in2ebook Chapter 1486 On-Orbit Refueling
Chapter 1486 On-Orbit Refueling
Chapter 1486 On-Orbit Refueling
Martian soil, also known as "regolith," has significantly different physical and chemical properties from lunar soil. The higher iron content makes it better at absorbing microwaves, while the presence of hydrated minerals may act as a binder during the sintering process.
Sure enough, Wu Ji responded immediately:
"Academician Mei's design is excellent, but the same principle can be applied to Mars." He called up a set of comparative data. "In fact, the particle characteristics of Martian soil are more suitable for in-situ production - the average particle size is 50 microns, the shape factor is 0.7, and it contains 2%-3% iron oxide. These are all ideal sintering raw materials. As far as I know, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics has conducted a lot of related research."
"In addition," he continued without waiting for Mei Yuanhong to respond, "Although the atmosphere on Mars is thin, it can still provide about 5% of the atmospheric pressure on the Earth's surface, which places lower stress requirements on inflatable structures. Even from the perspective of service life and failure probability, Mars has more advantages."
"Everyone, please allow me to interrupt." Immediately following Wu Ji's speech, Zhang Rongqiao, chief designer of the Mars exploration mission, suddenly spoke up: "According to the magnetic detection data of Yinghuo-1, we found that there are local strong magnetic anomalies on the surface of Mars."
He pulled up a map of the magnetic field distribution on Mars:
"We know that Mars does not have a strong intrinsic magnetic field, but its crust still retains a 'fossil' record of the ancient magnetic field. These magnetic anomaly areas can span up to 1000 kilometers, with an intensity of 10-1500nT, which can deflect some of the sun's high-energy particles. Especially in the highlands of the southern hemisphere, the magnetic field strength can reach 15% of the Earth's surface. Although it is not enough to completely block cosmic rays, it can still provide sufficient radiation protection."
Zhang Rongqiao presented the latest radiation dose simulation results:
"On the surface of the magnetic anomaly zone, if necessary protective technology and equipment are combined, the annual radiation dose received by astronauts can be controlled below 150mSv, which is basically equivalent to the level of the International Space Station, and is much safer than the 500mSv on the surface of the moon."
The venue became lively again.
However, everyone's interest has shifted to Mars.
“But what about the difficulty of landing on Mars?”
Gu Yindong couldn't let the good situation turn around, so he had to use his killer move:
"The moon has only one-sixth of the Earth's gravity, while Mars has one-third. The landing process requires a more complex deceleration system, not to mention the issue of carrying capacity... Our most powerful launch vehicle at the moment is the Long March 14, which has a carrying capacity of about 5 tons in geosynchronous transfer orbit. But to send a payload to Mars, the carrying capacity will drop significantly to about tons due to the need for a higher escape velocity and a longer transfer orbit."
"Even the planned Long March 140 is expected to have a low-Earth orbit carrying capacity of 20 tons and a Mars transfer orbit carrying capacity of only about tons, which is still very limited for manned missions. Even if it succeeds, it will not be able to carry out too many complex research activities like the Apollo missions."
At this point, he tapped the table in front of him to emphasize:
"If we want to build a scientific research station or even a base, we will need a single Mars transfer capability of 50 tons or more... Even if we look at the entire history of human spaceflight, only the Vulcan-Hercules rocket, which is only at the conceptual stage, can achieve such data. At least in the foreseeable future, we have no plans to develop a launch vehicle of this level."
Vulcan-Hercules was the final version of the Energia program, almost twice the size of the Energia that transported the Buran space shuttle.
Because the indicators are too exaggerated, they are generally classified as "hypothetical".
It should be said that Gu Yindong's move really hit the weak spot of the Mars plan.
The upper limit is low.
Things like the fight for leadership are mainly about gimmicks. In this matter, even if you launch a hundred unmanned probes, it is better to send a real person up once.
If we calculate within a 10-year window, it is still possible to produce a Long March 9 that can support manned lunar landing, but we need to increase the thrust by nearly double the power...
There really isn't enough time.
Director Sun Yanlai, who had not made a clear statement, followed up and said, "Chief Engineer Zhang, your discovery is indeed important, but as Academician Gu said, the technical challenges of landing on Mars itself still exist..."
The meeting fell silent. Everyone knew he was telling the truth.
Unless there is some revolutionary technological breakthrough.
At this stalemate, Zhou Pingjian, chief designer of the manned space program, cleared his throat and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to propose a plan that may be overlooked." He paused and said, "Academician Chang Haonan proposed a deep space exploration transit station a few years ago."
A low murmur immediately broke out in the meeting room.
In fact, most of the people here have heard of this project, but it has not been taken into consideration within the “next ten years” period.
In fact, if someone else came up with a similar idea, it would not even be considered a serious "project."
It can only be considered a plan at best.
That is to say, Chang Haonan is not yet 40 years old this year, and he has 20 to 30 years to follow up personally, so he is more serious.
Sun Yanlai frowned slightly: "Chief Engineer Zhou, that project is too advanced. To build a transfer station at the Earth-Moon Lagrange point, the technology and resources required-"
"But it is theoretically feasible," Zhou Pingjian insisted, pulling up a diagram of orbital mechanics. "If we build a transfer station at the L4 point, we can send supplies and personnel to Mars or the Moon in stages. We will first use conventional rockets to transport the components to the transfer station, where they can be refueled in orbit or assembled into larger spacecraft."
He had not made any preparations in advance, so he had to draw a simple graphic demonstration: "If the on-orbit refueling solution is considered, the mass requirement for a single launch will be greatly reduced, whether it is the moon or Mars. More importantly, the mission departing from the transfer station can allow a larger time window, use a lower energy transfer orbit, and save 30%-40% of the propellant."
This time, even Wu Ji, who first advocated aiming at Mars, couldn't help but shake his head:
"But that would require dozens of launches and in-space assembly. The upfront cost and time are difficult to estimate. What's more, the relevant technologies are all still in the technical demonstration or even preliminary plan stage. It's hard to say when they can officially enter the development stage..."
"..."
It is true that he wants to advance the Mars project, but he will not do anything to achieve it.
The environment on site became noisy again. Technicians from different units and research directions expressed their opinions one after another, and for a moment they seemed a little anxious.
Suddenly, the small door in the corner of the conference room was pushed open.
A young liaison officer walked in quickly with an undisguised excitement on his face. He quickly came behind Director Sun Yanlai, leaned over and whispered a few words.
Under nearly a hundred gazes, Sun Yanlai's expression changed from surprise at first to confusion, and then quickly turned to shock.
He first raised his head and pulled the microphone, as if he wanted to say something to everyone, but after hesitating for a moment, he covered the microphone again and whispered a few words to the liaison officer again.
Only after the latter nodded three times in a row did Sun Yanlai finally take a deep breath and look at the dozens of people in front of him again.
After a few seconds, he raised his hands and pressed them down, signaling everyone to be quiet:
"Everyone, we just received news..."
Even at this moment, his voice still trembled a little:
"The nuclear reactor magnetohydrodynamic power generation verification project led by Academicians Chang Haonan and Peng Juexian successfully achieved criticality at Jincheng 504 Plant last night. It has been outputting stably for 12 hours and the power is stable at 7.7 megawatts."
There was applause in the conference room, but it was obviously delayed for a moment.
Clearly, there are still a lot of people who don't realize what's going on.
Sun Yanlai gave a more direct explanation:
"This technology is the core of the space transfer base that Lao Zhou just mentioned."
The scene exploded instantly——
A few minutes ago, they were still saying that this thing could not be taken into consideration in the short to medium term.
The reversal came so quickly.
The verification of core technology was completed without any noise?
Sun Yanlai was also in a daze at this moment, and his brain almost stopped working.
But as a leader, you can't be too obvious.
I had no choice but to resort to a delaying tactic.
"Academician Chang is on his way here. He will introduce this achievement in detail at the afternoon meeting...so we will adjourn for the time being."
Sun Yanlai looked around at everyone:
"I think we need to re-evaluate all our options."