At the IEA (Interstellar Exploration Alliance) Pacific Base, in the Science Group Aerospace Research Institute Super Laboratory 3.

A spacecraft with a length of 80 meters and a maximum width of 30 meters is moored in the center of the superlab.

Directly below the spacecraft is a platform that can rotate at multiple angles, and the platform is connected to a straight orbit that leads to the core area of the IEA base.

It is estimated that the spacecraft will be carried by the propulsion rocket through this orbit directly to the launch platform in the core area of the base.

Unlike the sci-fi movies that Yuan Haochen has seen before, the appearance of the real spaceship looks far less cool than imagined, and it seems that there is still a big gap between fantasy and reality.

For the most part, the spacecraft looks like a large capsule.

For a moment, Yuan Haochen even had the illusion of looking at "Tianjin Cannabis Flower".

However, in strong contrast to the rustic exterior, the interior of the spacecraft is indeed very technological. Every component of this spacecraft embodies the most advanced science and technology in all fields on Earth.

The main structure of the spacecraft consists of an orbiter, three outer storage tanks, and four solid rocket boosters.

In terms of system, it can be divided into several parts, such as communication system, power supply system, temperature control system, telemetry system, attitude control system, orbit change system and propulsion system.

According to Dr. Lily, the spacecraft throws away an outer storage tank every time it flies, while the solid rocket boosters and orbiters can be recycled and reused.

But taking into account the stability and safety of the spacecraft structure, the orbiter can be reused up to 200 times, and the booster can be reused no more than 30 times.

"This is the most advanced spaceship at the IEA's Pacific base, the Starship." Dr. Lily proudly explained that this was the work of her and the Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

"It's not what I imagined." This is the first time that Yuan Haochen has observed a spaceship so closely.

"Starship is already the pinnacle of the current space flight technology, and it has reached the peak and bottleneck of the existing technical level in terms of flight capabilities." Dr. Lily folded her hands around her chest and continued, "Although the IEA organizes the Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics to develop new drive technologies, they are not yet mature. ”

"Dr. Lily, with the starship's space capabilities, what is the approximate radius of the range that can be covered during interstellar voyages?" Yuan seems to have a strong interest in this issue.

"Starship and its rocket propulsion system can already surpass the third cosmic velocity (the speed required for an artificial vehicle to escape the sun's gravity and fly out of the solar system, 16.7 km/s), and if we can take full advantage of the ejection effect of the gravitational pull of the surrounding planets, we can accelerate further. We are also working on a technology that uses the energy of the solar sail to continuously accelerate the spacecraft. Dr. Lily thought for a moment and continued.

"Dr. Lily means that, theoretically, we can already fly out of the solar system." Yuan Haochen said with a smile when he heard that he already had a rough idea of the starship's aerospace capabilities here.

"You're right, it's just theoretical. The real challenge is how to provide enough resources for astronauts to survive in the vastness of space. Dr. Lily added.

"With Starship's current space capabilities, how long will it take to reach Mars?" Yuan Haochen asked the question he was most concerned about at the moment.

"If we get to Mars, even if we choose the optimal route, calculated at the fastest speed, it will take almost three months." Dr. Lily gave this answer after careful calculation.

"Nearly three months, which is eight times shorter than the time it took for NASA to land on Mars more than a decade ago." Yuan Haochen secretly thought to himself, this time was acceptable for him.

"It seems that at this rate, by the time we fly out of the solar system, the young astronauts will have become Uncle Hus." Yuan said to Dr. Lily with a smile.

"Uncle Hudge? I guess it's still allowed to carry razors on spaceships. Hearing this, Durunik on the side stroked his beard and echoed.

"That's right, for now, it's a rather negative fact." Dr. Lily seemed to be thinking about something, sighed and continued, "We can't wait to push forward with a new round of space propulsion technology revolution. ”

"I'm looking forward to your good news." Hara and Durunik smiled goodbye to Dr. Lily

After returning to the Institute of Astrophysics, Yuan began to think about and formulate a specific interstellar voyage plan for landing on Mars according to the current interstellar navigation capabilities of the IEA Pacific Organization.

Although the plan for Mars exploration cannot be decided by a new member like him.

However, Yuan Haochen has always been 100% enthusiastic and has made various efforts to make this plan as good as possible.

"For the vast universe, our current human space capabilities are indeed too weak." Yuan Haochen thought about it, this is a reality that has to be faced.

At present, the first man-made spacecraft to fly out of the solar system was the Voyager 1 space probe, launched on 5 September 1977.

The Voyager 1 space probe is the farthest man-made vehicle to Earth to date, and the first man-made object to enter interstellar space.

In 2011, the Voyager 1 space probe successfully accelerated by the gravitational pull of Jupiter and then Saturn, and obtained the third cosmic velocity needed to escape the gravitational constraints of the Sun. After more than 30 years of flight, it reached the final junction between the edge of the solar system and interstellar space, and gradually entered interstellar space in the subsequent flight.

In 2026, the Voyager 1 space probe ran out of battery, and humanity has lost contact with it ever since.

Today, it is estimated that the Voyager 1 space probe is still moving towards the center of the Milky Way, but it will never return.

In the past decade, in order to explore the shock wave boundary (the zone where the solar wind slows down under the pressure of interstellar gases) and the solar wind sheath (the place where the solar wind slows down and begins to interact with the interstellar medium), mankind has launched two extrasolar probes with more advanced technology: Voyager 3 and Voyager 4.

At the current speed of Voyager 3 and 4, it will take about 10 years for them to catch up with their big brother.

However, this space exploration is limited to unmanned space probes, and manned interstellar travel is a task that most people simply cannot imagine.

One of the biggest problems is rocket propulsion, including power duration and fuel.

To give a more pessimistic example, before experiencing a major technological revolution, with the space technology currently mastered by mankind, it would theoretically take 10,000 years, and at least all the energy that has been produced on the earth will be consumed before human beings can reach the distant Alpha Centauri

However, fortunately, in terms of the current technology organized by the IEA, it is more than enough to meet the needs of the original Haochen Mars exploration program.

(To be continued)