow the vehicle to fly rapidly in space at an altitude of tens or hundreds of meters above the lunar surface. Since it was put into use, it has been a favorite among the astronauts at the base.

The only problem is that its piloting training on Earth is very difficult. There were many accidents during the early training on Earth. After all, it was designed to be used in low gravity conditions. However, its training has now been moved to the Moon.

As the flying car was about to land, Pang Guoxi saw a solar panel area in the distance that covered a thousand square meters.

This is very similar to the Outpost 1 lunar base, except that the solar panels at Outpost 1 are much larger.

People can even see that solar panel on Earth.

Is that an energy center?

James replied:

"Although solar power can supply most of the electricity consumption."

However, the base also has a small nuclear reactor, which could sustain the base's survival in the event of an accident.

Then James pointed to the light in the mine and said:

"That's the New Hope Mine, the largest mine on the moon."

Seemingly to allow Pang Guoxi, a newcomer, to see things more clearly, the pilots were allowed to fly over the New Hope Mine.

Then, they headed towards New Hope Town, near the mine.

Then James pointed to the group of buildings that were lit up and said:
"Look there, that's New Hope Town—our new hope."

As always, people like to call this place "our new hope," after all, it has brought new hope to mankind.

As usual, in New Hope Town, the astronauts in their work uniforms welcomed Pang Guoxi's arrival. After all, meeting a newcomer on the moon is a very exciting thing.

They immediately welcomed him, and after a brief welcome, Pang Guoxi saw the raw ore of "X Crystal" for the first time.

Under the light, the gray moonstone in the raw ore contained blue crystals that emitted a faint blue glow.

"This is the raw ore of X crystal."

No sooner had Pang Guochun finished speaking than Su Wenqu, a chemist at the mine, explained:
"Yes, you see those blue crystals? Their purity is very high, reaching over 90%, containing only a small amount of impurities. They only need simple purification before they can be used directly. By the way..."

Su Wenqu looked at Pang Guochun and asked:
"This will require your furnace, which will be used to manufacture crystal rods. Is that difficult?"

Hearing his question, Pang Guochun said:

"Theoretically speaking, production on the moon and production on Earth are the same: dissolving high-purity crystals and then slowly pulling them out to form cylindrical crystal rods. Currently, we can produce 50-millimeter crystal rods on Earth, but on the moon, considering the specifications and weight of the equipment, we will first produce 10-millimeter crystal rods, and then produce 20-millimeter crystal rods when the technology matures."

Although he spoke casually, he was acutely aware of the difficulties involved. While 200mm silicon ingots could already be produced on Earth, X Crystal could only be produced as 50mm ingots due to its greater production challenges. Even though SpaceX had already successfully manufactured 10mm ingots on the International Space Station.

However, this does not mean that the problems of industrial production have been solved. For example, how to keep this large pot of lava-like crystal paste at a stable temperature on the low-gravity moon, while ensuring that the pulling and rotation speed of the crystal rods is highly stable, is undoubtedly a greater technical challenge than producing wafers.

Despite the numerous challenges, SpaceX and the industry as a whole are confident that it can not only significantly reduce costs but also further improve performance.

"I hope to hear good news from you soon."

Su Wenqu looked at Pang Guochun and said:

"With your factory, the moon will become a true space factory. Although we have mining plants, ore processing plants, and factories that produce oxygen and hydrogen, these are all raw material processing facilities and supporting facilities set up for survival on the moon, just like here..."

He pointed out the window; in the darkness, one could see the mine shaft and lights. He said:
"It was this mine that kept us on the moon, but Guoxi, if we really want to stay on the moon and survive here, we must turn the moon from a source of raw materials into a city, a space base—our base for venturing into space. You see, theoretically speaking, the moon has everything we need for space exploration."

I'm not talking about paving the way for human deep space migration. The construction of a lunar base can verify technologies such as life support in extreme environments, accumulating experience for future human exploration and even colonization of Mars and other more distant planets. ..."

He paused briefly, then added:
"It's because the moon has everything we need: oxygen, hydrogen, and metal raw materials like iron ore. We can smelt metals here and build spaceships, just like the ones in Star Wars."

Building it on the moon seems very expensive; after all, we'd be sending thousands of tons of cargo there to establish lunar factories. But in reality, it's the cheapest option. Those factories can continuously produce all sorts of raw materials, allowing us to build large space bases, manufacture spacecraft, and use the moon as our home port to enter space…”

As Su Wenqu spoke, his tone was filled with longing. This longing was the longing of all of them, or rather, all those working in the space industry, for the future. They hoped to one day build a real space city in space.

Space City.

What came to Pang Guochun's mind when he heard Su Wenqu's description?

It was the scene he saw in the lobby of SpaceX when he first visited the company during his high school years.

That wasn't a picture, but a huge model.

That giant model is precisely the mission of SpaceX.

Or rather, it is humanity's dream.

The model is actually not complicated; it consists of hundreds of different buildings of various sizes.

It was a city in space. The buildings looked completely different from those on Earth, but you could still tell there were ore processing plants and factories.

Of course, there are also large shipyards, and in those large shipyards, spacecraft are under construction.

Above the base are a space station and spacecraft in flight.
That model represents the future envisioned by SpaceX, a future space city, and also humanity's conquest of space.

Perhaps, at that time, humanity will have truly entered space.

However, achieving that goal will not be easy. Looking at Pang Guochun, who was deep in thought, Su Wenqu said:
"And everything will begin from here..."

Su Wenqu looked at Pang Guochun beside him and said:
"Your factory will be the first true factory on the moon. We will start from here and gradually achieve this goal. Eventually... in ten years, maybe twenty years, perhaps we will really see the emergence of a space city!"

(End of this chapter)