The rise of nanometers

"Katsuki, communication has been interrupted."

"I know."

They had encountered this kind of thing twice before, once in the Guanghan Palace base and once while out exploring.

Based on past experience, this communication interruption is most likely caused by a relatively strong solar storm that hit the moon.

As time passed, Shi Keji and Li Jianxian couldn't help but become worried, because the signal was interrupted twice before, and the communication returned to normal after a few minutes.

After about 23 minutes, communication finally returned to normal.

[Emergency notice from the Lunar Emergency Office: On August 5, 2015, at 17:27 pm, the lunar area suffered a solar storm with an intensity of 12.4, and an on-orbit laser communication satellite was damaged...]

After reading the detailed notice, Shi Keji once again saw the danger of the universe.

This solar storm attack caused the loss of a laser communication satellite in the lunar area. In addition, part of the system of two communication satellites was damaged, and backup system replacement could only be started.

Other remote sensing satellites, gravity sensing satellites, high-precision camera satellites, laser defense satellites, etc. were also damaged to varying degrees. Although they were not directly scrapped, their service life was greatly reduced.

As for the Toad Palace Space Station and Guanghan Palace Base, there is no problem because these two facilities have magnetic cage protection systems.

As soon as the communication was restored, the Guanghan Palace Base contacted Shi Keji and the two people who were out. After confirming that there were no problems with the two people and the off-road vehicle, they asked them if they would continue to perform the mission.

There was no problem with the equipment, so Shi Keji and Li Jianxian naturally chose to continue the mission.

They came out this time with the intention of spending 6 days exploring forward, and then returning to the Guanghan Palace base via another route while exploring the geology along the way.

We have only been out for three days now, and there are no problems with the vehicle and spacesuit, so we must continue to perform the mission.

the other side.

NASA's Outpost 1 base is in big trouble.

A 12.4-magnitude solar storm killed one satellite and damaged a large area, not to mention NASA's satellites and bases.

One of the three communications satellites deployed by NASA in lunar orbit was hit head-on by a solar storm and turned into a piece of space junk.

Of the other two communication satellites, one damaged part of the system and was restored through the backup system; the last one happened to travel to the other side of the moon and escaped this solar storm.

But there were only two communication satellites left, which made it impossible for Outpost 1 to maintain continuous communications, leaving a window of about 8 hours.

NASA, which did not have many satellites to begin with, lost one lunar communication satellite. The service life of the other lunar communication satellite is only expected to be about 3.7 years. It is really a leaky house and it rains all night.

Fortunately, the attack of the solar storm did not hit Outpost 1 this time, otherwise things would have been very serious.

But this solar storm incident also made NASA more urgent. After all, not every time is so lucky.

If one day a solar storm directly sweeps across Outpost 1, and Outpost 1 happens to be unable to withstand it, then they will be really passive.

The current space race has entered a white-hot stage.

If something happens to Outpost 1 at this time, Noah will be isolated and helpless on the moon, and he can't ask the Federation for help!

Even if the Federation is willing to lend a helping hand, Noah will probably not be willing to accept it. They would rather let Outpost 1 be scrapped and the astronauts on it die, than ask the Federation for help.

After all, choosing to ask for help is tantamount to being weak and inferior to others. This is a result that Noah will not accept.

Therefore, NASA is even more anxious this time. They want to replenish the moon's satellites and enhance the protective power of the Outpost 1 base.

We just need to enhance the protection of Outpost 1 in a short period of time, either by thickening the lead plate, covering the base with soil, or choosing an underground base.

However, none of these three plans can be accomplished easily.

The plan to thicken the lead plates means transporting a batch of lead plates, and the lead itself is extremely heavy.

The base earth covering plan requires transporting an excavator there.

Of course, NASA can also choose the beggar's version of the solution, giving astronauts a shovel and manually digging soil to cover the space capsule, but this is too cost-effective.

The last plan, the underground base plan, requires an even greater amount of engineering work, and NASA may not be able to grasp it.

NASA is in a tangle.

The space agency, on the other hand, is advancing the construction of the lunar base step by step.

With the putting into use of the first foamed silicon steel synthesis cabin, although it is only a small industrial cabin with a daily output of about 100 tons, it is a leap forward for the Guanghan Palace Base, which could only rely on scientific research cabins to produce materials before. progress.

At least from now on, the material supply of the lunar base will no longer be 100% dependent on the mainland.

The first batch of products produced from foamed silicon steel are customized tracks, sleepers and foundation reinforcement columns, which are building materials used for laying railways.

For the moon, which has low gravity and no obvious atmosphere, ground transportation using railways is more cost-effective than Blue Star's railways, with a higher speed limit and a payload that can be increased by more than 10 times.

Therefore, laying railways has become an important means for the expansion of the lunar base to the surrounding areas.

The space capsule transported from Blue Star to the moon has also changed from the previous scientific research capsule to an industrial capsule and a living capsule.

At least the Guanghan Palace base needs to establish a relatively complete building materials industry and hardware industry, so that it can produce its own building materials, hardware, space capsule skeletons and shells.

By then, only motors, electronic components, precision parts, etc. will be supplied locally, and the construction speed of the lunar base will increase by an order of magnitude.

For example, in a space capsule, the weight of the skeleton, shell, and composite protective layer accounts for 70 to 80% of the entire space capsule. The technical content of these things is not too high, but they are indispensable.

Only by realizing local industrialization on the moon can the lunar base be quickly transformed into a lunar city.

Next month, three CNC processing cabins will be launched locally, allowing the Guanghan Palace base to carry out deep processing of the materials produced.

Originally, the space agency had imagined using additive manufacturing similar to 3D printing. However, additive manufacturing now faces a series of technical problems.

The problems of additive manufacturing include slow processing speed, relatively single material, low overall strength, and relatively small processing size.

Moreover, additive manufacturing will face another problem on the moon, that is, the problem of raw materials.

Currently, most of the raw materials that can be used in additive manufacturing are organic compounds. The abundance of carbon on the lunar surface is not high, and there are no natural organic minerals. How can we supply large-scale additive manufacturing?

Originally, the space agency planned to develop the lunar industry in order to get rid of local material dependence. Additive manufacturing that requires local large-scale supply of raw materials is obviously not in line with the development strategy of the moon in a short period of time.

The industrialization of the Guanghan Palace base is advancing in an orderly manner.

The exploration work of Shi Keji and Li Jianxian in Pingyuan No. 1 thermal well also went very smoothly.

According to preliminary exploration, this thermal well is located about 320 to 350 meters underground. The temperature at this depth is just suitable for a geothermal power station.

The design of the moon's geothermal power station is different from that of the Blue Star. It abandons the method of boiling water and plans to use a single temperature difference power generation system.

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