This star is going to the moon

Chapter 536 The Tragic Fate of NASA! Don't panic, we still have a chance. The Federation is still the beacon of the world!

"Thanks to the efforts of all aerospace engineers in my country, the maiden flight of the Long March 10 heavy-lift rocket was a great success."

"After inspection, all three recovered core stage rockets were found to be in good condition and can be reused."

"The DreamZoo manned spacecraft has also passed the reuse test. Some of its minor problems are being quickly repaired and eliminated. Once the outer heat shield is replaced, it will be a new spacecraft that can be reused."

Lu Yun pointed to the schedule on the big screen: "So next April, my country will conduct the second launch of the Long March 10 heavy-lift rocket!"

"At that time, the DreamZ manned spacecraft will also carry out its first manned lunar orbit mission..."

Will the Long March 10 heavy-lift rocket make its second flight next April?

DreamZoo spacecraft manned lunar orbit mission?

The audience at the scene and in the live broadcast room were both taken aback.

This is too fast.

Wow, does that mean a manned moon landing in 2024 is almost a certainty?

[Pretty much. With such a successful maiden flight and a manned lunar orbit mission next year, a manned lunar landing will definitely follow the year after.]

[Not necessarily, maybe the God of Road will pull some surprises, and then next year they'll send people to the moon!]

[Hiss, that's actually quite possible. After all, if the Long March 10 heavy-lift rocket makes its second flight and the Mengzhou manned lunar orbiter succeeds next April, there will still be more than half a year left. Who knows, they might launch a surprise attack.]

Indeed, we usually celebrate the Lunar New Year according to the lunar calendar. April in the Gregorian calendar is equivalent to the beginning of the year, and after finishing up at the beginning of the year, there will definitely be good things at the end of the year!

That's true. There are still seven or eight months until the flight on the second day of the Lunar New Year.

Seven or eight months is practically a year, right? There's bound to be more exciting content.

I feel it's better to be conservative. A manned lunar landing should be in 2024, but it might be earlier than the beginning of this year, even earlier than the second launch.

[That's about the same as my estimate; I also think it will be in the first half of 2024.]

It's all happening so fast, it feels unreal.

Indeed, it feels like a dream; our country's aerospace technology has suddenly taken off.

[Is the US going to announce the launch date for its Artemis 2 mission soon?]

Yes, as mentioned before, they are holding a press conference this afternoon.

Haha, I'm really looking forward to seeing what they have to say...

NASA won't be able to tell us until the afternoon, so they're all in shock right now.

Because they have scheduled the second flight of the SLS and the Orion spacecraft's manned lunar orbit mission for July next year!

As Lu Yun confidently explained the information about the Chinese manned lunar landing, the NASA personnel whispered among themselves below.

"Damn it, it's three months ahead of our plan, and Lu Yun announced it first!"

"Damn it, why is the schedule like this? Why is our press conference in the afternoon?!"

"Buddy, it's not a matter of morning or afternoon now, it's a matter of April and July next year."

"Yes, even if we announce it first, China will still be the first to conduct the second flight of the lunar rocket and the manned lunar orbit mission next year."

"Can't we move it forward any further, like to March?"

"No, what we said about July... could actually be postponed to August, or even September."

"Walter?"

"Okay, it's not impossible for it to keep being delayed until the end of the year."

"Nani?"

NASA didn't expect that the Artemis project team would treat them like dirt.

Okay, they do have Japanese scientists.

But how to put it? Judging from the observations over the years, the timeline that Lu Yun determined has never been delayed.

The schedule will be adjusted in advance; there will absolutely be no delays.

But the federal space missions have been delayed indefinitely.

So the engineers at NASA headquarters watching the live stream also looked very serious.

"What we feared has indeed happened."

"What can we do? Can we ask for more funding to speed up the Artemis Project?"

"No, I've reached my limit."

"Yes, we can ask the White House for more funding, but we can't find more engineers. The federal commercial space industry is developing rapidly, and many engineers have been recruited by them. Even many engineers from NASA's major projects have been poached."

"Indeed, the first things to mention here are Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin."

“Unless we reinstate 100% of the Apollo Act and force them to assist in the Artemis Project.”

"Damn it, how did the Federation become like this!"

"No, we have to think of other ways!"

As soon as they started thinking, new information continued to be released in Paris, and NASA headquarters was brainstorming.

There was no way around it; as the people who knew the Artemis Moon Return Program best, they knew perfectly well that the Federation's Moon Return Program was probably, maybe, possibly, going to fall behind the Chinese.

Since the outcome is already decided, we might as well start thinking about what to do next.

It can be said that—the moment the thought of giving up arises, the world becomes vast and boundless!

Then they came up with an idea!

"We can't fall behind China in this manned lunar landing, at least not so cheaply. Perhaps we can find some... other... uh, reasons..."

"Yes, yes, that's right. After all, we've carried out several manned lunar missions decades ago, and we won't waste resources doing the same thing again!"

"That's right! We are actually looking for a more modern, efficient, and large-scale way to manned land on the moon, while the Chinese are just repeating what we did decades ago."

"Should we focus on the lunar base plan?"

"No, the lunar base is too far away, and no one will believe me if I tell them."

"Then let's talk about the pressurized lunar rover plan. We'll drive our 'scientific research vehicle' directly on the moon and conduct research wherever we can."

"This is an alternative. There's also the lunar orbital space station plan, which we were about to abandon due to technical and funding issues. Fortunately, no proposal has been submitted yet, so we can work on it."

"Yes, with the lunar orbital space station, with this transit station, our Artemis project will no longer be a repetition of what it was decades ago, but will have new elements. So it's normal for the overall project to be a bit slower."

"Okay, okay, let's do it this way. We'll summarize the plan right away. In a few hours, it will be our delegation's turn to announce the latest information on the manned lunar landing. We need to give them a new draft."

"Would this work? I remember that the international lunar research station project led by China also includes a lunar space station, and our lunar space station is not unique."

"No problem. The international lunar research station led by China is a later-stage project. In the early stages, they mainly focused on a few simple manned lunar landing missions. What we need to do is promote that we are also working on a lunar space station at the same time. So the return to the moon will be a little later because our new goal is bigger!"

"That's right, we still have a chance to beat the Chinese!"

NASA, having already made up its mind, immediately took action, and the delegation in Paris relaxed considerably after receiving the news.

Lu Yun had no idea about NASA's new ideas; in any case, he had already released the latest news about China's manned lunar landing program.

Of course, the exact time was not mentioned at the end.

However, the location of the first landing has been given as a general indication: not Antarctica, but the near side of the moon.

The main problem is that current lunar south pole resource exploration programs have not yet found natural water ice, and landing at the lunar south pole is indeed more difficult than landing on the near side of the moon.

For the safety of manned missions, the Chinese chose to land on the near side of the moon, which is flatter and best understood by humans, for their first manned lunar landing.

Moreover, with the four kilograms of lunar soil brought back by Chang'e 5 and Chang'e 6, Chinese scientists have gained a better understanding of the distribution of water resources on the moon.

Humans do not necessarily have to go to Antarctica to obtain water resources on the moon.

According to lunar soil samples, there is actually water on the lunar surface, but in very small amounts.

The water content of the lunar surface and soil is approximately 100 ppm, which means that each ton of lunar soil contains about 100 grams of water.

However, this water exists primarily as hydrated mineral salts, rather than as liquid water.

In addition, there are some minerals rich in water molecules, with the highest water molecule mass ratio reaching 41%!

That means each ton of mineral contains approximately 410 kilograms of water!
However, these types of minerals are relatively rare.

Fortunately, these minerals have been included in the lunar resource exploration program and are being searched for rapidly.

These minerals are much easier to find than natural water ice, which is hidden in permanently shadowed areas that are difficult to detect.

Especially those that are concentrated on the lunar surface.

Another way to obtain water is to heat lunar soil containing iron oxide minerals, causing hydrogen to react with it to produce water and iron.

Experiments show that 1 ton of such iron-rich lunar soil can produce 51-76 kilograms of water, enough for the daily drinking water needs of 50 people.

If a water recycling system is added, the drinking water can be consumed for an even longer period of time.

However, the distribution of iron-bearing minerals also needs to be detected, and hydrogen gas also needs to be used.

However, it is quite feasible as a backup plan.

Space enthusiasts and onlookers were excited when they heard the news, because the more detailed the plan, the closer the execution date was to the start.

In the afternoon, people gathered in the American's live broadcast room to watch NASA make grand promises.

When it was announced that the Artemis 2 mission, namely the second launch of the SLS rocket and the first manned lunar orbiter by the Orion spacecraft, would not be until July of next year, space enthusiasts and netizens indeed began to express their dissatisfaction.

But don't worry, NASA representatives have brought out something good!

Artemis Lunar Gateway!
This structure, also known as the "Lunar Outpost" or "Lunar Gateway Space Station," is an important component of the Artemis program.

The NASA-led project aims to assemble and operate a space station in near-straight lunar halo orbit.

As a key component of the Artemis program, the Lunar Gateway not only carries the mission of connecting the universe, but will also play a vital role as a scientific laboratory and living quarters for astronauts.

This ambitious project has brought together aerospace elites from many countries around the world...

Yes, Americans like to gather a bunch of underlings and then launch a big project that starts with "international".

This is to demonstrate one's control over the world, and also to deceive oneself into believing that one is "very popular".

The construction of the Lunar Gateway involved NASA, the European Space Agency, the Canada Space Agency, and the U.S. Space Research and Development Authority (CASA).

And the UAE Space Centre.

Yes, in the field of aerospace, the Azerbaijani is actually more influential than the three.

It is now participating in both the Lao-Chinese International Lunar Research Station project and the Lao-American Lunar Gateway Space Station project.

The lunar gateway's cabin is ingeniously designed, providing not only a spacious and comfortable living space but also integrating advanced scientific research equipment.

Its space transportation system is responsible for safely transporting astronauts to the moon and ensuring their safe return to Earth.

The initial construction of the lunar gateway incorporates the dual concepts of "preliminary protective structure" and "high-strength support system." This design not only provides astronauts with a safe and stable habitat but also foreshadows... the steady pace and relentless pursuit of humanity, led by the United States, in its lunar exploration journey.

The preliminary design blueprints for the Lunar Gateway were also unveiled at the conference, which includes two key modules: the power and propulsion unit module and the living and logistics outpost module.

This design not only demonstrates the ambition of humanity, led by the United States, to explore the moon, but also lays a solid foundation for future life on the moon.

The spokesperson stated, "The Artemis program ushered in a new era of exploration, and peaceful international cooperation in space exploration has made this era even stronger and is preparing for a human landing on Mars."

Anyway, as long as we have it, it doesn't matter if the US's return to the moon program lags slightly behind China's.

After all, the US's return to the moon is not a simple return; it's about developing something more advanced, and even preparing for a manned mission to Mars.

With the lunar gateway space station, even if we're a little behind in time, the Federation can become great again...

No, that was the slogan from the previous administration. This administration's slogan is: The Federation remains the beacon of the world!

After listening to the American's boasting, many people agreed with him.

In terms of planning, the Americans are indeed impressive and remain the world's beacon.

No wonder the Americans are progressing a bit slowly; they've been investing more resources in the Lunar Gateway space station project.

Indeed, now it's clear why the SLS rocket launcher kept stalling—the Americans weren't really using their full strength.

[With so many resources invested in the Lunar Gateway project, and details now revealed at the conference, it's probably launching soon, right?]

[It should be; I can't wait to see.]

Building a space station in lunar orbit? The Americans are really something else; the International Space Station in Earth orbit isn't enough for them anymore.

Actually, China also has a lunar space station program, but it's in the later stages of its manned lunar landing program.

Unfortunately, the Chinese are still the ones catching up in this area.

[Hahaha, you've all seen that, haven't you? The Federation is invincible, the beacon of the world, the light of humanity!]

Yes, yes, yes, you Americans are the light of humanity, the beacon, are you satisfied now?

[Oh yeah, yeah, your Americans are invincible!]

【…】

Lu Yun scratched his head when he heard this.

It seems he does have a significant impact on the timeline.

In the previous life, the US explicitly abandoned the Lunar Gateway space station and even began to question the necessity of returning to the moon.

Unexpectedly, thanks to his meddling, the Americans are actually going to build the Lunar Gateway space station.

Incredible.

However, the US economy in this life is worse than in the previous life, so does it really have the money to do this?

Lu Yun felt that there was going to be a good show to watch.

Of course, there should be some good shows to watch now.

After the Americans finished their presentations, it was the Chinese space agency's turn. The head of the "Starry Sky" constellation announced the first-generation node satellite, weighing 800 kilograms.

"my country's first-generation node satellite weighs 800 kilograms, half a ton heavier than the sub-satellites, because it has a strengthened antenna, allowing ordinary smartphones to connect directly to the satellite..."

At the same time, Apple stores around the world opened their doors, and its fans went on a buying spree for the new products.

"Haha, I see who's still saying that Apple phones have bad signal. They also have special antennas that can do satellite communication..."

(End of this chapter)