Chapter 563 - 551: Observation

The successful development of the energy extraction system excited many experts involved in the construction on the Moon’s surface, as the synthesis of hydrogen, oxygen, and water greatly facilitated the production of many industrial raw materials.

Other elements were abundant on the lunar surface, but these basic materials were the most consumed. Now that they could be obtained on a large scale in a systematic way, the difficulty of their work was greatly reduced.

The most excited among them was Yang Xinjun, who was competing for the Moon highway project. The biggest difference between his space cement plan and Zhu Bingguang’s 3D printing plan was that it used significantly more water, yet it could greatly exceed in performance.

He couldn’t help but glance at Zhu Bingguang, but the latter remained calm, clearly very confident in his own plan.

Including their teams, the first batch of lunar exploration teams comprised 11 teams, each typically consisting of 3 to 4 people. Most teams corresponded to one project, and it was rare to see competition like theirs.

Of course, this excluded the blasting group, which had its own separate area. There sat the teams of five bidding companies. They were mere observers and did not participate in public speaking, which made them appear particularly mysterious.

It was soon Yang Xinjun’s team’s turn to present, and instead of painting grand visions as usual, he began by introducing their equipment directly.

Over the past few months, with the support and funding of the Moon Base, he had successfully developed a preliminary operational paving machine.

Although called space cement, its application method was quite different from that on Earth, with the biggest challenge being the lunar environment.

The lunar surface was either extremely hot or cold, both over one hundred degrees, with even more extreme environments posing higher temperatures. This would cause ordinary cement to burst and disintegrate into pieces due to thermal expansion and contraction, even if left untouched.

The space cement not only had to withstand such extreme expansion and contraction, but also had to consider how to solidify.

The Earth’s method of adding water, mixing, and waiting for natural solidification definitely wouldn’t work. At very low temperatures, fresh water would directly freeze into ice and disrupt the solidification process, while at high temperatures it would take too long to solidify.

Therefore, the solution Yang Xinjun came up with was pre-casting plus utilizing high environmental temperatures. The space cement would be mixed inside the equipment until it was semi-solidified, and then extruded when the surface to be constructed faced the sun, laying it out flat like rolling paper on the path where the paving machinery had passed.

The specially formulated space cement was extremely sensitive to ultraviolet light and would solidify within seconds under the strong ultraviolet radiation in space, firmly bonding with the pre-compacted foundation that had been cleared by a road roller, with an expected theoretical lifespan of up to 15 years.

His team could now tackle a paving machine with a width of 3 meters and had already produced a prototype weighing a total of 5.2 tons. Both the weight and the width of the construction surface had the potential for further optimization in the future.

And it wasn’t just for paving roads; the space cement he developed could also be used in lunar constructions. Intentionally preserving the rich metallic elements in the Moon Soil, this type of space cement had an excellent ability to withstand space radiation, though it might affect communications within buildings. However, this was a minor issue that could be easily resolved.

In his vision, although the space cement required slightly more associated machinery and materials compared to 3D printing, it was more convenient to use and had a higher yield. In the future, it could become the ideal material for the construction of the Moon Base.

Domestic experts were fine with this, as they’d had plenty of interaction over the past months, but for the foreign teams attending the meeting, it was quite astonishing.

Among them was the quietly observant Bill Nelson, who held a J.D. from the University of Virginia, later entered the military, and then began a political career, progressing to a Florida State Congressman and embarking on the Space Shuttle Columbia for the STS-61C mission in 1986, becoming the second congressman to travel into space.

A lawyer, soldier, congressman, and astronaut, Bill, with multiple BUFFs, was a true traditional elite. He had a profound understanding of the economy, technology, and culture, and in the original timeline, a few years later, he became the NACA Director.

Lin Ju didn’t recognize that this man in his seventies was the future NACA Director. Bill himself didn’t look old and remained in excellent physical condition.

America still ultimately obtained five astronaut spots. Excluding three technical experts and one astronaut, the remaining spot was won by Bill, who had space experience and excellent qualifications.

His main task was not to take a stroll on the Moon but to take this opportunity to deeply observe the technological developments and system strategies behind United Mining.

In America, a multitude of elites—including himself—could hardly understand why the adversary’s aerospace technology had made such rapid progress within two years. The Moon trip tickets exchanged for hydrogen bombs provided an opportunity for close exposure to the veiled Chinese aerospace sector.

Now, as the Chinese teams took turns reporting their achievements, he glimpsed a clue:

In just a few months’ time, from the demand prompted by United Mining to settling technologies and prototypes, they’d completed tasks with an efficiency that seemed almost impossible to NACA.

At NACA, a project’s timeline was calculated in years, but here, it was days and months, with even the speaking pace faster than that of NACA’s research teams.

He nudged Jon, who was still listening attentively, and whispered his thoughts. However, Jon responded with helplessness:

"Respected Congressman, if only you could approve funding as decisively as they do, our pace would not be slower. Before the ’China speed,’ the term that represented swiftness in this world was ’America speed’."

Bill, "But the Federation gives you even more budget, I’m sure that even this year’s NACA expenses are double theirs!"

Jon, "Do you know? I’ve come here and communicated with many researchers from the Aerospace Development Committee. It’s entirely different from what you imagine.

This is a country that highly respects science. Over sixty years ago, they let scientists take on senior national leadership roles. The most knowledgeable in science were managing the entire science system, never succumbing to political demands.

They don’t need to wrestle with Congress for funding nor does their leader in his busiest moments have to deal with the interrogations of farmer congressmen. Once they’ve decided on something, whether it succeeds or not, they’ll mobilize the nation’s strength to accomplish it.

Look at that young man Lin. Two-thirds of the teams here received his gratuitous donations in advance, without ever interfering in the progress of the projects."

"Forgive my candor, but this is the place that respects science the most. While we are talking, another group of scientists is soaring through space in an Aero-Space Plane."

Jon spoke earnestly, summarizing his thoughts. Although it seemed logical and well-founded, Bill felt something was amiss, as if he had heard it somewhere before.

But after thinking for quite a while, he couldn’t recall, and in the end, he could only nod with a frown, deciding to jot it down later.