I ask you to build tractors, but you build rockets?

"No response to shortwave call."

"Detection of Radar Untargeted Signals"

"Attempt to establish communication failed, code E9"

"..."

After working for 130 hours, Venus 1 finally lost contact.

In fact, there were many signs before the loss of contact. The performance of this hastily built lander has far exceeded everyone's expectations.

The initial landing site of Venus 1 was a highland next to a dwarf volcano, which was chosen as the landing site by the probe because of its relatively flat terrain.

The soil here is relatively new and soft, so the investigation is not of great significance, so Lin Ju asked to use most of the remaining fuel to take off again and continue the exploration in a different place.

After 15 minutes of discussion, the base selected a plain area about 2 kilometers away on the other side of the volcano, and planned a route over the volcano. Although it has not yet erupted, all signs indicate that this is an active volcano. , it can be seen just from the obviously different colors of soil in the photo.

Venus 1 successfully launched its specially designed venomous missile and lived up to expectations. It took it over the volcano to take an extremely clear photo at close range and then successfully landed on the edge of a swamp in the predetermined area.

The ground originally expected that the highly corrosive swamp would quickly destroy the air shield around the lander, but it persisted for nearly six days before being completely destroyed, during which time the rich data collected far exceeded all previous information combined.

In the end, Venus No. 1 ended up sinking slowly after being dumped. The strong acidic liquid in the swamp entered its structure and destroyed the weak parts. The electrical pipelines were gradually destroyed, and eventually the connection was completely lost.

But this is completely enough. As a soft-landing fixed detector, Venus-1 has limited detection capabilities. It can last for 130 hours, which is a new record and has played an unimaginable value.

The only pity is that there is no trace of the sulfur-based microorganisms that the scientific community has been speculating about. However, there are many kinds of organic matter, and there is still a probability that life can exist.

Shen Zuozhou put down his headphones before he was satisfied. He has been accompanying Daystar One to create miracles in the past few days. This is definitely a time worth recording in his career.

Xiao Gangtian came over and patted him on the shoulder:

"Is it enjoyable? Next time we will send a rover up there and launch the first Venus rover that can survive for a long time."

Venus 1 also has part of the payload used to assess the damage to the ground environment. Xiao Gangtian feels...it's okay.

It is just that the corrosive substances in the air can be resisted. The main problem is the high temperature. However, there are many materials that can withstand temperatures of more than 400 degrees, and the insulation measures are not complicated. The next goal is definitely to send a car for a ride.

"Let me do the math... mid-November next year should be another window period, right? Lao Xiao, I don't think we can use wheeled structures or crawler structures. The large contact area will corrode too quickly."

"That's true. Then we will definitely work together to build a nuclear-powered patrol vehicle of about 3 tons. It will work for at least a year."

"When can we land on Venus..."

"Venus? I think you need to build a super-large airship to immigrate there. The altitude of 50 to 65 kilometers is still suitable for survival, but that's it. It doesn't make sense. There are no useful large mines on Venus."

Hearing the ore, Shen Zuozhou suddenly thought of the lunar mining plan that has been widely publicized across the country these days, and then contacted the base's newly manufactured "Pioneer I" passive exoskeleton spacesuit.

In order to enhance the mobility of the astronauts, the base accelerated the production of the "Pioneer I" in advance. It uses external hard passive bone armor to effectively control the expansion of the space suit. When worn on the body, it not only has strong protection but also increases the load-bearing capacity. Ability, and more importantly, it allows the wearer to move freely without reducing the efficiency of movement as if being slowed down.

That thing is much cooler when worn on the body, just like in science fiction movies. There are two pieces in the base cafeteria for employees to try on and provide suggestions for improvements.

Thinking of this, Shen Zuozhou pulled Xiao Gangtian to the canteen. When he drove past the I-type, many people were already surrounding him.

Xiao Gangtian squinted and saw a familiar person:

I saw Guo Fan holding the Kaikai I-type exoskeleton with satisfaction and said to Wu Jing next to him:

"The one in the props team is too exaggerated, so just change it according to this. Whether it's the color matching or the design, it's still really good. What do you think?"

Wu Jing: "Director Guo, there's no need to go to the moon. Then we won't be able to make it in time for the Spring Festival, and the movie is already very long now."

Guo Fan: "Okay, but I think The Wandering Earth 2 can be filmed on the moon. I'll go for it when it comes out during the Spring Festival. What if it happens?"

Wu Jing: "Then you might as well go to United Mining and ask them to hire a crew to go to the moon to shoot a commercial, and then we can secretly shoot some of the movie content."

Guo Fan: "This is a really great idea."

Wu Jing: "..."

…

July 27, Florida.

The concrete launch pad, which was blown by the wake of 33 engines last time and had exposed steel bars, has been repaired, and the entire body is covered with steel plates and diversion troughs are designed.

The super-heavy booster number B7 and the starship SN17 spacecraft have been assembled and are being refueled.

Wayne of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency was also present, and both he and Musk chose to watch the launch test outdoors this time.

"Do you think you can succeed this time?"

Musk shook his head and chose to tell the truth:

“We have made almost subversive modifications to the first-level redundant control system. The last launch actually shows that the problem of multiple engines in parallel is not a big problem, mainly because of SpecaX’s lack of experience in super rocket launches.

However, the last launch failed to fully test various systems of the second-level starship spacecraft, and we cannot find any problems yet. "

Wayne: "If the regular version of the starship fails to launch successfully, DARPA will not invest in the nuclear-powered version of the starship."

Musk: "What I'm more worried about is whether we can deliver a reliable nuclear engine before the starship is successful. If a nuclear explosion occurs here, I'm afraid the FAA will not issue us a license for a year."

Wayne: "..."

There is a reason for Musk to say this. After the failure of the Artemis 2 mission, Congress expressed distrust in all NACA projects.

After organizing an investigation team on the Artemis 2 mission, all aerospace-related programs established last year conducted project reliability demonstrations again, and it was finally found that Nevada's JFT nuclear propulsion plan was extremely risky.

After evaluation by an expert group composed of professors hired by the Hexagon Building from multiple universities, they are not optimistic about the success of Dr. Freeman's A105 engine development this year. At best, it will create a barely usable test machine, which is far from reliable.

Therefore, Endeavor's go-around plan can only be temporarily terminated. NERVA A105 must pass numerous verifications by the Hexagon Review Team before it can carry out the launch mission.

Therefore, the front and rear parts of the nuclear-powered starship are currently in a state of failure, and it is really uncertain who will finish it first.