This star is going to the moon

Chapter 492 A New Year, Launching an Assault on the Moon!
Many people did not have a good time on the last day of 2021.

Some government officials do not monitor the number of national space launches in real time; they rely on summary data reported from lower levels.

Take NASA's management, for example.

In fact, they were already devising a plan before even looking at the data.

After all, China has space shuttles carrying space tourists to space every week. If the federal government were to calculate the number of space launches in a general way like before, it would definitely be at a disadvantage.

So they decided to separate rocket launches from space shuttle flights.

They even separate the passenger and cargo carrying capacity of rockets.

If that's the case, although the US might lose to China in terms of passenger transport, they should, perhaps, or maybe win in terms of cargo transport.

In other words, Laos and China are foreign countries, and space exploration is not an election.

If there were an election, NASA could put the two parties' ability to "draw electoral districts" to its test.

This ability allows them to divide what should be a well-organized constituency into a "maze," all in order to use the "Tian Ji horse racing" strategy to win with fewer resources and turn "minority support" into "major support."

That way we can take the city!
(Simplified diagram)

Of course, both sides use this bug-exploiting method, so every time the "redrawing of the selection area" takes place, there is a fierce struggle.

This approach is unusable in the space race with China; we can only slightly change the course and make some minor adjustments.

In this way, the two sides are balanced, with both sides winning and losing, and everyone is happy!
When the management saw the statistics submitted from below, they couldn't hold back any longer.

It surpasses us in every aspect, making micromanagement impossible!
Just like in international table tennis competitions, various new rules targeting Chinese and old players are constantly being introduced, all in an effort to increase their chances of winning.

But the Chinese and Laos are really too strong in table tennis. The initial rules were completely ineffective. They could only accumulate the rules year by year until "XX years later" before they could see any effect.

However, NASA's current management can't wait "XX years from now"; they must find a way to smooth things over as soon as possible.

"Should we issue a fake report first, and then correct it in the middle of the year, just like with the non-farm payroll data?"

“This won’t work. Although we’ve modified the data before, we’re in a critical phase of the space race right now, and the entire space system is being watched closely by the world. If we modify the data, it will be discovered immediately.”

"Hey, I have an idea!"

Suddenly someone raised their hand and said, "Didn't the Chinese announce that the 'mysterious cube on the far side of the moon' is just an ordinary rock? Perhaps we can muddy the waters and make everyone think that it is related to alien relics, which is why China's aerospace technology has exploded!"

"This way, everyone's attention will be diverted to aliens, and no one will pay attention to the actual space data."

"Anyway, all sorts of alien conspiracy theories have a market, and these conspiracy theories have circulated about Area 51 and the manned moon landing, so we're not afraid of not being able to generate buzz."

Upon hearing this, someone hesitated and said, "As the official space agency of the Federation, wouldn't it be a bit...undignified for us to get involved in this kind of alien conspiracy theory?"

"Hey, what's so dignified about it? Those retired NASA scientists and managers used to appear on TV shows to 'reveal internal secrets,' 'acknowledge aliens,' and 'decipher conspiracy theories' just to make money. Some of them even published books, and they sold quite well."

"Right……"

"Anyway, let's try to say good news. My friends in the financial field told me that the federal GDP has surged again this year, reaching around 23 trillion US dollars, while China's GDP is around 18 trillion US dollars. So we still win."

"And the SLS's maiden flight rocket is about to begin assembly. It will start testing on the launch pad next March, and there will be a wet rehearsal in April. We have many things that surpass the Chinese, so don't worry..."

"Okay, with so much good news, we can now focus on our year-end summary..."

NASA is relieved, and so are alien enthusiasts and conspiracy theorists.

They aren't afraid of any evidence, after all, they can turn the truth into falsehood.

Even if it's fake, as long as you screen the population multiple times, you can always find the idiots... cough, you can always find the target audience who believe in these things.

So when they think about how they'll have new material for conspiracy theories and be able to make money again, they feel not only at ease but also happy!

Chinese netizens, on the other hand, remained much calmer.

After all, they knew all too well the nature of the Chinese; they never showed their strength and would rather hide it than reveal themselves.

Even if it can't be hidden anymore, it's not really shown off.

Given this nature, why would the Chinese and Laos display the "alien ruins" so openly?
It can't be!

Since it's been displayed so openly, it's definitely not a secret.

Now it seems that is indeed the case.

However, Chinese netizens are quite romantic; as soon as the photo was posted, someone immediately added some details. (Image from the internet)
Wow, so cute!

[How romantic! The Yutu-2 lunar rover found a little rabbit-shaped rock on the moon, it's like it was destined by heaven!]

[Haha, it's definitely different! In American sci-fi movies, Transformers are discovered on the moon, while we find "little rabbits" on the real moon. Suddenly, the moon doesn't seem so cold anymore.]

Fortunately, this time we're not simply using high technology for art; we also have powerful tools to ensure we can simultaneously create something heartwarming.

[The new year is almost here, and next year both the US and we will be launching super rockets and conducting unmanned lunar orbit missions. This was unimaginable ten years ago!]

Yes, time really flies. It feels like the US is developing rapidly, and we've actually caught up!

[Yes, yes, that's exactly the feeling! After chasing for decades, we're finally neck and neck! It's so satisfying!]

[Haha, then when the New Year's bells ring, I'll make a wish that next year we'll be the first to launch a super rocket and orbit the moon with a crew before the Americans!]

I'm also at the New Year's countdown in the city square; I'm going to make a wish later!

[I'm in Binhai. The city government put on a drone show. My friend operates the drones, and he said that the drones would spell out a countdown, and at the end, there would be pixelated footage of a Long March 10 rocket launching a lunar spacecraft to the moon.]

Wow, I'm so envious!

………………

"Holy crap, that's so cool!"

"The countdown has begun!"

At the Aerospace Square in Binhai City, citizens and tourists waiting to ring in the New Year exclaimed in surprise as they watched thousands of drones displaying a countdown display with LED lights.

"Coming, coming, coming!"

"What a genius! They've combined the New Year's countdown with the rocket launch countdown!"

"5!"

"4!"

"3!"

"2!"

"1!"

"ignition!"

"take off!"

"Happy New Year!!"

"Ohhhhh!!!"

As everyone counted down in unison, the drone array displayed the final "1" and then immediately transformed into the image of the Long March 10 heavy rocket igniting and taking off.

Then the boosters separated, the first stage separated, the spacecraft flew towards the moon, and orbited the moon...

(Similar image from the internet)

"Wow!!"

“So handsome!!”

"We're going to fly to the moon!"

"Carrying a dream spanning thousands of years, we will launch an assault on the moon!"

"Make a wish! My New Year's wish!"

"We must land on the moon before the Americans! We must win this space race!"

"Let's fly to the moon!!"

“I wish our motherland prosperity!”

"Down with American imperialism..."

(End of this chapter)