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

“Do you support hydrogen bomb-assisted mining on the moon?”

John clicked on today's Baidu hot search, and the first item was the official secret ballot.

After he clicked his support, the voting results so far were displayed:

There were 76.4 million votes in favor and 8.74 million votes against, with the approval rate reaching 90%.

Well, it seems that Chinese netizens still like this proposal very much.

John put down his phone and fell into thinking.

Using hydrogen bombs to mine on the moon may sound like a joke at first, but just now through a connection with experts from Sandia National Laboratories, the other party has confirmed the feasibility of this approach.

Not only is it feasible, but it is indeed low-cost. Even for a 50-ton super hydrogen bomb, the cost plus transportation costs are two to three orders of magnitude cheaper than conventional methods no matter how you calculate it.

And strictly speaking, transporting hydrogen bombs is simple: off-the-shelf missiles will do.

Medium-range and long-range ballistic missiles can fly to low-Earth orbit by themselves, and it is easier to collect them there and then send them to the moon.

Hexagon also conducted an in-depth analysis of this matter, but mainly analyzed the Chinese government’s intentions in doing so.

The first is the military threat. The Hexagon does not believe that deploying nuclear weapons on the moon will really cause any huge changes in the power situation, and there is no taboo. Therefore, it can be basically confirmed that this project is really only for superficial purposes and not for other purposes;

The second is the attitude of putting out bids. Anyone who knows a little bit about international relations can understand its real purpose: to lure people into the water.

Their government doesn't want to be the target of public criticism. It may be because it wants to bring in Lucia and Mao Guoguo, who are relatively close, or it may include everyone, but it always doesn't want one person to take responsibility.

So, what is the attitude of the other four parties?

John felt that there were still a lot of tricks. Although criticism from the outside world was particularly loud, the other three countries with hydrogen bombs did not speak out. This itself represents an answer.

Ami didn't say anything, because it was not without benefit to herself.

The Americus and US military thought they could give it a try. Aramco has conducted a hydrogen bomb air explosion test in the outer atmosphere, but it has not yet tried to detonate a nuclear bomb on an extraterrestrial body. It would be good if they could get some data. Nuclear bombs are something like this. What's more, you can use two to check whether the maintenance is good or not.

Anyway, United Mining is inviting tenders, so it will definitely have to pay, and it will definitely make a profit from selling hydrogen bombs.

Of course, there is also a small idea that is hidden and cannot be said, which is to take this opportunity to gradually arm space. In the past, the opposition to arming space was due to ground confrontation and all the energy was spent. Now space is a major trend in the future, and the Air Force... No, the Air Force wants to turn words into reality.

As for John...he didn't have a strong desire to object.

Aramco's previous failure on the moon has put it at a temporary disadvantage. If it can explode a few hydrogen bombs on the moon, let alone other things, it will definitely shock its wavering allies. Besides, can it also benefit from the experience of the Chinese? ?

While he was thinking, the office door was pushed open by Sullivan, who was followed by a soldier and an old man in a suit.

"This is Naldo, Colonel of the Air Force; Jon, Director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory."

Sullivan introduced the two people behind him and then said:

"Jon and Naldo formed...Alabama Engineering Machinery Technology Company, which has the support of DRAPA and can participate in the joint mining tender."

John: "..."

He was still wavering, but the military had made its decision.

"Exporting hydrogen bombs, do you know what this means? Congress will definitely need to take turns to ask questions. You have to convince members and then convince the people before you can go out and participate in the bidding. After winning the bid, the procurement agreement needs the approval of Congress, which is very complicated."

Naldo stepped forward and answered:

"Maybe it doesn't have to be so troublesome. If United Mining chooses to package the blasting part of the mining and let us contract it, then there will be no problem of exporting hydrogen bombs. The hydrogen bomb has always been ours, and we will use it, and it has nothing to do with other people."

John: "How many pills should we sell? How many pills? Or should we provide a sufficient quantity?"

"this……"

"I hope I'm not late."

Claire, who evolved into a staff member, hurried in, closed the door, and said with burning eyes:

"NACA supports this project. We must win the bid and participate."

John couldn't comment, and held out his hands to indicate for him to continue.

Claire: "First of all, we must have the detonation switch of our hydrogen bomb in our own hands, right? Everyone else knows nothing about our hydrogen bomb, how to protect it, and the precautions for it, even if it has the same yield But there are differences in explosion models, and that's all true."

Senior industry insiders Naldo and Jon both nodded in agreement, and John and Sullivan also agreed that the entire process from transportation to detonation must be under their own strict supervision, and this condition is unshakable.

Claire: "So, we would rather be free of charge - or sell it to them at a low price, but in order to ensure safety, we must let our technical experts go to the site to investigate and participate in the entire process."

"Oh oh oh!"

John understood and couldn't help but cheer.

Claire continues to use:

"The Chinese are making much faster progress on the moon than we are. We must understand and master more information about the moon and space. The next Artemis mission will take a long time, but with this, we can first put our own people Send it up to get a lot of precious first-hand information.

For example, how to build a base on the moon? How to plan the location of each part of the system? What are the technical difficulties in lunar mining? More detailed geological makeup of the moon? There's nothing like going up there and seeing it for yourself.

This will also greatly enhance our sense of presence, and we cannot let the Aviation Development Commission steal all the limelight. "

Naldo clapped his hands. Although the military also had relevant ideas, they were far less concrete and did not think so much. It seemed that as long as a few people could be brought along, there would be many benefits to participating.

The hydrogen bomb sitting in the warehouse has no use except consuming millions of dollars in maintenance funds every year. Taking it out can not only reduce the burden but also reap many benefits. No matter how you look at it, it is a good idea.

John: "Then we provide all the hydrogen bombs to the Chinese? Do we have this capability?"

He looked at Jon, and the old man replied confidently:

"Although we do not have a super-high-yield hydrogen bomb that is immediately available, we can remove the core from the existing hydrogen bomb and modify it. Without size and weight restrictions, the process is very fast and can definitely catch up. 20 hydrogen bombs are not many at all."

Sullivan stood aside and thought about it carefully and felt that the problem was not big, so he said:

"Then I will contact the Chinese people now to find out. First, ask them how much they are willing to pay, and then adjust our price."

John immediately asked him to take action, and the rest of the people discussed it in the office. This matter was not a small matter, and there were many specific aspects that needed to be paid attention to.

The hydrogen bomb blowing up the moon interested John much more than the messy chores. The group of people discussed it for two hours before they saw Sullivan re-entering the door.

"How about it?"

All four pairs of eyes looked at Sullivan, but the expression on the latter's face was a little subtle:

"The Chinese Embassy asked us to contact United Mining directly. United Mining said it welcomed our bid and hoped that we would become the third bidder as soon as possible."

John: "The first bidder must be themselves, what about the second one? Lucia or the hairy country guy?"

"The first one is indeed Huanhe." Sullivan first confirmed John's guess, and then said with a constipated expression:

"The second one is Rolls-Royce. They submitted their bid 10 hours ago!"