"Warm congratulations on the successful launch of the 'Tianzhou' cargo spacecraft."

On April 29, the Tianzhou-1 cargo spacecraft was launched on a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Site for the first replenishment mission to the Tiangong space station in 2016, with a total of 13.5 tons of cargo, including 100 kilograms of vegetables.

The reason why the Xinyuan series of rockets was not used is because the Xinyuan 5A, which has the same capacity as the Long March 2F, is not cheap, and the external price is 150 million, which is actually not much cheaper than the Long March 2F.

The Long March-2F is a normal temperature fuel rocket, and the price is tens of millions more, so let's support our own aerospace......

Six astronauts who have been in space for nearly 50 days have eaten fresh vegetables that have been picked for no more than 10 hours, and praised the ground.

Fresh vegetables can also be eaten in the Tiangong space station, and the "Tianhe" core module has undergone in-depth transformation, with a special soilless cultivation room, with small cabbage, small rape, eggplant, tomatoes and so on.

But the 100 kilograms of vegetables come from the ground, and the more varieties obviously make the astronauts more excited, and they can also prepare about 30 kilograms of vegetables to bring back when they return to the next mission, so that the ground can taste a few bites of real space vegetables in addition to scientific research.

This can't wait long, the first batch of wealthy people who have purchased space station travel packages are expected to go to the sky around May 10, that is, Chen Weizhang and another coal boss, as well as the old devil Beiqian choose friends.

They will return after seven days at the former Yungong space station, the XS-62 tourist module, and will be taken out of the capsule once.

The extravehicular spacesuit they used is really one-time, the price is 50 million, and the profit margin of 100% is not high, and when they go down, they can take it home to commemorate it, which is very meaningful.

There is also an official launch mission in May, or semi-official: the Chang'e-4 mission.

Due to Xinyuan's intervention, the overall mass of Chang'e-4, which is to be launched by Xinyuan-5B, has reached 8 tons, and the lander must be redeveloped, and two rovers will be released after landing on the lunar surface.

The landing site was determined during a month of intensive observation at Queqiao, which will land in the Von Kármán impact crater on the far side of the Moon.

This will be the first time that mankind has allowed a spacecraft to land and investigate on the far side of the moon, and the biggest feature is that it uses relay satellites for communication and navigation, so that it can explore the true face of the back of the moon.

The Chang'e-4 mission weighed 3.4 tons and carried the space agency's 150-kilogram Yutu-2 lunar rover and the 420-kilogram Xinyuan "Explorer" robot.

That's right, it's robots.

"That's it...... Explorers? ”

Lin Ju looked at the ugly mechanical eight-legged spider on the empty field in confusion.

When the system mall was opened, he bought the technology of the lunar surface walking robot, and then handed it over to the engineers to work on the lunar surface probe, and the result was a big spider? Not to mention that this thing is ugly, right?

The engineers explained to him, "Don't look at the Explorer 1...... In fact, it is also quite good, and the performance is also very good, it can move 3,000 meters per hour on the moon at the fastest, and Yutu-2 is only 200 meters per hour, and the Explorer 1 is much stronger. ”

"So fast!"

Lin Ju couldn't believe it, even if he could climb so fast in the low gravity environment of the moon, the battery could really bear it?

He has just seen the data, the explorer does not have any black technology power supply, it is a very ordinary nickel-metal hydride battery, the longest continuous activity time of 150 minutes will be able to charge the lander with a large area of solar panel array, or the folding small solar panel on his back.

In addition to the space agency's traditional folding solar panels, the 2.8-ton lander is equipped with a number of additional solar panels, which are ready to be moved out by the explorer and placed as a charging source.

Of course, the explorer also has a nuclear battery, which is a measly 20W RTG (isotope battery) with a maximum power of 20W, which generates electricity with isotope decay heat, which is only enough power to keep the chipset working and maintain the temperature of key components through heat.

Yutu No. 2 also has it, but the power is lower, just 5W.

These two types of isotope batteries are provided by the space agency, and the technology is similar, and the explorer just zooms in on a little and makes do with it.

Aramco will launch the "Curiosity" Mars rover in a few years, the 45 kg nuclear battery that can provide 140W power is really eye-catching, but Xinyuan is also about to have, Cheng Nankai said that this is a gadget, before the end of the year, it can make 50 kg to provide 280W power of the big guy, the efficiency is very high, and it can already meet the needs of many spacecraft.

Of course, before that, explorers still have to find ways to save energy.

Engineer: "There are two ways for the explorer to move, one is crawling, but this is used when carrying weight or working, it can move about 0.3 meters per second, but it consumes a lot of electricity, and the eight mechanical legs run out of power after more than 40 minutes."

The second is the energy-saving and fast rush mode, marching in a jumping way, eight mechanical legs only need to provide 200 kg of bounce force to jump high and far, relying on the mechanical legs in all directions to adjust the center of gravity in the air to land safely, a bounce is about 1.22 seconds, 2.48 meters forward, each time you complete a bounce to the next bounce it takes 3.2 seconds, a minute to advance 46.5 meters, an hour to advance 3000 meters is no problem. ”

"Can the battery last that long?"

"In the case of ensuring a 30-minute scientific research mission and a round trip, the 240-kilogram battery can ensure about 800 jumps and advance about 2,790 meters.

If the lander is used as a charging station, then the activity range cannot exceed 1500 meters, of course, the explorer can also be charged with its own solar cells, but it must be charged for at least 100 hours, and when there is sun, it can be fully charged in about half a month. ”

Lin Ju couldn't help nodding: "It's okay, it's very good, the explorer robot is completely beyond my imagination." ”

The explorer robot was actually completed in February, and when communicating with the space agency, the other party was shocked by the boldness and advancement of the explorer's technical route, but the space agency, which had been shocked to the point of numbness, finally matched him with a task based on the explorer's performance.

For example, the explorer has eight flexible claws, which can help wipe the moon dust on the surface of the solar panel with a small built-in wiping board, and can also help Yutu-2 escape from danger.

As for the explorer's own footwork technology, it can't be tested on the earth, and can only be tested with a model, because the dead weight of 420 kilograms on the earth can't be lifted by a mechanical leg with a rated total bounce force of about 200 kilograms, so it can't be tested......

On May 1, the Chang'e-4 mission was officially announced to the public and is scheduled to be launched a week later on May 8.

At the same time, the strange monster in the detector, the explorer robot was also revealed.

(End of chapter)