in2ebook Chapter 1489 New Rules of the Game
Chapter 1489 New Rules of the Game
One week later.
The crystal chandelier-lit press conference room at the press conference was as bright as day, the camera lens was aimed at the podium like a black hole, and the global live broadcast signal was ready.
Although it was almost time to get off work, hundreds of journalists from all over the world had already filled the seats in the venue, leaving the air filled with a strange sense of anxiety, like the calm before the storm.
It was not until Xu Lianghong, spokesman for the National Space Administration, walked steadily to the podium that the entire audience finally quieted down, leaving only the slight hum of the air-conditioning system.
On the big screen behind him, the title "Planning and Development Strategy for Scientific Research Activities on the Moon, Mars and Other Extraterrestrial Bodies" with blue letters on a white background is particularly eye-catching against the deep blue background of the earth.
This press conference was held with almost no warning. Not only was it announced at short notice two nights before, but the content of the notice was limited to one topic.
Therefore, most journalists had no way to prepare in advance, and only a few media outlets that had good cooperative relations with the authorities received some vague hints.
"Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon." Xu Lianghong's voice was transmitted into the headphones of every reporter through the simultaneous interpretation system.
After a brief opening statement, he got straight to the point:
"Today, we are releasing this white paper to clarify China's vision and plans in the field of deep space exploration."
There was an immediate sound of shutter clicks from the audience, and flash lights flashed like stars.
However, for some old hands who have stayed in China for a long time, when they heard this sentence, they were already disappointed.
Mark Case of Reuters was jotting down notes on his laptop while muttering to himself:
"Another red tape, probably the same old five- and ten-year plans."
Today should have been his day off, but the China editor-in-chief, Kerry Gracey, found an excuse to send him away and went to attend another Ministry of Defense press conference that sounded more important.
Although he was extremely reluctant, Keith instinctively entered the ordinary title into the computer.
"In today's world, information technology innovation is changing with each passing day. Digitalization, networking and intelligence are profoundly changing the form of human civilization." Xu Lianghong's speech was indeed as Mark expected, and his opening remarks were steady. "According to the latest statistics, the scale of the global aerospace economy has exceeded 4000 billion US dollars, and the annual growth rate has remained above 8%."
He clicked the remote control, and the big screen switched to a set of data charts: "At the same time, the earth is facing increasingly severe environmental pollution, resource shortages and ecological crises. According to a report by the United Nations Environment Program, by 2050, more than 50 billion people in the world will face water shortages. These challenges have prompted mankind to find and create a 'second home'."
Case stopped recording and frowned.
Although these data are accurate, they seem a bit exaggerated when quoted by the official spokesperson of the space agency.
Xu Lianghong continued: "The moon is the closest celestial body to the earth and the only natural satellite of the earth. Its surface is rich in rare resources such as helium-3. Mars has a similar rotation period and seasonal changes to the earth. Its gravity is 38% of the earth. 95% of the atmosphere is carbon dioxide. It may be suitable for human habitation after transformation."
These scientific facts came out of Xu Lianghong's mouth with an unprecedented sense of authority.
James Huang of the South China Morning Post keenly noticed that this was not an ordinary popular science introduction, but a foreshadowing of some major announcement.
"As a responsible major country," Xu Lianghong's voice suddenly rose an octave, "China is ready to propose a deep space exploration plan through the Strategic White Paper that has a low threshold, is feasible, and serves all mankind."
Finally someone found the key point in the long paragraph of standardized rhetoric -
Serving all mankind.
This term is obviously not added casually, especially considering that NASA just announced the second phase of their "Return to the Moon" plan not long ago. It is very likely that China is interested in competing for global leadership in deep space exploration.
许亮宏继续点击遥控器，大屏幕显示出一幅宏伟的太空开发路线图：“我们的规划分为三个阶段：短期（2025-2035）建立地月空间基础设施；中期（2035-2050）实现月球常驻科研；长期（2050年后）拓展至火星探测……”
"..."
This white paper contains a lot of content, and the printed sample is more than 200 pages. A press conference can only summarize the key contents and almost does not include the specific technical parts.
However, it is enough.
Objectively speaking, the achievements accumulated by China and the United States in the field of deep space exploration are completely at different levels. Suddenly making such a radical statement does not seem to be in line with China's usual practice.
Most journalists are not concerned with specific details, but rather with finding opportunities to add fuel to the fire.
therefore……
"Now we will move on to the question and answer session."
As soon as Xu Lianghong finished speaking, his arms rose up like a forest.
As per convention, the first reporter to get the chance to ask questions was from China.
This time, it was Zhang Ming, a reporter from Science and Technology Daily:
"Human exploration of the moon and Mars has lasted for half a century, and China has also launched the Chang'e series and Yinghuo-1 probes. What is the essential difference between the plan proposed in the Strategy and previous exploration activities?"
The questions were obviously carefully prepared, on the one hand to pass the message to the spokesperson, and on the other hand to boost the atmosphere on the spot.
“This question hits home.”
Xu Lianghong's tone was as flat as a robot:
"Previous exploration activities, whether orbiting satellites or landers, were all 'flash' explorations that could only obtain limited data at a specific point in time." He clicked the remote control, and the large screen switched to a graded chart. "The core of the Strategy is to establish a long-term, sustainable extraterrestrial presence."
There are four progressive goals clearly shown on the chart:
“我们将持久性的深空探测活动分为四个层级：外星轨道空间站、外星科研站、外星基地和外星栖息地。具体到月球，我们计划在2020年前建成月球科研站一期工程，具备无人值守能力；到2025年实现短期有人驻留；到2035年建成可容纳6-8人长期居住的完整基地。”
The venue was silent for a second, and then there was some commotion.
Mark Case, who was feeling a little bored just now, almost knocked over the recorder. After reacting, he quickly wrote down the title of the message:
"China announces it will build a permanent base on the moon within 10 years - the space race is heating up."
Claire, a reporter from Le Monde, France, got the second opportunity to ask: "Mr. Xu, the effects of long-term space stay on the human body have not yet been determined. Given the current level of human technology, is it too optimistic to build a lunar base?"
Xu Lianghong's expression turned serious. "There are indeed huge challenges. The radiation on the moon is 200 times that of the earth, the temperature difference reaches 300 degrees Celsius, and the dust is highly corrosive." He paused, "But our scientists have developed a number of breakthrough technologies."
He pulled up a video: "This is my country's independently developed 'lunar soil ceramics' technology, which uses lunar soil to make building modules through 3D printing and microwave sintering. The radiation protection performance is 5 times that of traditional aluminum. At the same time, we have also made significant progress in the design of underground cave habitats and closed-loop life support systems..."
"..."
At this point, Keith could no longer suppress his instinct to add fuel to the fire, and raised his hand unwillingly.
Sure enough, I was quickly selected to ask:
"Mr. Spokesperson, NASA's Artemis program also plans to build a lunar base by 2028. Does China's plan mean a new round of space race?"
This question was quite sharp and immediately attracted a lot of attention.
However, once you realize that it was a representative of the British media, it seems very reasonable.
"This is exactly the key point I want to emphasize." Xu Lianghong seemed to be well prepared, and the corners of his mouth even rose slightly. "In fact, the Chinese people love peace. We have no intention of competing with any country. Instead, we want cooperation... all-round cooperation."
He clicked the remote control, and the big screen switched to a magnificent three-dimensional model of a space station, suspended in orbit between the Earth and the Moon. "The uniqueness of the Huaxia plan lies in this - a deep space exploration transit station at the Earth-Moon Lagrange L4 point."
The whole place fell silent instantly. Everyone held their breath and stared at the huge truss structure, which consisted of four modular modules. In the center was a cylindrical core module, with several other spherical or cylindrical modules connected on both sides.
Similar to conventional spacecraft, there are large sail-like structures extending around it, but they are not the blue color presented by solar panels, and they seriously block each other, so they are obviously not for generating electricity.
"This transfer station will be the first infrastructure in human history between the Earth and the Moon," Xu Lianghong took a deep breath to prevent his voice from becoming distorted or trembling. "It will have four major functions: orbital refueling, equipment maintenance, personnel rotation, and deep space communication relay."
The venue finally exploded.
This idea is so bold that it completely subverts the traditional model of space exploration.
The reporters had no time and no intention to consider the technical feasibility. They moved almost at the same time, with flash lights flashing everywhere and keyboard sounds and exclamations interweaving into one.
"Is this some kind of... supply station?" As usual, it was now Keith's turn to ask questions.
Xu Lianghong nodded and smiled:
"This metaphor is very vivid. We hope that through this 'space station', we can lower the threshold for lunar missions from 'national effort' to 'multinational collaboration'. Any country with basic space launch capabilities can achieve lunar exploration with the support of the transit station."
The noise at the scene still did not subside, but in the next few minutes, no one even bothered to raise their hands.
Until James Huang was the first to react: "This plan sounds ambitious, but how much money is needed to build such a transit station? Is Huaxia prepared to bear it alone?"
"According to preliminary estimates, the entire project will cost about 3000 billion yuan," Xu Lianghong's answer caused a gasp. "This is a long-term investment that will last for decades, and the average annual cost is completely acceptable... Of course, we also uphold an attitude of openness and cooperation, and welcome international partners to invest together and benefit together..."
He didn't mention any specific countries, but that was enough to get reporters thinking.
At the end of the press conference, almost all reporters were rushing to the press center to submit their articles, fearing that they would fall behind their competitors.
Keith was originally going to contact editor-in-chief Gracie, but he changed his mind and called Alexandra Galloni, the editor-in-chief of the headquarters who recommended him to come to China:
"Boss, this is not an ordinary space program. The Chinese are playing a big game..."
"No, they are not challenging American leadership, they are redefining the rules of the game!"