Chapter 1485: Moon or Mars (Happy International Labor Day to all~)

Later in the day.

Beijing, National Space Administration.

The electronic clock on the wall of the conference room showed 14:23, and the lights seemed particularly bright in the afternoon sun.

The strategic decision-making meeting had been going on for two hours, but the air was still filled with tension and anticipation.

The oval conference table was filled with top experts in China's aerospace field. On the projection screen, high-definition images of the Martian surface sent back by Yinghuo-1 and lunar craters photographed by Chang'e-3 flashed alternately.

The year 2010 was a key turning point in the development of China's space program. According to the strategic plan formulated by China's space program more than a decade ago, after the successful completion of the Tiangong- and Chang'e- missions, the entire first phase was close to completion.

At this time, Chinese aerospace people are standing at a crossroads and need to decide the direction of the next stage of research and development.

Especially in terms of extra-orbital exploration.

Should we continue to focus on exploring the moon, or allocate some resources to move towards the more distant Mars?

Although a decision of this level is obviously impossible to make directly at the space agency level, if a large number of experts reach a consensus, it can still greatly influence the judgment of the decision-makers.

Therefore, whether for personal gains and losses or the development prospects of the national space program, both sides are unwilling to compromise easily.

Wu Ji, director of the National Space Science Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, pushed up his glasses, stood up and walked towards the projection screen.

In fact, he is not only the project leader of Yinghuo-1, but also the project leader of Chang'e-1 and Chang'e-2 projects. He does not have an inherent bias like most other participants.

But after careful consideration, he chose to strive for more resources for Mars exploration.

"Dear colleagues, based on the latest data sent back by Firefly-1, we have successfully mapped the three-dimensional structure of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere of Mars." Wu Ji's voice was steady and powerful. He clicked the remote control while speaking, and a set of complex data curves and color images appeared on the screen.

According to the original plan, the Firefly-2011/Forbes-Soil exploration project would be a relatively broad but superficial exploratory collaboration. However, with the facilitation of Chang Haonan, the latter changed the exploration target from Phobos to Mars, which reduced a lot of difficulty and brought forward the launch time from the original 2009 to .

To date, both Yinghuo-218 and Phobos have successfully operated for Martian days, even exceeding their design lifespan.

"It is particularly noteworthy," Wu Ji continued, calling up a new set of spectra, "near the Martian terminator, we observed a significant change in plasma density gradient. This is fundamentally different from the Earth's ionosphere, indicating that the interaction mechanism between the Martian atmosphere and the solar wind is more complex."

He magnified one of the data sets: "For the first time, we confirmed the existence of a metal ion layer in the Martian ionosphere, mainly composed of iron, magnesium and sodium. These metal ions come from the ablation products of micrometeorites, and they form a unique vertical distribution structure in the absence of the Martian magnetic field."

Wu Ji paused and looked around the venue: "More importantly, the Forbes probe has completed a detailed survey of the southern area of ​​Utopia Plains."

The screen switched to a topographic map with various colored markers on it:

"Through neutron albedo measurements and underground radar scanning, we believe that there may be abundant water ice deposits in the area, 1 to 3 meters below the surface, with a purity of up to 60%-70%... The above research results will be jointly published after coordination with Russian scientists..."

Although the existence of water on the surface of Mars has gradually become a consensus in the academic community from being initially believed to be impossible, such direct evidence still caused a murmur of discussion in the conference hall.

This is exactly the effect that Mr. Wu wants.

After waiting for a moment, he raised his voice: "Based on these findings, I suggest that part of the resources for the second phase of deep space exploration be shifted to Mars. We already have the ability to support larger-scale exploration of the Martian surface, and even build and maintain a long-term research facility in orbit around Mars..."

But as expected, such a radical plan quickly attracted opposition.

"I don't agree with this view." Academician Gu Yindong, deputy commander-in-chief of the manned space engineering application system, stated bluntly.

This academician, who is in his seventies, has gray hair but eyes as sharp as an eagle. As a veteran of China's lunar exploration project, he has an unshakable obsession with lunar exploration.

"Mars exploration is important, but we have to consider its practical feasibility."

Gu Yindong stood up and walked to the screen controller on the other side: "The success of Chang'e 3 has proved that our technology in the field of lunar exploration has matured." He called up the latest data sent back by the lunar rover, "According to X-ray diffraction and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy analysis, we found basalt samples with abnormally high ilmenite (FeTiO8) content in the Mare Imbrium region. The titanium content reached 12%-%, far exceeding similar rocks on Earth."

Ilmenite on the moon is a key target for future in-situ resource utilization. Oxygen and metallic titanium can be extracted from it through hydrogen reduction. The former can be used for breathing and rocket propellant, and the latter is a high-quality material for building lunar surface facilities.

Then, he enlarged a thermal infrared image of a permanently shadowed area: "More importantly, the lunar probe has found direct evidence of water ice on the inner wall of Shackleton Crater at the South Pole of the Moon. Through measurements with the LEND neutron detector, we estimate that the water ice reserves in this area may exceed 100 million tons... Director Wu, you should be very clear about these contents."

Gu Yindong turned to the others present, and his tone became more resolute:

"These resources are crucial for building a lunar research station. In contrast, Martian resources are still at the theoretical speculation stage." He paused again, "Therefore, we should continue to concentrate all our efforts on building an unmanned but long-term lunar research station as soon as possible after completing the three steps of orbiting, landing and returning to the moon, and develop a manned research base on this basis."

Obviously, his ambition is no smaller than Wu Ji's.

Although the moon is closer than Mars, it is still bold to build a base directly on it.

Perhaps he also realized this, Gu Yindong added:

"At the beginning of this year, our superiors said at an internal briefing that the next decade will be a critical stage for my country to seize the right to speak and the leadership in the field of aerospace. The lunar exploration program will have lower risks, less investment and a shorter cycle, provided that it can meet this requirement. In contrast, Mars exploration has a higher degree of uncertainty, and dispersing energy and resources may lead to missed opportunities, so it should be considered at the next step."

This paragraph closely combines technical feasibility and political needs, and its destructive power is indeed amazing.

As the head of the space exploration department, it doesn't matter to Wu Ji personally who comes first or later.

But he was obviously unwilling to give up his claim so easily.

"Academician Gu, the resource potential of Mars cannot be ignored either. The Forbes has collected Martian soil samples, and the Soil returner is expected to arrive on Earth in three months." He called up the working video of the sampling robotic arm. "According to the real-time analysis of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, these samples may contain hydrous sulfates and phyllosilicates, which are important evidence of water-rock interaction."

"Maybe?" Gu Yindong shook his head. "Director Wu, science is about certainty. We already have actual data on the moon, but Mars is still at the 'maybe' stage."

The atmosphere in the conference room became solemn. Director Sun Yanlai, head of the Space Administration, sat in the main seat and did not immediately express his opinion.

As the helmsman of China's aerospace industry, he needs to weigh various factors - not only scientific value, but also political influence, funding allocation and technological risks.

At this time, Academician Mei Yuanhong of the Chinese Academy of Engineering suddenly raised his hand to signal for speech.

This polar architecture expert rarely speaks out at aerospace conferences, but his team has been secretly conducting research on alien architecture for three years.

"Everyone, we have some plans regarding the possibility of building a scientific research station or base on an extraterrestrial planet."

Mei Yuanhong's voice was gentle but firm. As he spoke, he opened his laptop and connected it to the projection device, which projected a set of architectural structure diagrams:

"This is the 'Clover' lunar research station concept designed by my team and I. The core idea is to use in-situ resources to build it and minimize the burden of transportation from Earth."

The screen shows three interconnected cabin structures surrounding a central core cabin. "We drew on the experience of the Antarctic research station, but used more advanced materials and technologies." He zoomed in on one of the details, "The outer shell uses lunar soil 3D printing technology, and microwave sintering is used to fuse lunar soil particles into a solid ceramic layer. When the thickness is 30 cm, it can provide radiation protection equivalent to 1.5-2 meters of concrete."

"The inner surface of the building uses Kevlar fiber-reinforced polyimide aerogel as the inflatable structure," Mei Yuanhong continued to explain. "This composite material remains stable in the range of -180°C to 150°C and can withstand a pressure difference of 0.5 atmospheres. Combined with the external main structure, it can fully withstand the environment on the lunar surface."

There was a burst of exclamations in the meeting hall.

Mei Yuanhong also showed a structural test video, in which a lead-gray building model was placed on a sealed test platform.

The reading from the pressure gauge nearby indicated that the outside of the platform had been evacuated to a near-vacuum state.

"Our 1:10 model has passed vacuum, temperature cycle and micrometeorite simulation tests. If we invest enough resources, we can hope to establish a semi-permanent scientific research station on the moon within ten years. As for the personnel stay... this depends on the timing of manned lunar landing."

It is not difficult to hear that he actually stands on the side of the "Moon Faction". After all, only Gu Yindong mentioned the part about the alien base.

However, the latter's expression changed after hearing this.

It was true that Mei Yuanhong supported him, but the two had not communicated with each other before the meeting, which resulted in a lot of content in his words that could be exploited by the other party.