"So," Chris said with a smile.

"So, we took advantage of the situation and made a match with Neo. The opportunity to meet Dr. Schmitz. To be precise, it was I, at Don's behest, who told Dr. Schmitz about our upcoming space exploration program, and promised Dr. Schmitz that if he joined us, we would not only give him a 5% stake in the new company, but also give Dr. Schmitz the maximum financial authority for the development of a new launch vehicle. At present, research funding can reach up to $2 billion in three years! Benjamin said with a smile.

"My Jesus Daddy, two billion dollars in three years! No wonder Neo. Schmitz was desperate to leave Elon behind. Musk, if I were Dr. Schmitz, I would do the same! Gorman said in surprise.

"Yes, it was because of our attitude of investing so much money that Dr. Schmitz was impressed. You must know that the current US military's EELV project has invested more than $3.5 billion in scientific research alone, and even the research and development of the European ATV cargo spacecraft has cost $1.9 billion, but how long did those two projects take? We promised Dr. Schmitz more than ten times the R&D investment per unit of time than the EELV and ATV projects, and the technology mastered by Dr. Schmitz is actually a step in the door, as long as a few more tests are estimated to be able to achieve a breakthrough. Of course, the $2 billion investment over the next three years also includes the purchase of patents related to the Grasshopper rocket, and Dr. Schmitz has assured me that even if he buys all the patents related to the Grasshopper rocket, the remaining funds will be enough for him to do the disaster in the next three years, that is, if there are no major accidents. Within three years, a breakthrough in reusable launch vehicles will be in our hands! Benjamin said proudly.

Tang Feng smiled and waved his hand, stopping Benjamin's desire to continue. "Actually, what attracted us more to Dr. Schmitz was another plan that Benjamin and I customized, that is, the construction plan of the Mars spacecraft. It's a very large plan. With the ultimate goal of building a manned Mars transport spacecraft, interspersed with the construction of an asteroid exploration spacecraft and the development of an asteroid traction engine, we intend to build a spacecraft that can carry people to Mars in the low earth orbit of outer space in the next few years. will be tight when it comes to funding. However, I am confident that I will stick with this plan. Of course, in the process of building this spacecraft, we will not give up the exploration of near-Earth asteroids and even try to mine, so as to lay a good foundation for various technical reserves for large-scale asteroid mining in the future. ”

Chris and Gorman seemed to be listening to heaven's books, and their mouths grew bigger and bigger. Obviously, Tang Feng's words scared them. Long. Chris swallowed two mouthfuls of saliva and said, "Don, what you just said is true?" You and Benjamin aren't fooling me and Gorman here, are you? ”

"Hehe, fooling you? Are there any benefits? Now that I, Tang Fengyi, am not short of money, and not short of people, can I fool you and let me have more? ”

"Oh my God. It's a Martian spaceship, which can only be seen in science fiction movies! ”

"Hehe, in fact, science fiction movies are not a guide to human development in some ways, since movies can be made, then why can't we achieve what is played in the movie?" Tang Feng's confidence is very high.

"But. If you want to land on Mars, it is very different from landing on the moon, just a one-way trip from the earth to Mars, it will take at least nearly two years, and the life support system and fuel system on the spacecraft are not something that can be solved by current human technology! ”

"Actually, it's not necessarily that it can't be solved, it's just that humans haven't done it before. For example, we can build a spacecraft that is larger than the International Space Station, reserve more fuel for the spacecraft to walk, and the spacecraft can also use nuclear power as a source of power, build ecosystems in the spacecraft, etc., in fact, these things can be done with the current technology, but it has not been implemented because of the cost, if there is enough money to support this project, this spacecraft will definitely be built! Of course, this time may be very long, but isn't life to find a goal for yourself? Tang Feng explained with a smile.

Tang Feng is really right when he said this, at present, before mankind has mastered the technology of controlled nuclear fusion, the power of the spacecraft can only use oxidants and reducing agents as raw materials, because in space, the spacecraft relies on the "principle of variable mass motion" to obtain power. That is, the spacecraft is a closed system, and there is a material ejection system (fuel combustion ejection), and the mass of the spacecraft is reduced in exchange for the "force" of increasing speed. Attitude adjustment and orbit change all rely on such "force".

However, neither electricity nor heat can provide power for the spacecraft to move in space, so even if a nuclear reactor is put on the spacecraft, it can only allow the spacecraft to obtain enough power, but it cannot make the spacecraft gain the power to move forward.

Of course, if the ship is large enough and has enough fuel in storage, then it is possible to allow the ship to fly very long distances. From the Earth to Mars, it is not a straight line, but a gravitational force that follows the path of an elliptical orbit. In other words, the path of the spacecraft to Mars is not a straight line, but an arc or elliptical path. Although this increases the flight time a lot, it can save fuel to the greatest extent, because with such a flight path and flight mode, the spacecraft's own fuel consumption is very small, and the power of the spacecraft to move forward is propelled by gravity

Of course, this is a very large plan, but this plan is only a part of Tang's overall plan. This plan is a long-term plan, and Tang Feng doesn't mind going to space or even Mars for mining in the future after a technological breakthrough. However, at this stage, Tang Feng threw out this plan purely to cover up another plan.

Because at present, what Tang Feng needs most is to gain a firm foothold and find a way to make the world's major powers need him Tang Feng, and he can't do without his Tang Feng. And this method must rely on this long-term "space mining" program as a disguise before it can be implemented

Of course, this plan is only clear to Tang Feng himself, because that plan involves the star core (to be continued......