Chapter 351 - 343 Adventure_1

Artemis II mission crew list:

Jeremy Hanson, Canadian astronaut;

Victor Glover, astronaut (Black);

Reid Wiseman, commander;

Christina Koch, payload specialist (female).

Including foreigners, people of color, and women, it was clear that the correctness of the Artemis II mission was beyond question.

According to the original plan, the second mission was to orbit the Moon, the third to land on it, and the crew of the third mission was essentially the same, with two people remaining in orbit, and women and people of color landing on the Moon...

Although Claire really wanted to criticize, she had no particular preference as to who would land first or later; those involved in the Artemis program were all elite, the best of the best, and their capabilities were definitely up to par.

When she came to find the Artemis II mission crew, she was taking a risk.

Or rather, bringing them an adventure.

When Claire arrived, the four astronauts were resting in the lounge of the training center in Houston. They were very surprised to see Claire and extended a warm welcome.

After Claire came in alone and closed the door, she signaled them to be quiet, which surprised the astronauts.

Taking the coffee handed to her by Wiseman, Claire first inquired about the recent status and training results of the four astronauts. She also asked about their childhood dreams and their families’ attitudes, all quite ordinary questions. Yet, the four astronauts could see the pulse of history throbbing in each other’s eyes.

After a long while, Claire finally steered the conversation toward landing on the Moon:

"Do you know, during the Apollo 10 mission, Director James Webb was very afraid that Thomas and Eugene would incite John. Those guys were never quiet, and with just a flick of a switch, they could have become the first men to land on the Moon.

Even though we only loaded half the fuel in the lander, we couldn’t bet on whether they would risk their lives for the title of being the first."

The only woman, Christina, smiled and said, "Mister Director, you don’t have to worry about that now. The Orion spacecraft doesn’t have a lander, and the real lander won’t be launched until December.

If we wanted to compete... uh, to be the first person of the 21st century to return to the Moon? I’m afraid we’d have to jump down in our spacesuits, and maybe I’d have to throw Victor out to gain the momentum to de-orbit."

"Hahaha..."

The joke from Christina triggered laughter among the other three, which Claire waited quietly for to subside. With her fingers interlaced, she looked down at the table and said the following words:

"No, HLS will be launched in July."

Commander Reid Wiseman felt a jolt in his heart, and then it started to beat uncontrollably.

He opened his dry lips and asked in a low voice:

"But the fuel launched by ’Blue Moon’ wasn’t enough..."

Claire: "The fuel will be launched the day before you or two days before."

At this point, all four had fully understood Claire’s intentions, but the fact was so astonishing that they found it hard to believe, exchanging frantic glances with each other.

Claire now spoke up, not hiding her explanation at all:

"You should know that CASA’s ’Full Moon’ has been completed, and they’ve brought back 78 kilograms of Moon Soil. The dummy test was also very successful. From any perspective, Dawn 2 was a very successful mission."

Wiseman: "Are you saying... they might risk a moon landing with the third rocket launch?"

Christina covered her mouth: "Oh my God, they built a rocket in just six months, which means by August, during the Artemis II mission, they would have already..."

Claire nodded, "Yes, the Apollo 10 mission could have landed on the Moon, too, and now, technically speaking, landing on the Moon without carrying out a manned test is not an exaggerated risk at all, CASA could totally do it."

"But they’re very conservative, and they’ve said they wouldn’t land on the Moon until the fourth mission. They don’t have any experience with moon landings or building such heavy rockets."

The Canadian astronaut Jeremy tried to argue, but Claire said:

"The development speed of CZ-10 and the Dawn Spaceship almost set a record for humanity. They are the leading industrial nation. As long as they’re willing to invest, there’s nothing they can’t do!

The Dawn project is a risk in itself, and all of you know their success rate, right? If the Artemis program loses, then it loses everything.

’Blue Moon’s launch is public, everyone in the world knows that without enough fuel, the HLS can’t land on the Moon. It’s an illusion, in reality, we’ll launch a fuel module before you lift off, giving the world only a few days to react, just like Union’s ’Eastern’ plan, it’s all part of a meticulously planned strategic deception."

After thinking for a while, Reed Wiseman slowly said:

"Assuming Dawn III is set for August 12, then we must launch Artemis II before that, and then... tell no one, we all keep quiet about our actual moon landing preparations, right?"

Jeremy: "But the whole world will know when we launch the fuel tank."

Victor: "By then, it’ll be too late. We’ll have docked with the HLS, then board and land on the Moon. Just like that, and the first place will be ours."

Wiseman: "No, no, no, we have never tried docking in moon orbit..."

Victor: "The ’Gateway’ has already done it! It’s simple technology!"

The four astronauts continued to argue incessantly, and Claire waited patiently for them to wind down before raising the most critical issue:

"Everyone, NACA will not admit that launching the fuel tank is requesting Artemis II to take a risk prematurely. It’s just a routine launch plan. If you dock with HLS and use it to land on the lunar surface, it will all be the most courageous adventure in spaceflight history performed by you four."

The room immediately fell silent. After a while, Christina tentatively asked:

"Houston won’t lock the computers and leave us on our own, right?"

Claire: "After the fuel module is launched, it will immediately refuel the HLS. The Orion spacecraft has an automated docking program with HLS, and ground control won’t interfere. Besides, with your skills, even a manual docking should be no problem, and there will be enough fuel.

Once you’re inside the HLS, Houston will cooperate with the official moon landing procedures. Moreover, the automation of the Orion spacecraft and HLS is very high, and your training is fully qualified. As for locking the programs? That would be endangering the lives of astronauts."

So, this is an "adventure" that is well understood by both the astronauts and the ground crew?

The four of them had fully understood, and Reed Wiseman asked one last question:

"Does John know about this?"

Claire didn’t say a word, just handed each of them the highest VIP card from John’s family business shopping mall, and everything was self-explanatory.

After Claire left, Victor Glover broke the silence with an attempt at lightening the mood, looking at the others as they exchanged glances.

"Hey guys, maybe we need to step up our training."