The third Monday in October.
For the two superpowers in the space race, this was definitely a significant day.
According to the schedule of the Mars Rescue Project, today was the day the two astronauts would return to their respective countries.
The greatest rescue mission in human history, which spanned tens of millions of kilometers, finally came to an end.
After experiencing so many things along the way, the two astronauts were physically and mentally exhausted.
After consulting with the astronauts themselves, Jones, who was originally a Dutch citizen, would take a flight provided by the Dutch government and return directly to Amsterdam. As for Johnson, he was originally an American, so he would naturally take a flight arranged by the White House.
Beijing International Airport.
China's Department of Protocol arranged a grand handover ceremony.
Johnson stood at the entrance of the special security checkpoint and finally saw his savior — the chief designer of the Lunar Orbit Committee, Lu Zhou, who pushed for the entire rescue project and sent Starlight to Mars.
"Thank you." Johnson shook Lu Zhou's hand and looked at him with a complicated expression. He said, "Thank you for bringing me back from Mars!"
Because of his identity and position, the person standing in front of him could be said to be the biggest competitor of the Ares program and even NASA. However, this didn't prevent him from expressing his highest respect and gratitude to Lu Zhou.
"You're welcome." Lu Zhou shook the astronaut's hand and smiled as he said, "Remember to visit us in the future."
"I will." Johnson let go of Lu Zhou's hand and looked at the American diplomat standing next to him. He then looked at Lu Zhou and took a deep breath. He said, "Then … I'll go."
"Okay, go." Lu Zhou waved his hand and said, "Remember to say hi to Mr. Carson for me."
"I'll say hi to him!"
Johnson nodded and picked up his large suitcase. He then turned around and boarded the plane.
Soon after, the cabin door closed, and the plane took off.
As the roar of the engine gradually faded away, the plane had already dragged a white line and disappeared at the end of the clouds in the sky.
Lu Zhou watched the plane fly away. He squinted his eyes and was about to turn around and leave.
The American ambassador, who was standing next to him, smiled at him and reached out his hand.
"Thank you for everything you've done for the Americans and the people of the world. History will remember this moment of friendship."
"You're welcome. Although we have different countries on Earth, we are all earthlings." Lu Zhou shook the ambassador's hand gently. He smiled faintly and said calmly, "I hope history will remember us, and I hope our friendship will last forever."
The ambassador smiled.
"Of course it will!"
After the handover ceremony, there was a banquet.
Lu Zhou wasn't good at this kind of event, so he handed the banquet over to another person in charge of the Mars Rescue Team.
As for himself, he returned to the hotel where he was staying.
When Lu Zhou passed by the hotel lobby, he borrowed a printer from the hotel reception. He then told the receptionist to send the printer to his room. He then went straight back to his room. He took out the unfinished Lunar mass transmitter thesis from his suitcase and sat at his desk. After thinking for a while, he began to work on the unfinished thesis.
Actually, the idea of building a mass accelerator on the Moon wasn't something he came up with on the spur of the moment.
Around 12 years ago, NASA proposed a similar idea. They had even completed a technical demonstration, and the relevant thesis was publicly available on their official website.
Theoretically speaking, the acceleration technology used in this facility was similar to the technology used in the maglev train.
Which was, through a narrow track and electromagnetic acceleration technology, the ore or spacecraft could be accelerated to a breakaway speed, then sent directly into orbit around the Moon.
Of course, even though the entire technical principle was simple, it wasn't easy to turn it into a reality.
As the chief designer of the entire Lunar Orbit Committee, Lu Zhou obviously didn't need to make the detailed drawings of the entire project. Instead, he needed to make an overall evaluation of the entire project.
For example, how long would the orbit be? What would be the estimated cost per meter? What would be the technical feasibility? How big would the risk be? Most importantly, which crater would it be built on?!
Lu Zhou had already asked the Moon Palace researchers to collect all of the data that might be used in the thesis.
With his current level 5 engineering level, as well as his experience as the chief designer of the Lunar Orbit Committee, it wasn't difficult for him to write an entire thesis.
Lu Zhou typed down the last line and clicked the mouse. He then selected the print option.
Soon after, the printer next to the table began to hum. Not long after, it spat out a thesis that smelled like ink.
Lu Zhou picked up the printed thesis and carefully checked it. He was starting to feel a little hungry when he heard footsteps outside his door. After knocking on the door, Wang Peng walked in while carrying a plastic bag.
"Still working?"
"Yeah." Lu Zhou put down the thesis in his hand and noticed what he was carrying. He asked, "What are you carrying?"
"I went to the headquarters in the afternoon, so I brought you some local specialties."
Wang Peng placed the bag on Lu Zhou's desk.
"Roast duck?" When Lu Zhou saw what was inside, his eyes lit up. He picked it up and said, "Good stuff, Quan Jude?"
"I found it in an alley." Wang Peng sat on the sofa and said with a smile, "It's not famous, but I think it's authentic."
"It really smells good." Lu Zhou opened the plastic bag and took a sip. He looked at the crispy roast duck and said, "It's just in time for dinner. It would be perfect if I could have some beer."
Wang Peng, who had just sat on the sofa, stood up again.
"What brand do you want? I'll go buy it for you."
"No need, no need, I'll call the front desk of the hotel and ask them to send me a few cans." Lu Zhou closed the bag and opened the drawer. He took out a document bag and stuffed the newly published thesis into it. He said, "Compared to buying beer, I have something here. I need you to deliver it for me."
Wang Peng didn't even ask what he was going to give.
"Where?"
Lu Zhou reached out his hand and handed the document bag to Wang Peng.
"West of the Forbidden City, Chang 'an Avenue."
"You know who to give it to."
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