Jinling Institute for Advanced Study.
Director's office at the Institute of Aerospace Science and Technology.
When Hou Guang saw the proposal brought by Lu Zhou, he paused for a second and spoke.
"Mining on the Moon?"
Lu Zhou nodded and spoke concisely.
"Yes."
Seeing how Lu Zhou didn't look like he was joking, Hou Guang picked up his glasses from the table and put them on. He flipped open the proposal and began to carefully read the abstract.
After a few minutes, he flipped through a few pages of the proposal and placed it on the table. He adjusted his glasses and looked at Lu Zhou.
"I've finished reading the proposal. Roughly … You want to design a device that can be deployed on the surface of the Moon and automatically mine shallow deposits?"
Lu Zhou: "That's right."
That's right …
This time, he changed the wording.
Hou Guang couldn't help but laugh bitterly when he heard this monotonous tone, as if he was talking about what to eat today.
"But the Moon Palace has only just completed the first phase of the project, and we're already starting to mine on the Moon … Isn't that a bit too much?"
Lu Zhou shook his head and said, "It's not too much. The Moon Palace project itself is a project for the development of lunar resources, so there's no conflict between the two projects. Now that the first Magpie Bridge has been officially commissioned, I think it's time for us to move from lunar orbit to lunar soil. "
The 2020s was the beginning of the "Lunar Era".
Mining on the Moon, if this was said a few years ago, it might have sounded a little difficult to achieve, but in 2021, it wasn't something so difficult that it was impossible to achieve.
Whether it was NASA's Lunar Gateway program and the license issued to Moon-Express, or ESA's moon mining program and the contract signed with rocket manufacturer Ariane Group, they all set the timetable for moon mining in the 2020-2030 period.
The MX series of probes launched by Moon-Express before 2020 would be able to collect and bring back 20 kilograms of lunar rock samples from the Moon. According to the new mining equipment development plan announced in response to the Lunar Gateway project, it would focus on solving the problem of mining shallow deposits in a low-gravity environment.
Of course, the movements of his opponents were secondary. The most important thing was that Lu Zhou didn't want to wait any longer.
The key to completing the second phase of the special event chain, "Control of Earth and Moon", was to build a semi-permanent scientific research station on the moon.
If it was just the main mission, with Star Sky Technology's current technological strength, it wouldn't be too difficult to complete.
However, the reward for completing the Main Storyline was quite pitiful.
According to the Side Missions given in the list, putting aside the ones that were obviously unrealistic, there were a few that were barely achievable. Of course, Lu Zhou wouldn't let go of them easily.
One of them was to mine and smelt 100 tons of titanium alloy on the surface of the moon and collect 50 tons of rare earth ores from the lunar soil.
The first phase of the Moon Palace project had just been completed, and the second phase was about to begin. It required a lot of structural materials, and the Moon happened to be rich in titanium ore.
If part of the production of structural materials could be placed on the Moon, they could achieve "self-production and self-marketing" within a limited cost. This would undoubtedly reduce some of the costs.
At the same time, this was the only opportunity that Lu Zhou could seize to expand the scale of production on the Moon.
After the second phase of the Moon Palace project was completed, the remaining three phases of the project would only be some cosmetic modifications to the original space station.
By that time, even if he followed the requirements of the system mission and produced a lot of titanium alloy, he would have to pay for it himself …
Of course, even though mining on the Moon had a theoretical basis, the challenges were also huge.
Whether it was the low temperature and low gravity environment on the Moon or the high staffing costs on the Moon, it would be a huge test for the automation technology of the equipment that would be deployed on the Moon.
Hou Guang scratched his head and thought for a bit.
He couldn't think of any constructive suggestions for Lu Zhou. Even if he wanted to persuade Lu Zhou, he didn't know where to start. So, he said, "If you think so, then leave the proposal with me for now. I'll find a few people in this area to do some research … But forgive me for being blunt, I'm afraid that industrial production is not our area of expertise. You'll have to consult with experts in this area."
Lu Zhou nodded and said, "I've already considered what you said. The Lunar Orbit Committee discussed this issue at their weekly meeting yesterday. The relevant technical demonstrations are already being done."
At this point, he paused for a moment before continuing.
"I will contact Shenyang Aircraft, China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation. We won't be the only ones working on this project. The top organizations in the field of automation and space equipment will also be participating. I can tell you that once the project starts, there will be at least three academicians and above in the research team. I'll be the leader of the research team, but I'll have to trouble you to keep an eye on the specific work. If we don't have enough people, tell me and I'll think of something. "
When Hou Guang heard Lu Zhou say this, he quickly spoke.
"It's enough, it's definitely enough! I can't handle any more. "
Below the academician level, there would be countless Changjiang Scholars, Jie Qing Scholars, Associate Professors, Researchers, Postdocs, PhD students, and so on. Having an academician in a research project, as long as it wasn't a particularly unpopular research direction, it was basically equivalent to having an army in the scientific research field.
Not to mention three academicians …
When the time came, just coordinating the relationships within the project team and organizing so many researchers would take a lot of work.
Hou Guang couldn't help but feel emotional.
In the Chinese academic community, Professor Lu was probably the only person who could make an academician put down his own project and come work for him …
…
At the same time, the same proposal appeared on the desk of an office in the Elder's Chamber.
The elder carefully read the proposal. He took off his glasses and looked at Director Li, who was standing in front of his desk.
"Did Professor Lu write this?"
Director Li nodded and spoke in a serious manner.
"Yes."
"Has the meeting been discussed?"
"We've already discussed it."
"Then what are the opinions of other experts?"
"Academician Yuan from the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation thinks it's worth a try. Academician Yang Zhongquan, the chief engineer of Shenyang Machine Tool, also thinks so. Even though it's difficult, it will be of great help to our country's automation industry." Director Li briefly described what happened at the meeting and basically repeated what the two main spokespersons said.
After listening to Director Li's words, the old man nodded.
"It's an honor for our country to have a scholar like Professor Lu."
He sighed with approval. He reached for the pen on the table, signed his name on the document, and stamped a bright red steel seal on it.
"Approved!"
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