I live in the Martian wilderness!

Academician Wang lightly tapped the screen, listing the final performance results, his tone tinged with rigor and pride:

【I. Power Specifications: Dual-Propeller Thrust Enhancement Condition】

Maximum thrust: 700 tons

Isp (High Speed ​​Scale): 500 seconds (Enhanced Operation) / 1150 seconds (Cruise Operation)

II. Energy Indicators: Dual-Mode Power Generation - Stationary Power Generation Condition

Continuous generating capacity: 18 megawatts (i.e., 18000 kilowatts)

Academician Wang pointed to the data and said in a strong voice, "What does this data mean? Simply put, this engine has two operating conditions."

"High specific impulse cruise mode (1150 seconds): This is the fuel-saving mode. Although the thrust is only about 200 tons, the propulsion efficiency is 2.5 times that of traditional rockets, which can continuously accelerate during deep space journeys."

"Thrust-boosting mode (500 seconds): This is the all-out attack mode. When we inject liquid oxygen and burn it at any cost, the efficiency is halved, but the thrust will instantly surge to 700 tons!"

"This is equivalent to condensing most of the takeoff thrust of a Long March 5 rocket into this one nozzle! Only this kind of powerful, brick-like force can propel us out of Earth's gravitational chains!"

"As for this 18 megawatts of power, the signal power of an ordinary satellite is only a few hundred watts, while the Kuafu satellite's is tens of thousands of times greater!"

"Even if it sneezed while in Mars orbit, the resulting electromagnetic waves would make a radio on Earth buzz! With that kind of power, there's no such thing as being unable to contact it!"

"But while its performance is formidable, it comes at the cost of enormous propellant consumption. The takeoff weight of the Kuafu will be astronomical."

He switched to the mission architecture diagram of the Kuafu, "So, we designed a brand-new 'on-orbit assembly of super-large spacecraft' operational mode for it."

"We will use the 'Long March 9 Batch 2 Heavy Version,' a fully reusable launch vehicle."

"First, send the 'Kuafu Core Propulsion Module' along with the 'Queqiao-2' satellite into low Earth orbit."

"Then, initiate the extreme assembly mission! The four super-heavy launch pads at the Wenchang Launch Center will operate at full capacity for 13 consecutive super-heavy launches!"

"We will successively send up six huge 'non-returnable external propellant tanks' filled with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen."

"Finally, once the last set of pipelines was connected, we had prepared a full 5900 tons of propellant for the Kuafu!"

Engineer Zhao frowned and asked a question: "Academician Wang, 5900 tons... that's sending the entire country's annual liquid hydrogen production capacity into the air."

"Is this much really necessary for a high-speed intercept mission to Mars?"

"Old Zhao, for a crazy plan to reach Mars in 39 days, 5900 tons is still a stretch."

He pointed to the red trajectory line on the screen, "In order to compress the flight time to the extreme, we adopted a hybrid trajectory of 'variable thrust continuous acceleration'."

"Imagine the moment when the Kuafu spacecraft is fully assembled in low Earth orbit, and we will awaken this monster directly in space."

"In the first twenty minutes after breaking free from Earth's gravitational pull, which is the most critical phase of the Earth-fire transfer and injection, the valves of those two huge external liquid oxygen tanks will be fully opened."

"Liquid oxygen will be injected into the nozzle throat at a terrifying flow rate of 1.5 tons per second."

"Within a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) confinement field, a cryogenic fluid collides instantaneously with hydrogen gas at a temperature of 3,000 degrees Celsius, resulting in a violent secondary combustion!"

"At that moment, the nuclear-heated jet at the tail of the Kuafu will unleash 700 tons of thrust!"

"In just twenty minutes, a behemoth weighing over six thousand tons can be kicked from Earth's orbit into an escape trajectory, completely breaking free from Earth's gravitational pull!"

"Once it leaves Earth, the core ship will immediately switch back to a high-specific-impact nuclear thermal mode for 1150 seconds, and thousands of tons of liquid hydrogen will undergo continuous maximum-power acceleration for several weeks."

"This is a race against time. Don't forget, Mars is fleeing us at a speed of 800,000 kilometers per day!"

Academician Wang's voice rose a few decibels: "We not only need high thrust, but also high jet velocity!"

"Only in this way can we relentlessly pursue that frantically fleeing target for 40 days and complete this nearly 80 million kilometer chase!"

A person in charge of logistics support raised the question that had been on everyone's mind.

"Academician Wang! I understand the importance of establishing communication, but since the Kuafu spacecraft has 18 megawatts of power and can send the five-ton Queqiao satellite over there..."

"Then why don't we use those five tons of transport capacity to buy food? That's what Captain Gu Yu urgently needs!"

"Because we can send it over, but we can't put it down." Academician Wang's voice was filled with the helplessness of engineers when faced with the relentless laws of physics.

"Comrades, please see the true nature of Project Kuafu. It is a high-speed orbital interception mission, not a landing mission."

"Its core is to use the violent thrust of the Kuafu engine to forcibly 'brake' an object from Earth orbit to orbit around Mars in the shortest possible time."

"This is a purely orbital dynamics problem that relies on powerful engines for energy exchange. Landing is a completely different and complex game."

He added in a serious tone, "Moreover, this time, we are sending more than just a satellite. Its official name is the 'Queqiao-2' deep space exploration central platform, weighing a total of eight tons."

"This is a complex assembly consisting of a main core module and three sub-satellites."

"More importantly," Academician Wang pointed to the three sub-satellites, "these three independent navigation beacons will be released after entering orbit, forming a deep space navigation constellation covering the entire Mars surface."

"This means that once this orbital node is successfully deployed, we will have essentially established a temporary BeiDou system in the skies above Mars."

"Any subsequent unmanned supply ships will have fully automated, centimeter-level precision landing capabilities, eliminating the need for ground guidance."

This explanation made everyone suddenly understand.

Just then, a young-looking female engineer couldn't help but raise her hand and interject, her voice clear and crisp:

"Academician Wang! Is it possible that the powerful engine of the Kuafu spacecraft, after bringing it to a stop, could also carry a supply pod?"

"Then how about executing a landing plan similar to 'Candle Dragon 1'? Using pneumatic capture to send the supply pod down?"

"Hmm...that's a very good question."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Zixuan, the chief engineer sitting in the front row, blushed instantly, his face which had been tense all along.

Before Academician Wang could speak further, Zhang Zixuan abruptly turned around and reprimanded his doctoral student in a low voice:

"Xiao Qin, you're not paying attention again! I just explained a few minutes ago what the most fundamental and absolute prerequisite for pneumatic-assisted deceleration is!"

The young girl whose name was called blushed instantly.

As the saying goes, concern leads to confusion. In fact, she had already thought of the answer when the question slipped out, but it was too late.

Zhang Zixuan glared at her with exasperation, but then turned back to her and offered a clearer explanation for the question her student had raised.

He pulled up two completely different Mars orbital trajectory diagrams.