Chapter 431 - 422 Skylight Number 2_1

Compared to the conventional version, it underwent many improvements to adapt to the Moon environment.

First of all, the battery was completely upgraded. Because the Moon’s low gravity environment increased the battery weight to 60 kg, and the energy consumption of the joints significantly decreased, the battery life was extended to 10 hours, primarily added to the torso area.

Another significant improvement was to guard against the damage caused by Moon dust and space radiation to the mechanical structure; it was covered with a protective layer adapted from spacesuits, designed to be non-removable to lower the failure rate and weight.

At the same time, because there is no need for pressurization, most of the limbs and torso were fitted with a hard shell support to enhance protection. It doesn’t look as bulky as a normal spacesuit, and it’s much more durable.

Although the spacesuit doesn’t provide pressurization, it does retain a heating function, which can maintain a constant temperature for the robot between minus 80 and minus 20 degrees Celsius. This electricity is supplied by the battery pack on the back, which can provide both heat and serve as an extra power source for additional activities, so the overall appearance of "14" actually looks quite similar to a human astronaut.

The reason for the heating and insulation was because the No. 2 robot wasn’t originally intended for use on the Moon; its systems couldn’t handle extreme low temperatures, with minus 80 degrees being the limit after simple modifications.

After the entire modification, "14" still only weighed 120 kg, while the much more powerful Warrior No.1 robot weighed 300 kg, which would be too troublesome to bring along.

"14" was a presence that required secrecy, and it was only before departure that more became known about it. The Dawn III crew didn’t know much about it either, fortunately, "14" is a strong AI robot, and doesn’t rely on excessive human control.

Once the live broadcast of Dawn III ended, it would be placed on the Moon to undergo various tests and exploration tasks. If found to be convenient to use, attempts would be made to send more to the Moon during the construction process to reduce the need for supplies for the personnel.

But in this mission, it also had a function that allowed for real-time human control. Ding Jihua, who stayed behind in the spacecraft, could control "14" in real-time using VR wearable devices, making up for the disappointment of not being able to descend to the surface.

This was actually a project that New Yuan proactively proposed. After all, a modified No. 2 robot wasn’t much of a concern; even if it was damaged, it wouldn’t matter. On the contrary, it could enable all three astronauts to reunite on the lunar surface, which would undoubtedly be great material for public relations if it could be promoted externally.

Ding Jihua was now practicing the controls using simulation software on his laptop, but he kept encountering inexplicable problems because he was not familiar with it.

Fang Lin, who had the highest level of education, watched for a long time but couldn’t figure out why — he just noted the problem down to query back on Earth later.

He and Ding Jihua had never been to New Yuan’s base and did not understand just how powerful "14" was; they only considered it a somewhat advanced test project.

...

On the evening of July 2nd, in Qiongzhou.

Rayana Al Karri, accompanied by a team from the Abe Space Agency, landed at the airport, where Lin Ju and Academician She personally greeted them.

Rayana Al Karri, a former Abe Air Force pilot and current Deputy Director of the Abe Space Agency, astronaut, had not only been to the International Space Station but also served numerous times as the commander of the ’Mecca’ missions, and had been coming to China for training since the end of last year.

He was not the only astronaut from Abe nor a royal family member, but he held an extremely important title: the first Abe astronaut to set foot on the Moon.

Accompanying him was Ali Alkali, an Abe pilot who had come for training early on.

Among all the trainees, Alkali’s performance was not the best, but he had one key advantage: he possessed a highly proficient foundation in Chinese, with no barriers to either reading Chinese characters or communication, even speaking with a Henan accent.

At least when Lin Ju heard the phrase "That’s great," if it weren’t for the foreign face, he might have mistaken him for a fellow countryman from the Central Plain.

The day after Rayana and Alkali arrived, they held a simple press conference in Qiongzhou.

Many media outlets had been invited, mainly because they had just finished covering the Dawn III mission in Qiongzhou and most had not yet left.

Among them was Susanna who boasted all day about how she had used her sexy body to "capture" Lin Ju. These days, she had been waiting for Lin to call the number on that little piece of paper, even having booked a room in anticipation, but there had been no response.

Knowing that two important figures were going to hold a press conference, she had arrived early at the venue to look for Lin Ju, only to find that only staff members were present before the start, wasting half an hour for nothing.

By around 9 am, as media gradually arrived, they were relatively relaxed, believing that after having just reported a major news story, this hastily arranged press conference probably wasn’t anything important and that they were just attending as a matter of procedure.

However, as more than twenty members of the Aerospace Development Committee and the Abe Space Agency arrived, they began to suspect something was amiss, especially since a red curtain covered the backdrop, adding to the mystery.

Amid a stirring atmosphere of anticipation, Academician She strode to the speaker’s position and announced loudly:

"The main topic of today’s press conference is concerning the Aerospace Development Committee’s first international collaborative manned lunar mission ’Skylight II’, including the crew information and mission timeline."

The journalists below the stage took some time to digest the information of the statement, with only a few recalling the circumlunar flight mission from over a month ago.

"The ’Skylight II’ mission is our country’s second manned lunar mission led by China and the first manned lunar mission conducted in collaboration with other countries. The landing will be jointly undertaken by New Yuan Aerospace Power Company and China’s First Research Institute, and it is expected to send a three-person crew to the surface of the Moon, including one astronaut from Abe.

The Storm Nuclear-Powered Spacecraft and the ’Full Moon’ Moon Lander are responsible for carrying out the Skylight II mission, preliminarily scheduled for July 30 to August 4, with the launch site being the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center."

Susanna, who was still attempting to throw alluring glances at Lin Ju on the stage, paused, her pouting lips forming an "O" shape.

The originally somewhat subdued press conference immediately became extremely lively, and apart from a few official domestic media, no one knew that such a hastily convened press conference would have such significant content.

In the clamor of the media, the red curtain on the backdrop was pulled down, revealing bilingual text on the promotional board:

"Announcement of the Skylight II Mission Crew and the Signing Ceremony of the Cooperation Agreement"

Beside the text was a depiction of the Storm spacecraft, and below were portraits of the four astronauts involved in the mission, with Rayana and Deng Lei positioned at the very center.

Then, representing the Skylight II contracting parties, Lin Ju and the leadership of the First Institute moved slightly towards the center, leaving a considerable gap in the middle.

After the cameras zoomed in for a close-up, two Chinese astronauts and two from Abe entered the stage from both sides.

As they walked into the media’s view in their suits, they immediately caused an even bigger sensation.

The Abe team was naturally Rayana and Alkali, but the Chinese team brought a bigger shock:

To Deng Lei’s right, was Li Wei with his classic flat-top haircut, waving his hand.