The lunar module of the Chang'e fleet is completely different from that used by the Apollo spacecraft in the original space-time. This is actually a modification of a small transport ship. Originally, this small transport spacecraft was used as a short-distance transport ship at the Tiangong base, in order to save costs, its structure was very simple, basically a set of rocket engines, plus fuel tanks and simple control consoles, and there was no even a life-sustaining device, so it had to be piloted in a spacesuit. Now, after some modifications, it has been given a larger fuel tank and a downward-facing main rocket, and it will be used as a lunar module.

Each of the five spaceships is equipped with four of these lunar modules, which are used as vehicles to and from the lunar surface and orbit around the moon.

After the lunar module gently descended to the surface of the moon and came to a standstill, the hatch opened and the three astronauts walked out. Without saying a word, they got to work. There is no such thing as Armstrong saying to the camera, "This is one small step for me, and one giant leap for humanity!" and so on.

The first person to walk out of the lunar module, that is, the first person to land on the moon in this plane, was Captain Si Wanli of the Space Force, who was originally from the Air Force and has now been transferred to the Space Force.

However, this pretending sentence has already been said by Wen Desi for them.

When the image of them stepping on the moon appeared on the display, the command center was already jubilant.

"It's just a small step for him, but it's a giant leap for humanity!" said in a loud voice as Si Wanli took a cautious step.

"Papapapa......" The command center burst into warm applause.

I saw Captain Si on the screen take out a topographical photo, look around, and compare whether he has indeed landed in the predetermined area taken by the satellite before, and confirm that it is correct. He and his two companions circled around, using their feet and the probes in their hands to make sure the ground was strong enough. Then Si Wanli returned to the lunar module and took out a camera and supporting equipment, and tried to see if the function was normal after connecting it. The two companions took out several cloth boards from the cabin and spread a cross and an arrow on the ground.

At this time, Si Wanli used the radio to call the fleet: "Commander, I am the advance team. The ground has been inspected and there are no problems and the next step can be taken. ”

"Roger!" Fleet Commander Colonel Huang Si immediately contacted the second spacecraft. "Number two, I'm Huang Si. Are you ready?"

"Ready, Commander, it's time to land. ”

I saw that Chang'e-2 started the thrust reverse engine, slowed down, and saw the entire hull descend directly to the moon, aiming at the symbol on the ground. When it reached an altitude of 200 meters, the deceleration engine of the hull was activated and it slowly landed on the surface of the moon.

The landing was very accurate, landing almost directly on the center of the circle. That's for sure, those who can be singled out to drive spaceships are the top ones picked out in the aviation, this guy used to drive Sea Harriers, and vertical landing or something is not a problem at all.

As soon as the hatch opened, more than a dozen people came out of the cabin one after another, two of whom were also driving two electric lunar rovers.

The first time I went to work outside of the earth, everyone was inevitably a little excited and excited. An astronaut said on the channel: "Hey, the scenery of this moon is too ugly, and it is completely different from the earth." ”

"yes, yes, it's ugly, bare and nothing. ”

"Okay, you're not here for a tourist, hurry up and get to work. ”

The crowd immediately began to work, some installed instruments, some drove to explore, and some continued to build landing signs with cloth boards.

"Is there an insurance record for astronauts on the moon for the moon program?" asked Wende-hee.

"Of course there are......" Wen Zebin said beside him: "This is just a routine task, and there will be no danger." The spacecraft is equipped with enough oxygen, food and water for everyone to live for two months, and if you only ask for a signal for help, follow-up rescue will arrive in three days at most, even if you can't evacuate people immediately, there is no problem in replenishment. ”

There is a bridge and a base in Tiangong, and the moon exploration trip is so confident.

Wen Zebin continued to introduce his design to his father: "Although the appearance of these five spaceships is similar, the internal cabins and functions are completely different. No. 1 will be responsible for the return of the moon to and from the Tiangong base, No. 2 and No. 3 will be the center of our first lunar base, and No. 4 and No. 5 will be the basis of the lunar orbital space station. ”

After the astronauts were busy for a long time, they chose a new landing area on the ground and laid the landing plank, and the captain of Chang'e-2 returned to the ship to inform Huang Si: "Commander Huang." It's ready, and the number three can come down. ”

Subsequently, Chang'e-3 also landed in orbit, and the other three spacecraft Hulala lost a total of 8 lunar modules. After falling to the ground, more than 40 astronauts and a dozen robots came out. The astronauts brought out several machines and equipment to join the work on the ground, and the robots were also directed by several astronauts to work.

Of course, these robots don't look like people at all, some look like spiders, some look like scorpions, and some look like toy cars with robotic hands, none of them look like people anyway.

Fleet Commander Huang Si was also among the group, and he first looked around, and then ordered the four ships in orbit to drop the containers.

A few minutes later, a whole batch of 64 large containers was thrown out of orbit by the spacecraft, and after landing at a certain distance, the radio altimeter was activated, and the retro mounted at the four corners of the container ignited, and under the action of the rocket, the containers slowed down the landing. This airdrop method was not actually developed for the moon landing. Rather, it was a plan used by the Air Force to airdrop armored vehicles and paratrooper fighting vehicles at low altitudes, and it was just taken over by the moon landing team and used by them.

Seeing the rocket ignite, the personnel on the ground immediately took over the control, and activated several positions around the container through radio remote control to adjust the position of the rocket, so that they landed in a closer place to facilitate handling. As soon as the container landed, several people rode over in two electric vehicles. They first found two containers containing vehicles, drove six electric lunar rovers from them, and then the group dragged all the containers back to the spaceship, opened them, took things out of the middle and moved them into the spacecraft, and assembled some instruments on the spot.

This includes 10,000 square meters of solar panels crammed into six containers. As soon as the astronauts removed them from the containers, they began laying and installing them, which will serve as the main source of electricity for the lunar base. Several machines were also arranged. In addition to the standard several detector antennas, telescopes, mirrors and searchlights, electric furnaces, excavators, drilling rigs and other equipment are readily available.

This is the first time that humans have landed on the moon in this plane, but it is not a simple "lunar exploration", and it is definitely not like the Apollo spacecraft in the original space-time, mining a few pieces of ore and going back. China's first moon landing was a systematic project, including landing, exploration, and base building, all of which were completed at one time.

The Moon's gravity is low, only one-sixth that of the Earth, so it's easy to get to work, not to mention robots. In particular, the four crab-shaped handling robots are particularly powerful, and one robot can move a container. These containers are similar to containers, and most of them are very regular shapes.

After the empty containers were moved, everyone worked together to drag the empty containers to the two spaceships that had landed, removed the doors at both ends, arranged them neatly into several hollow squares and strips, and then welded the containers together with an electric welding torch, and then closed them with super glue inside and outside the weld to make them airtight. Finally, four small airlock chambers were installed on the outlets, which were also welded and then sealed with glue. After completion, gas is poured into the air to test the air tightness. Then the people dug up the soil around it, and then the soil was piled up thick on top of the container, which was to strengthen the container's shell's ability to block all kinds of radiation in the universe, so that it could be used as a temporary residence.

"Well, this design is good, the container is the main body of the base room, so it makes full use of the transportation capacity and saves costs!"

"However, it is precisely because of the cost that the shell is not made in full accordance with the standards of space, and some lunar soil must be added to it as a place to live. To be on the safe side, radiation alarms are installed in the base rooms of such containers. Wen Zebin said. "Such a room is mainly used as a warehouse or something, and the astronauts' living is mainly carried out in the main body of the spacecraft......"

On the surface of the moon, Huang Si looked around and felt that something seemed to be missing. After thinking about it, it suddenly dawned on him, so he ran into Chang'e-2, took out a five-star red flag and planted it on the ground, declaring this place to be Chinese territory.

The act of "pop ......" made a warm applause in the command center.

"Mr. Wen, this is the moon is our China, and this is our country's first territory outside the earth...... "Major General Lin Feng, the commander of the moon landing operation, said excitedly.

Wen Desi smiled and nodded: "Of course, no one can rob us, hahaha......" He looked back at the earth at this time, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of superiority.

When you powers are still beating the brains of people on the earth, we are already exploring the sea of stars.

He instructed: "The moon base is just the beginning, it is a dock for us to march to other planets, and it is also our mineral base, so this base should be built well......"

He had no interest in relying on the moon landing to show off his national power, he was only interested in the resources of the moon, and after he came, he did not plan to leave. Chang'e-2 and Chang'e-3 were the foundations of the first permanent lunar base, and the containers were the various outer rooms of the base.

While most of the people were building houses, a few others found a large number of lunar soil, rocks, and core column specimens drilled by drilling machines, totaling about six tons, and the actual weight was only about one ton due to the low gravity environment. They slowly moved it to a transfer module attached to Chang'e-2, where a human pilot launched a rocket to return lunar rock and soil samples to Chang'e-1.

Later, after Chang'e-1 received the lunar rock specimens, it started the engine to accelerate out of the lunar orbit and returned to the Tiangong base to send the lunar rock specimens. Only Chang'e-4 and Chang'e-5 remain in lunar orbit as the basis for the lunar orbital space station.

After Chang'e-1 returned, Wen Desi and several bigwigs who came to visit took the sky train back to Earth. It is also impossible for them to stay on the space station for a long time.

..............................................................................

Although the scale of China's moon landing this time is large, there is no public or large-scale publicity, and it is only carried out in a very low-key manner. And it's not just a one-time visit, Chang'e-1 returns to the Tiangong base, and after unloading lunar rock and soil samples, it will be re-hung on a container and loaded with goods, which will be used as a transport ship to transport follow-up materials, equipment and personnel to the moon again, forming regular flights. Later, three spacecraft were added to this flight, making a total of four spacecraft to travel between the moon and Tiangong, ensuring that at least one spacecraft could go back and forth every day.

The retrieved lunar rock samples will be used for analysis, and then compared with the on-site analysis data brought by Chang'e-3, which will be used as the basis for the design of resource assessment and refining equipment. As for the name of the first lunar base, it was named "Guanghan Palace".

After the construction of the Guanghan Palace base was completed, the astronauts ran around in an electric lunar rover for subsequent search expeditions and retrieved samples from various places. Three months later, the lunar exploration team drew a map of the distribution of resources within 1,000 kilometers around the Guanghan Palace.

The moon is rich in mineral resources, especially the reserves of some rare metals are more than those on the earth.

For example, rare earth elements, uranium and thorium, which are relatively small on Earth, abound on the Moon. Krippite, one of the three major rock types in the lunar highlands, is rich in potassium, rare earth elements and phosphorus, as well as thorium and uranium. Crip rocks are widely distributed on the Moon, and the krips of the thorium and uranium-rich storm ocean zone are overlain by the later lunar sea basalts, which mix and form high foci and uranium materials, the thickness of which is estimated to be 10-20 km. The total resources of rare earth elements contained in the Krip rock in the storm ocean area alone are about 22.5 billion tons to 45 billion tons. The abundant thorium and uranium contained in the krip rock are also one of the important mineral resources for human development and utilization of lunar resources in the future.

Common materials and metals are also very abundant on the moon, taking iron as an example, only the 5 cm thick sand on the surface of the moon contains hundreds of millions of tons of iron, and the entire lunar surface has an average of 10 meters of sand. Iron on the surface of the moon is not only abundant, but also easy to mine and smelt. In addition, the iron ore on the moon mainly exists in the form of iron oxide, which is quite pure, and only needs to separate oxygen and iron when smelting.

But according to the assessment of the Chang'e task force, lunar mining is unprofitable in the short term. The reason is that the freight of mining lunar resources and transporting them to the earth is too high, and the cost cannot compete with the earth's resources. In fact, it is not only the lunar resources, but most of the space resources at this stage. It can't be made unless it is processed into materials or tools that cannot be produced on earth, such as metal foam.

Not to mention transporting it back to the earth, even if the metal is smelted on the moon and then transported to low-earth orbit for use as a material, it is not worth it, which is much more expensive than smelting metal on the earth and then projecting it into orbit with a bridge to the sky. Therefore, although the moon is rich in various metals, it is still unrealistic to use it on the earth, and the cost is too high.

Therefore, at the beginning of the 21st century, when the United States proposed to "return to the moon", it only focused on helium-3, a scarce resource on the earth. Compared with other resources, the development of helium-3 on the moon is cost-effective, because in the case of the same amount of power generation, the cost of using the lunar energy helium-3 is only 10% of the current power generation cost of nuclear power plants, such as the price of oil, the market valuation of helium-3 at that time was about 8 billion US dollars per ton, and their estimate of all the costs of mining helium-3 on the lunar surface, refining and transporting it back to the earth is 200 million US dollars per ton, which is definitely a super "gold mine" on the moon.

Helium-3 is good, helium fusion using deuterium and helium-3 can be used as an energy source for nuclear power plants, and this fusion reaction will not produce neutrons, only non-radioactive protons, so the use of helium-3 as an energy source will not produce radiation and will not bring harm to the environment. It is a safe, pollution-free, easily controlled form of nuclear fusion that can be used not only in ground-based nuclear power plants, but is particularly suitable for astronautics.

But helium-3 is scarce on Earth. Helium makes up only 5 parts per million of the entire Earth's atmosphere, and helium-3 accounts for only 14 parts per million of this helium. Even if all the helium-3 in the earth's atmosphere is separated, it is only 500 kilograms, and if you add the seawater and soil, it is only 15 tons. And on the moon the situation is very different. Since there is no global "dipole magnetic field" protection on the moon, the solar wind containing rare gas ions such as helium, neon, argon, and krypton can drive straight into the moon for a long time and continuously shoot directly to the lunar surface, so that the lunar soil is rich in helium3. The reserves of helium-3 in the surface soil of the moon are estimated at 500 million tons, and more than 1 million tons are easily extracted.

According to the current energy use of the earth, about 30 tons is enough for all mankind for one year, even considering future development and population increase, just the easily exploitable part of helium-3 is enough for human beings for thousands of years.

But now it is still a little early for the large-scale mining of helium-3, after all, the technology tree of fusion reactors is too high, even if China has Wen Dehei in the plane, but there is no research on fusion reactors is still in the laboratory stage, according to the current progress, it will take at least five to ten years to achieve a breakthrough and commercialization. Therefore, in the short term, at most a few kilograms of helium-3 will be mined and sent back to the fusion research institute as experimental material.

However, according to Wen Desi's habit of stockpiling goods, he is now also ready to gradually develop helium 3, even if he doesn't need it, he can throw it in the warehouse, anyway, it's not food, and it can't be broken.

Of course, the high cost of shipping to lunar resources can also be improved in some ways. For example, the creation of mass projectors on the lunar surface can significantly reduce transportation costs.

Because the gravity of the moon is only one-sixth of that of the earth, and more importantly, there is no atmosphere, so even with the specifications of the Tongtian Bridge, it only needs to build a length of 110 kilometers, and because the vacuum is higher than the earth, the huge set of pumping and operation heat dissipation series is completely omitted, so the cost is much lower than the earth's Tongtian Road, and the cost of all 100 kilometers is estimated to be no more than 1 billion Chinese yuan.

In addition, there is a more extreme approach, that is, instead of using the 2.75G low-acceleration projection mode of Tongtianqiao, the high-acceleration projection mode with higher G-digit will be used. For example, if the number of G is increased to 30G projection, the orbit length can be reduced to less than 11 kilometers, and the cost can be compressed to about 100 million yuan. Of course, this would deprive the lunar base of its ability to project personnel and conventional instruments, but it would be fine if the moon was used as a mine to project minerals or metal blocks.

However, even so, the moon as a mining field is only one of the goals of China's space mines. The reason is simple, because Comrade Moon has a very strong contender, and that is the "near-Earth asteroid swarm".

Because there is no gravity on the asteroid, the transportation cost is lower than that of the Moon, if you can build a mining station on the asteroid to refine the metal, and establish a light mass projection orbit to continuously launch the smelted metal back to the Earth-Moon system, then the cost will be much lower than mining from the Moon and then launching it into orbit. Although it may take years to fly and be captured by a tug after the launch of the inertial metal block after entering the Earth-Moon system, it can be launched every day, and then lost and received every day.

Of course, this is also conditional, that is, it must wait until a smelter and mass projector can be established in the asteroid belt. And this will take a long time, depending on the development of aerospace technology. For now, however, exploration of the asteroid belt has already begun.

Therefore, at present, China's plan for the moon is secondary to minerals, mainly as a large-scale experimental base and space factory, as well as the first station of human interstellar navigation and a transit station for interstellar migration. The surface of the moon has a high vacuum, no magnetic field, stable geological structure, weak gravity and high clean environment, and the far side of the moon is not interfered with by the earth's radio waves. The Moon is also an ideal place to study lunar science, astrochemistry, space physics, life sciences, Earth observation science, and materials science.

The establishment of astronomical observatories on the Moon can be carried out independently of the Earth's atmosphere, and observations can be made in the bands ranging from Kama rays to long radio bands. An array of interferometers of any wavelength can be set up on the moon, and the quiet environment on the lunar surface can ensure the accuracy of its measurements. Some astrophysical phenomena such as supernova explosions and kama-ray bursts can be observed in different wavelength bands.

According to the results of the exploration, there is water at the poles of the moon, with a total amount of more than 500 million tons, that is, there is no shortage of water. In addition, oxygen and hydrogen are obtained after electrolysis of water, so there is no shortage of oxygen. Therefore, there are much fewer materials that need to be transported to the base of Guanghan Palace.

As for the lack of energy, on the moon, the cheapest energy source is solar energy, since there is no air on the moon, the sun can shoot directly on the moon without being blocked and attenuated, therefore, solar energy is strong and efficient. At the same time, the axis of rotation of the Moon is basically perpendicular to the ecliptic plane, and as long as a solar photovoltaic power generation base is built on the Moon, it can provide very abundant and cheap electricity.

And let's not forget about the abundance of uranium deposits on the Moon, which are not cost-effective to ship back to Earth, but it is still cost-effective to build a fission nuclear power plant on the Moon. And you don't have to worry about pollution like you do on Earth.

After the problems of energy, water and oxygen are solved, according to Chinese custom, the Guanghangong base will soon open up a field and plantation, so that some food can be self-sufficient. Therefore, the Moon is very suitable as a transit point for interstellar migration.