Chapter 1158: Unexpected Effect

"Are you all already preparing to land on Mars?"

Chang Haonan asked half seriously and half jokingly.

Although on this timeline, the time nodes of several major projects of China Aerospace Engineering have not been significantly advanced, but when it comes to basic research, the progress is actually not much slower than the aviation field, which is constantly changing.

But because the new generation launch vehicle is still under development, many plans can only remain on paper.

Luan Wenjie did not directly deny it, but just smiled and waved his hand:

"Landing on Mars is still a bit far away..."

"But we have now proven that we can maintain the normal life and work of astronauts in extraterrestrial space. The next step is to start pre-research on extraterrestrial planet detection technology... such as in-situ material modification and application. As long as the topic is theoretically feasible, it should be included in the pre-research project.”

One generation of equipment, one generation of design, and one generation of pre-research.

Not only the military industry, but also most R&D projects in China adopt similar working methods.

However, after all, not all equipment has the same clear generational classification as fighter jets, so there must be some differences in specific expressions.

After confirming that the other party was serious, Chang Haonan also suppressed the smile on his face:

"Our current exploration of the surface of Mars is still in a relatively preliminary state, so it is difficult to directly draw conclusions about what components are contained in the surface regolith. And if we really want to plant on Mars...or any space in the universe, there will be no soil." The cultivation technology should be very mature, right?”

In fact, there has been a proposal to grow vegetables directly on the International Space Station from the beginning, but in 2004, several experimental cabins had not been built yet, so it had not really started.

Judging from the situation in the previous life alone, the results are quite optimistic.

The most troublesome thing is the weightless environment itself.

But if it is on an extraterrestrial planet, then there is no need to worry about it.

"I didn't mean plants..."

Luan Wenjie replied directly:

"As far as what is known so far, the nitrogen content in the atmosphere of Mars is very low, and it may be difficult to support the growth of common plants on Earth. If we want to use microorganisms or algae to change the environment of the entire planet... it is definitely not ours. It’s something a generation can consider.”

Having said this, he changed the topic again:

"Effectively, we are thinking about doing the necessary production and construction work with in-situ Martian materials..."

At this time, Chang Haonan finally understood.

If we only start from the perspective of maintaining survival, then human beings' demand for food is actually quite limited, and the recycling of water and air is already a fairly mature technology even for the current aerospace industry.

So even if these things are transported from the earth, it is completely acceptable.

But if other consumables and raw materials are also launched to Mars using rockets, the cost will be too outrageous...

He lowered his head and thought for a moment:

"In principle, the material particles formed by space weathering will be sharper than the common sand particles on the earth. Therefore, it is easier to form solid materials with good interlocking properties. In addition, weathering products like basalt or similar rocks are also Can be used to make fiber..."

"But what is still lacking at present is that one must first know the chemical composition of the regolith, and then it is possible to judge the feasibility of modification, or further provide a specific modification plan. The other is that the environment on the surface of Mars is different from that of the Earth. Many materials that we think are usable and useful on earth may have some unknown problems there, and these need to be verified in advance..."

"..."

Anyway, it was just an exchange between the two of them, so Chang Haonan didn't speak too tightly, and just went through all the questions that could be thought of in his mind.

This process alone took almost twenty minutes.

It wasn't until Chang felt that his mouth was dry and he turned around to get a bottle of water that he realized that the other party was not just listening, but had already taken a notebook and written down everything just now.

After noticing Chang Haonan's shocked eyes, Luan Wenjie also showed a mysterious smile, and then put the pen aside:

"Let me summarize it and see if there are any omissions."

After finishing speaking, without waiting for the former to nod, he continued:

"First, we need to obtain the morphology and composition data of the regolith on the surface of Mars. It is best to return samples for detailed analysis."

"Then we will use regolith as raw material to conduct modification tests on the earth's surface and find a technically feasible modification solution."

"The third is to deploy modified Mars in-situ materials or earth materials with similar properties on the surface of Mars for testing to verify their ability to withstand exposure to the Martian atmosphere and radiation environment."

"Then, transport the modified raw materials to the surface of Mars and conduct in-situ modification tests on the regolith..."

"..."

Luan Wenjie didn't just record what Chang Haonan just said.

Instead, he directly listed a rough list of plans.

Although this is still far from a rigorous project plan, it doesn't look like that kind of trivial pre-research...

Chang Haonan put down the mineral water bottle in his hand and sat opposite Luan Wenjie:

"Are you serious about this?"

A trace of hesitation flashed across the latter's face, but in the end he answered frankly:

"Actually, I can't say whether this is true or not..."

As he spoke, he rubbed his temples with some distress:

"We, the Russian Space Agency, and a European space exploration agency are ready to sign a cooperation project in the field of Mars exploration..."

"In terms of purpose, this project is more about expressing a win-win attitude of cooperation, but after all, we still have to actually launch a set of detectors, so we thought, since we have already done it anyway, why not do something practical and useful? Scientific research…”

The sudden amount of information was a bit too much, and even Chang Haonan took a while to savor it.

In the previous life, China did sign a similar cooperation agreement with the Russian Space Agency in 2007. The final product was the Yinghuo-1 orbiter and the Forbes-Soil sample returner.

But the object of the latter study is not Mars itself, but Phobos.

And it failed in the end.

Of course, this timeline has changed beyond recognition now, and it might as well be a little more off.

As for the failure to change orbit after launch...

In fact, as of 2011, humans have launched a total of 40 probes to Mars, of which only 15 eventually reached their destination.

There is a lot of uncertainty in itself.

And detecting Mars is much easier than detecting Phobos.

Nor should we simply hold a pessimistic attitude because of the circumstances of our previous life.

What's more, the situation in China and Russia today is much better than in the previous life, plus Europe...

etc……

Thinking of this, Chang Haonan suddenly realized that something was not right.

"Europe?"

He asked in a somewhat uncertain tone:

"ESA took the initiative to come over and cooperate with us? Or is it on this kind of interstellar exploration project?"

You must know that at the beginning of last year, ESA rejected China's invitation to cooperate in the field of global satellite positioning systems.

Although the subsequent live broadcast of Shenzhou 5 in space was indeed very successful, and it had the purpose of attracting partners from the beginning.

But is the effect a bit too good?

Luan Wenjie shook his head:

"Strictly speaking, it is not ESA, but a commercial space company established in Spain... But this company is a white glove company, and the person who even came to negotiate with us was Bernard Kandel, ESA's policy development adviser. And Director Dordan also confirmed the authenticity of this matter with us in private.”

"Although the other party did not reveal any more information, but..."

He raised his head and glanced meaningfully at Chang Haonan opposite:

"It is probably affected by last year's Shenzhou-5 mission..."