This star is going to the moon

Chapter 537: Science fiction settings can't keep up with reality; boasting is useless.

The issue of poor signal strength in Apple phones has been a long-standing problem. Multiple generations of Apple phones have had signal-related issues, such as the "antenna gate" of the Apple 4, the poor performance of the Apple 7-11 in weak signal environments due to the use of Intel basebands, and the Apple 12 being reported to have poor signal and dropped call problems.

Furthermore, in environments with weak signals, such as basements, elevators, and remote areas, Apple products often lose connection earlier than some Android flagships, indicating that their antenna design and signal optimization are not good enough.

Both carrier tests and user tests show that Apple's signal performance is weaker than some domestic flagship phones, especially in complex network environments.

Of course, the difference in daily use is not particularly large, and it will not affect the use if there are no strict requirements in this regard.

After all, if the signal is really bad, there is no chance of going public, or if it does go public, it will be immediately squeezed out by its competitors.

Combined with other advantages of Apple phones, it occupies a considerable market share.

This is due to Apple's technological advantages, as well as... its brand advantages.

Especially since it's an American brand, it's like a halo to some people.

Just like today, the Apple 14 phone was officially released. Because it uses satellite communication functionality, which has been available in domestic mobile phones for several years, everyone is bragging about it.

It's as if Apple's satellite communication function was the first of its kind.

So some people buy iPhones because of their high performance, while others are simply used to the iPhone operating system.

But some people are different; they don't care about anything else but the fruit icon on the back of their phone.

They showed off their new phones in all sorts of ways after they got them.

Some people don't pay attention to the developments of domestic mobile phones, nor do they care about technical news in related fields. They only think that because Apple phones are the best in the world in some aspects, they are the best in the world in all aspects.

So they were overjoyed when they discovered that the Apple 14 phone had a special antenna that enabled satellite communication.

Then some posted videos, some posted on WeChat Moments, and some posted on Weibo.

They want to promote this groundbreaking high technology to the world.

While some people in China were overjoyed to receive their Apple iPhone 14 phones and were so happy they lost all sense of direction, experts from China's national aerospace team had already finished explaining the first-generation node "Xingdou" satellite.

The comments section was filled with "6666".

There is also heated discussion in various discussion groups.

Wow, regular smartphones can connect to satellites?

Wow, has technology advanced to this level?

[Previously, certain smartphones with special antennas were needed to connect to satellites. Is this the beginning of a new era?]

[Great! Okay, great! Hurry up and launch the node satellite. I'm going on a scientific expedition to the Gobi Desert next year, and I hope it will be ready to use then.]

[Haha, what a coincidence! I'm also planning to venture into some remote mountain village with poor signal next year. I was originally thinking of gritting my teeth and buying a Huayao foldable phone, but if regular smartphones can connect directly to satellites next year, I'll save that money.]

Wow, does that mean phones with special antennas had better signal strength? Like, could they jump from the 2G era to the 3G era?

[That's too narrow-minded. People have already said that even ordinary smartphones can achieve 3G-era network speeds when directly connected to satellites, supporting basic video calls. Phones with special antennas should at least meet 4G standards.]

This is amazing! I can't wait! The satellite communication era is coming soon!

[It feels just like something out of a science fiction story; there's a signal everywhere.]

No, no, no, many sci-fi settings are outdated. Many sci-fi works use the "no signal" premise to build their plots, emphasizing how difficult things are for the protagonist, how they solve problems step by step. If there were a signal from the start, the whole story wouldn't even exist.

Haha, that's true. I've seen several sci-fi movies with similar premises.

I never imagined that science fiction would be less realistic than reality.

We were fortunate enough to be there on this day.

[Haha, I saw a video online of someone who just bought an iPhone 14 showing off its satellite communication function. He acted like he'd just gotten online; it cracked me up. --Link--]

Oh, are there really people like that?

Let me take a look.

Goodness, it really is! I don't even know what to say...

[Forget it, let them be. These people will just be drooling over it even if they're cured. Let them enjoy themselves for as long as they can...]

In fact, those people were not happy for long, because the International Astronautical Congress held in Paris this time was very large-scale, and even some people who did not pay much attention to this kind of information could see it.

Incidentally, they will also notice the latest and most comprehensive space internet plan from China and Laos.

"?"

What does it mean that you can connect to a satellite network directly using a regular smartphone?

What does it mean that after activation, a regular smartphone can achieve 3G network performance when connecting to a satellite network?

What does it mean that the first nodal satellite will be launched next month?
Some of the fruit crystal powder was dumbfounded.

If it's that powerful, then what is this Apple 14 phone they have that can only send text messages, share location with relatives and friends, and send emergency SOS calls?
After all the twists and turns, has Apple's mobile phone still failed because of its signal network?
Some people are speechless, but the world does not change according to their will, and the International Astronautical Congress, which concerns the future of mankind, is still in full swing.

Of course, basically it's a back-and-forth between China and the US, with other countries or organizations simply unable to compete with these two behemoths.

No, it should be said that there were also those who managed to squeeze in whenever possible.

The third brother was particularly competitive and announced his plans at the conference, including a reusable rocket program, a space shuttle program, a manned spaceflight program, a space station program, and a lunar exploration program.

But everyone knows what kind of person the Third Brother is, so they just listen and forget about it.

After all, if boasting were effective, India would have been a permanent member of the UN Security Council long ago.

Americans wouldn't be in this "panic" state now.

Then, Xiao Rizi also got involved.

It must be said that in the current international space landscape, India and India are actually relatively active space groups.

Although India's technology is not great and it relies mainly on "made from all over the world", its technology planning is indeed quite comprehensive.

They had an advantage in certain unconventional plans, and then they decided to stick to that unconventional path.

For example, spacefaring powers like China and the United States are conducting lunar sample collection and have plans to collect samples from Mars.

And the samples are all in the kilograms or more.

Meanwhile, Xiao Rizi conducts asteroid sampling, and the sample weight is only a few grams. The reason Xiao Rizi does this is because of the experience gained from providing supporting services to the Americans.

The same plan was announced at this International Astronautical Congress, which includes the development of a future manned lunar rover called "Lunar Cruiser".

This is part of its support for the US's "Artemis Project".

In the Artemis program, the proposals submitted by the three companies were collectively referred to as "lunar terrain vehicles," which are manned lunar rovers.

Little Life is one of them.

As for the manned lunar rovers that roamed the lunar surface during the Apollo program in the 1970s, their official name is "lunar rover".

Although both have similar functions, the "lunar terrain vehicle," which now incorporates more advanced technologies, is more eye-catching and will undertake more missions.

In fact, manned lunar rovers can be divided into three categories: unpressurized, pressurized, and emergency.

The unpressurized version, jokingly referred to as a "high-tech convertible simple vehicle frame," helped astronauts carry out more efficient lunar exploration missions.

These manned lunar rovers typically accompany astronauts to the moon and can be considered "lunar mobility scooters".

In contrast, the pressurized manned lunar rover is more like a "lunar RV," with a large pressurized chamber and a life support system, making it more suitable for independent launch and deployment to the lunar surface. Theoretically, it can support astronauts to conduct lunar exploration for a longer period of time and distance.

Therefore, Little Rizi claims that its pressurized manned lunar rover, "Lunar Cruiser," has the potential to "travel 1 kilometers on the lunar surface within a few months."

Emergency-type manned lunar rovers are mainly used to handle emergency situations.

During the Apollo era, the lunar module's "convertible" vehicle was equipped with "walking restrictions."

If the convertible vehicle malfunctions, the astronauts must walk back to the lunar module with the support of the life support system, which limits the actual driving range of the convertible vehicle.

In the future, astronauts will need to conduct lunar exploration on a larger scale and for a longer period of time. Therefore, emergency manned lunar rovers can play a role similar to "folding bicycles," helping astronauts quickly return to the lunar module when large manned lunar rovers, lunar structures, or other equipment malfunction, thus avoiding a real-life "Lone on the Moon" incident.

Currently, both China and the United States tend to plan short-term lunar missions before embarking on long-term lunar missions.

For example, it can be expanded from a few days to several months.

Then the landing sites will gradually expand from the "equatorial" region on the near side of the moon to the lunar south pole and the far side of the moon, and the astronaut mission time will also be gradually extended.

Therefore, the next generation of manned lunar rovers needs to have features such as longer operating time, longer driving range, more intelligent systems, and more diversified functions.

The longest operating time of the open-top lunar rover during the Apollo era was only 266 minutes. Future manned lunar rovers are planned to conduct lunar surface activities on a "Earth Day" basis.

When not in use by astronauts, it can be remotely controlled from a ground station to perform some unmanned exploration missions.

In other words, the new generation of manned lunar rovers is not just a means of transportation, but more like an autonomous scientific rover that can carry people on the lunar surface when necessary. It has the ability to navigate the lunar surface autonomously, communicate between Earth and the Moon, and survive the lunar night, which puts forward higher requirements for its automation, intelligence and thermal control performance.

Whether it's the "lunar RV" which is more inclined to be launched and deployed independently, or the "open-top lunar rover" which is more suitable for landing on the moon with astronauts, both rely heavily on the support of rockets and lunar landers.

The rockets used by the US for this manned lunar landing are much larger. Both Elon Musk's 9-meter diameter "Lunar Eagle" lunar rocket and Jeff Bezos' "Blue Moon" lunar lander have a much larger payload capacity and space than the "Apollo Lunar Module". Therefore, NASA has relaxed the size and mass restrictions in its manned lunar rover program.

In terms of energy, the Apollo-era open-top lunar rover used two sets of 36-volt silver-zinc-potassium hydroxide batteries that could not be recharged, resulting in a range of only a few hours or kilometers, making it a typical one-time short-term transportation tool.

The new mission requires the new rover to operate on the lunar surface for more than one lunar day, or fourteen Earth days. Therefore, the new generation of manned lunar rovers must have the ability to recharge and extend their range.

The US's new "convertible" design features deployable solar panels and may also use a radioactive isotope device based on the heat release from the decay of plutonium-238 to survive the extreme cold of a lunar night at -180 degrees Celsius.

Lu Yun had already developed a cheap technology that could survive the lunar night without equipping it with similar devices, which could provide new ideas for the design of manned lunar rovers.

But the Americans don't allow it, so we can only use the more expensive ones.

The same applies to Xiao Rizi's "lunar cruiser," because it is a pressurized "RV" and requires more energy.

Of course, it’s also more expensive.

But whether they're Americans or ordinary folks, they all think it's fine.

The Artemis Project has plenty of money now, more than enough!

In terms of control, the Apollo-era convertible was entirely driven by astronauts. For the next generation of manned lunar rovers, autonomous driving based on technologies such as visual recognition is undoubtedly ideal, but it is not advisable to rely on it completely. It is more likely that a dual-mode control system will be used.

In other words, during long-distance missions, manned lunar rovers make full use of automatic navigation and artificial intelligence to reduce the operational burden on astronauts. Astronauts only need to manually take over driving in high-risk terrain or sensitive moments.

In time-limited missions, astronauts drive the vehicles primarily to increase speed, with autopilot mode serving as an auxiliary reference.

After the astronauts leave the rover, it immediately switches to autonomous identification and navigation mode to ensure safe, unmanned operation.

However, compared to the lunar navigation satellite system that China has already started working on, the US has not yet started working on it and currently only has a PowerPoint presentation.

But neither Xiao Rizi nor Lao Mei are worried; they are sure they can get it done!

The reason why the Japanese astronauts built the "lunar cruiser" pressurized lunar rover was actually to exchange for a lunar landing quota in the follow-up "Artemis" mission.

This is an unprecedentedly large manned lunar rover, measuring 6 meters long, 5.2 meters wide, and 3.8 meters high, with a mass of 10.3 tons. Its 13-cubic-meter pressurized internal space can support two astronauts working for 30 Earth days.

It uses a hydrogen fuel cell combined with a flexible convolutional solar array for power supply, and uses decay heat as a backup.

The solar panels are retracted when the vehicle is in operation, and when in use, they promote the electrolysis of water to generate hydrogen and oxygen.

Well, life still can't forget its hydrogen fuel.

It also stated that, in the future, utilizing lunar water ice resources, the "lunar cruiser" will theoretically possess "almost unlimited cruising capabilities."

Lu Yun shook his head after looking at them. These PPTs all looked good, but none of them were feasible.

Even Americans can't do it now, so let alone ordinary people.

For example, the commercial space station that the US is developing, Harbor One, has released a lot of detailed data. Just when everyone thought it was going to launch on time and compete with Loo Yun's "space hotel", its boss immediately announced that the launch time of Harbor One has been postponed to 2024.

This time, it wasn't just Lu Yun shaking his head; everyone was shaking their heads.

So it was all just bragging?

[I feel like everyone's just bragging. Are their PowerPoint presentations even any good?]

At least Lao Zhong and Lu Shen weren't bragging; all their plans were proceeding on schedule.

Let's see how the old Chinese guy and the road god perform.

I believe it will be amazing!

(End of this chapter)