Chapter 417

Tick ~ tick ~ Little by little, time passed.

In the command center, everyone raised their heads in unison, staring at the big screen in front of them without blinking.

All the attitude adjustment and orbit change parameters of the Chang'e-4 probe during the lunar landing stage were all entered in advance.

Due to the presence of a signal delay of four minutes and thirteen seconds.

At this stage.

There aren't a lot of operations that people in their ground command center can do.

All they need to do is wait quietly for the results.

It's like waiting for the final judgment.

Plop ~ Plop ~

Someone was so nervous that their hearts were pounding.

Some people folded their hands and prayed silently, believing in theology once in their lives.

It was 5:49 a.m. Yanjing time.

The probe reached the far side of the moon for five minutes and sixteen seconds!

Everyone's eyes stared at the big screen without blinking.

But......

In the next moment, everyone's pupils shrank sharply at the same time.

Because, everyone clearly saw just now that the Chang'e-4 probe, which was originally running smoothly, suddenly tilted the entire probe.

Although the angle of inclination was small and quickly returned to normal, it was keenly captured by the nervous people in the command center.

Followed by.

Alarm sounds began to sound throughout the command center.

The lower left corner of the large screen flashes a dangerous signal.

The entire command center became extremely chaotic in an instant.

"Don't panic, be quiet, give me silence!"

Although Wu Zheng's heart was also troubled, he knew better that the more this time, the more he couldn't panic.

The first priority is to find out what happened.

"Report the situation from all departments!" Wu Zheng asked everyone to calm down while opening his mouth to let all departments investigate the situation.

"The thermal control system is normal!"

"The navigation control system is working properly!"

"The TT&C data transmission system is normal!"

"Signal transmission is normal!"

"Propulsion system, propulsion system...... It's not normal!" A scientific researcher in charge of the propulsion system stood up anxiously, and his tone was hurried, "Chief Engineer Wu, I just checked and found that the two engines on the probe, No. 2 and No. 5, have been damaged!"

"What, it's damaged?!" Wu Zheng held the command platform with both hands, his face was ugly and terrifying.

And Gu Lu, who was standing aside, also turned pale in an instant.

Gu Lu is mainly responsible for the parameter design of the moon landing, and the existence of variable thrust engines is indispensable in the six stages of moon landing.

Damaged two-seater engines, No. 2 and No. 5.

Engine 5 was ok, just a spare engine.

But engine No. 2 ......

In the first stage of the moon landing process, after the final deceleration phase, the next stage of rapid adjustment is mainly completed by engine 2.

Now, engine No. 2 is broken.

That means that during the lunar landing, after the probe completes the main deceleration phase, there will be no rapid adjustment phase directly.

The result of the result.

That is, the probe will only be affected by the gravitational pull of the Moon.

With a gravitational acceleration of 1.63m/s^2, the probe will crash straight into the moon.

So much impact.

The probe is bound to crash, there is no second possibility!

And here, Wu Zheng is still asking the reason.

"Didn't you just check it a few minutes ago, why did two engines suddenly break down!" Wu Zheng stared at the technician.

"It's space wreckage. The technician in charge of the propulsion system had a gray face, "The right wing of the probe hit a piece of space debris left by an unknown country, which directly caused the two engines to be destroyed instantly!"

"!" Wu Zheng slammed the table hard, his eyes bloodshot.

As the overall leader of the project, he certainly knows what it means to destroy two engines at this critical moment.

"Can you withdraw the order for a probe to land on the moon?" said a middle-aged expert next to him.

The corners of Wu Zheng's mouth flashed with bitterness.

He shook his head.

"No more. There is a delay of four minutes and thirteen seconds in our signal, which means that by this time, the probe is almost above the intended landing site. ”

"At this time, the order to stop the moon landing was issued, and it was not ...... at all It's too late!"

Wu Zheng sat on a chair with a dejected face.

"Then we can let the probe return the same way and rise to its original orbit before the probe enters the rapid adjustment stage!" the middle-aged expert suggested again, "Isn't this the same effect as stopping the moon landing directly!"

"No, these two are completely different!" This time it was the person in charge of the propulsion system who rejected the middle-aged expert.

"You're ignoring the issue of fuel. He said in a deep voice, "The fuel that the probe carries this time is limited. ”

"And the No. 2 and No. 5 variable-thrust engines were completely destroyed, including the fuel inside. ”

"And to do the kind of operation you are talking about, it will take quite a bit of fuel. The remaining fuel is no longer enough to complete another operation to land on the moon!"

What the person in charge said was a fact.

Since the Chang'e-4 probe was launched to the moon, there was no thought of returning to Earth.

So the fuel carried on it is not very much.

Due to the presence of signal delay.

When the signal sent by the command center is received by the probe, the probe will definitely be in the main deceleration stage of the moon landing process.

The middle-aged expert's proposed plan is to change the data of the system to accelerate the probe that has completed the main deceleration again, and use the engine to propel it to rise according to the trajectory it originally landed, so that the probe can return to the orbit around the moon with a perilunar point of 100 kilometers.

This approach is really feasible.

But he ignored the fuel factor.

To do this, you need to consume a lot of fuel.

In addition, Engine No. 2 and Engine No. 5, which was used as a spare engine, were destroyed, and the fuel was drained.

If the probe returns to orbit around the moon, the remaining fuel will no longer support it to complete another lunar landing operation.

In simple terms.

The Chang'e-4 probe will become a pile of space junk orbiting the moon!

Or, the probe crashes and becomes a pile of wreckage on the surface of the moon.

Or, return to its original orbit and become a pile of space junk orbiting the moon.

This result is a bit too cruel!

But that's the reality.

An atmosphere of despair permeated the entire command center.

Everyone was silent, not staring.

In the large screen, although it shows that the Chang'e-4 probe is still running smoothly.

But everyone knows.

In ten minutes, the probe will crash on the surface of the moon.

"Isn't there any other way?" said an older expert, in a tone of desperation.