Chapter 678 - 659 Sky Canopy-4

Capital, Union Mining Headquarters.

Once again, the lively scene reminiscent of the Sky Canopy-3 mission was replicated here, but this time, there was an added air of tension and oppression.

The current CEO Wu Yi stood at the podium with a grave expression, leaving Zhu Bingguang and Yang Xinjun sitting below on tenterhooks.

The on-site experimental results of space cement and 3D Moon Soil printing technology had been transmitted back. Although the samples had not been returned yet, the inspections at the Jade Tree Minefield were very detailed, providing arguments compelling enough to be convincing.

After more than two months in the Moon’s drastic heat and cold interchange conditions, the roads constructed with both technologies had withstood the test. While some parameters varied, the overall performance of both was similar, exceeding the minimum requirements.

Quality was nearly the same for both, so the fate of the two technologies would be determined by convenience and cost—time and effort were also precious resources on the Moon.

The judging panel, composed of members from the Aerospace Development Committee and New Yuan, had worked until late at night to finalize their decision, which was about to be announced.

Yang Xinjun, with his hands tightly crossed, involuntarily glanced at Lin Ju, who was sitting nearby looking indifferent. Lin had swept a grave earlier in the morning and seemed somewhat distracted.

"After the joint review by 22 astronautics experts, we have confirmed that we will initiate the Moon expressway construction project in six months. After careful consideration, we have chosen the most suitable party from the two bidding groups."

CEO Wu Yi spoke at an unhurried pace and paused to scan the two unsettled individuals before calmly announcing the final result:

"After multifaceted comparisons, we believe that the space cement technology is more suitable for the construction plan of the Moon expressway and hope that the Jinghang University Team led by Professor Yang Xinjun will undertake the research tasks for the related equipment and construction plan, ensuring the high-quality and quantity-compliant completion of the first basic Moon road construction project!"

Yang Xinjun, who had been tense all over, relaxed as soon as he heard ’space cement’. At the conclusion of the speech, his body slumped, and he collapsed into his chair, laughing foolishly at the air.

A construction plan extending a full three hundred kilometers, and to be led by them—can you imagine how much crucial technology that would master in one fell swoop?

This was an entirely new research area; the benefits of being the first to eat the crab were beyond imagination!

The room also erupted in warm applause, congratulating the launch of the largest infrastructure project on the Moon.

The only one who felt let down was Zhu Bingguang and his assistants. The 3D Moon Soil printing technology had been eliminated during the internal competition at the space agency and had lost again in this second bid—was there really a mistake in their technological approach?

Zhu Bingguang remained in a daze even after the applause ended. He did not hear his name being called by Shen Zuozhou.

"Professor Zhu, Professor Zhu Bingguang?"

"...Ah, I’m here, I’m listening."

CEO Wu Yi had been replaced by Shen Zuozhou on the stage at some point, which confused Zhu Bingguang, as Shen did not hold a position within Union Mining.

"Ahem, I have another announcement to make:

Due to the excellent performance of the 3D Moon Soil printing technology in terms of malleability and compatibility with complex surfaces, the Aerospace Development Committee wishes to utilize this technology for lunar subterranean development and the construction of the exterior protection layers for permanent bases, officially starting in three months."

Due to the unique environment of the Moon and the different composition of its base materials, the construction difficulty of space cement was actually higher than that of 3D printing technology on complex surfaces.

Moreover, Lin Ju had never intended to choose one over the other—both technologies were to be developed as reserves, since the vast lunar projects could easily support more than one approach.

Appropriately dividing them based on their characteristics, the more expensive 3D printing technology would be used for the smaller-scale construction of habitats, ensuring that everything served its purpose.

The sudden twist caught both Yang and Zhu off guard. Yang Xinjun was the first to react, offering his congratulations to the latter:

"Not bad, Old Zhu, you’re even faster than I am."

"I... I really didn’t expect..."

Zhu Bingguang simply sighed in the end. Regardless, his long-standing efforts had finally paid off, and that was enough.

Both teams had reached a satisfying conclusion, and CEO Wu Yi stepped forward again to announce the main topic of the day:

"After two months of compilation, all the data from the Sky Canopy-3 mission have been analyzed. In accordance with Union Mining’s schedule for the development of the Jade Tree Minefield, I declare that we will immediately commence the Sky Canopy-4 exploration mission beginning April 7.

This mission primarily includes exploring the hydrogen bomb test site, confirming the test yield, and the test subjects. It is provisionally set to conduct a timesheet mission on May 9, and to complete the summary of the explosion effects, providing a basis for the official large-scale minefield development mission of Sky Canopy-5.

The Sky Canopy-4 exploration mission will have a total of 27 team members and is expected to require five to seven landing missions. Now, please, the winning bidder for the mine blasting project proceed in order to speak!"

...

As the Sky Canopy-4 mission focused on blasting, the preparatory meetings were quite lengthy due to the many issues involved. Lin Ju quietly left after a short while but did not return to the hotel, instead heading straight to the Aerospace Development Committee.

As April approached, the ignition points for various missions were beginning to converge.

The CZ-18 rocket had already begun launch preparations and was scheduled to launch on May 7, 32 days from now.

The Zhu Rong, a sister ship to the Chapter 9, would follow in its predecessor’s steps—flying to Yizhou to be transported by water, then by sea, and was expected to arrive at Qiongzhou a week later for assembly and launch.

The successive missions of Tianwen-1, 2, 3, and 4, all using the same kind of probe, were set to launch Xinyuan-2 rockets at two-day intervals on April 29, May 1, 3, and 5, respectively.

Two will be launched from Jiuquan, directed by Jingcheng Command Center, and two from Qiongzhou, managed by New Yuan, to reduce the pressure on the command teams.

But perhaps the busiest would be the Yuanwang Fleet at sea, tasked with the continuous monitoring of the rocket flight trajectories.

And the final "super large cup," the Typhoon, due to its complexity, was set to launch on May 22, with the expectation of leaving the factory by May 5.

However, because of its nuclear propulsion’s insane acceleration and no need to decelerate at Mars, the Typhoon’s arrival time at Mars was staggeringly quick—it could complete the journey in just 40 days. It was expected to zoom past Mars around July 2, releasing the probe while using its gravity to accelerate further. Then, assisted by Jupiter’s strong gravitational slingshot, it would accelerate one more time before beginning to decelerate shortly afterward to enter Saturn’s orbit.

It would take around four months from Mars to Jupiter, with the acceleration phase towards Saturn lasting three months. The remaining three months would be spent decelerating, just in time to reach Saturn in 12 months.

The Tianwen-1 to 5 missions would take about six months each, reaching Mars roughly in mid-October of the latter half of the year, thus far behind.

Even the Departing Fire was theoretically scheduled to "synchronize" its arrival by then. However, the base planned to have it show up in August or September, simply claiming it accelerated a bit with the ion thrusters on the probe.