Yan Xinju thought that after seeing the Moon Palace, there was nothing else that could possibly surprise him.
However, when the scientific research staff member named Ma Hao drove the lunar rover and took him to the lunar scientific research base, he was stunned by what he saw.
Silver-white “domes” were planted on the surface of the lunar soil; its polygon-shaped shell was glowing with white light. Each dome was around 10 meters in diameter, around 3 meters in height.
“… Is this the research station?”
“This?” Ma Hao looked at Yan Xinju and said, “Of course not, how can anyone live here… This is the garden domes.”
Yan Xinju paused for a second.
“Garden domes?”
“Yeah, technically, they’re called ‘lunar soilless agricultural units’. The surface is coated with a special graphene semiconductor material, which can withstand the impact of small meteorites, as well as allowing light to pass through. It can also absorb light and convert it into electrical energy, which powers the garden domes.”
The day and night temperature difference on the moon was large; the day temperature could be as high as 127 degrees, while the night temperature could reach -183 degrees. One day on the moon could last as long as 30 Earth days. The cultivation environment was harsh. Due to its absence of an atmosphere, the heat capacity and thermal conductivity of the lunar surface were low. Hence, capturing solar energy was one of the main difficulties in lunar planting.
Using the same technology from Biosphere A, the lunar soilless agricultural unit designed by the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study was able to solve this problem.
Even though the output was limited, the cost was still much lower than transporting supplies from Earth. Moreover, there was still room to improve this technology. Biologists on the moon were researching a potato variant that could quickly accumulate starch under low gravity conditions. Apparently, they had already made some progress.
“… It is still too difficult to be self-sufficient. However, it is an additional food source, combined with the usual compressed and liquid food.
“In addition to being used as food, these crops could also recycle astronauts’ waste and consume a portion of the carbon dioxide gas from the scientific research base. Of course, the circulation efficiency isn’t high, so we still need to transport certain supplies from Earth.”
Yan Xinju: “What about water? Farming requires a lot of water, right?”
“There’s ice on the moon.” Ma Hao smiled and said, “Fortunately, we found a treasure below our feet that is more valuable than Helium-3. Back then, we published a paper on this, which caused quite a sensation in the astronomy and geology circles. We have found around 20 million tons of water ice, which is enough for at least this century. Apparently, there’s even a bigger ice mine at the poles. Apparently, it’s on the order of hundreds of million tons… Of course, don’t tell anyone about this, the exploration work hasn’t finished yet.”
20 million tons…
Yan Xinju’s mouth was wide open, and after a while, he spoke.
“That is incredible… How come I’ve never seen this on the news?”
“The western media is not interested in reporting this. Since this is an in-progress result, we didn’t try to publicize it either…” Ma Hao used his chin to point at the crater in front of him. He said, “Look, that is our base, we’re here.”
Yan Xinju looked outside the rover window and finally saw the mysterious lunar scientific research base.
A building was situated in the middle of a moon crater. The large concrete walls were embedded in the lunar rocks. The only exposed part of the tall building was the wall and a signal tower.
Even though he could only see the tip of the iceberg, it was still an amazing sight.
If the Moon Palace was like a silver dragon in the sky, this was like the treasure pile that was being protected by the dragon.
It was incredible.
It represented the highest level of construction technology and aerospace technology!
The lunar rover slowly drove up the entrance ramp and passed through the two airlocks. Yan Xinju was blinded by the white lights above his head.
Next to him was a ground crew member dressed in casual clothes. They used professional equipment to clean the moon dust off the rover, then opened the rover door.
After Ma Hao took off his helmet, he took a breath of air and smiled at Yan Xinju.
“There’s no need to wear a spacesuit in the base, I have to pick up other people… My assistant will bring you to your room.”
Sending a Chinese physicist to the moon first was purposely arranged by the Chinese government. Even though this added an extra hundred thousand yuan to the budget, it was an acceptable cost. Not to mention that Yan Xinju’s mentor was a Chinese famous physicist, the old Academician Lu.
Later on, physicists from other countries and engineers in the field of physics would land on the moon using the landing module. As the captain of the scientific research crew, Ma Hao’s job was to transfer these scholars from Earth to this lunar fortress.
Yan Xinju nodded and spoke in a sincere manner.
“Thank you.”
“No worries.” Ma Hao patted him on the shoulder and said, “We’re a family here.”
Having set foot on this piece of land far away from home, Yan Xinju didn’t understand what the captain was talking about. He thought the captain was just trying to be kind to one another.
Yan Xinju got out of the rover and took off his spacesuit. He followed the assistant and began walking.
The inside of the base was even more extraordinary.
There were a total of 21 floors, including residential areas, work areas, laboratories, and even a library and a gravity-simulated gym. Each floor had its own unique function. It was like a five-star hotel.
The only downside was that the personal space was quite small.
Apparently, the construction cost per meter had surpassed Manhattan’s property costs. Not to mention the “utility costs”. Hence, under these circumstances, a 10-square-meter room for each of them was quite luxurious.
When Yan Xinju came to an aluminum door with a number on it, the staff member handed a card to Yan Xinju and spoke with a smile.
“This is your room, this is the access and identity card. It will give you access to all the facilities in the research station.
“Your security level permits you to access the experiment area, the accommodation area, and the common areas. Your floor number is printed on the card. If you need to use the vehicle or leave the base, you have to talk to the base supervisor.
“Keep this card safe with you. You’ll need it for eating and showering, and it’ll be troublesome if you lose it.”
Yan Xinju took the card and nodded with a serious look.
“Okay.”
The staff member said, “If you need anything, you can call me through the communication terminal in the room. Or you can talk with Captain Ma.” The staff member then nodded and began walking toward the elevator.
When Yan Xinju walked into his new home, he placed his suitcase on the shelf and lay on the soft bed.
The feeling of lying in one-sixth the normal gravity was strange. However, he had already spent a week in a gravity-free environment, so he was used to it.
“Tomorrow is December 18th…”
Tomorrow was an important day.
The Lunar Hadron Collider would complete its first trial operation tomorrow.
That would bring the physics community into a future era.
It would be the most glorious moment of his life.
As the representative of the Chinese physics community, he was the one who was going to light up the spark that illuminated the human civilization in this cold universe.
He looked at the blue planet 360,000 km outside his window, and he slowly closed his eyes while lying on his bed.
As an ordinary scientific researcher, he never thought this day would come. Up until now, his most worthy achievement was working under Academician Lu Shenjian.
He thought back to his past and felt emotional…
Life could be unexpected at times. When Lu Zhou called him and said, “You’re the chosen one,” he couldn’t even describe the shock.
Now that he was here, he began to feel the responsibility.
“Once I get back to earth, I’m buying Lu Zhou a drink…”
I have to thank him in person.
It was almost like he could hear the applause from 360,000 kilometers away.
The cheers from people all over the world.
He clenched, then loosened his fist. He gradually fell asleep thinking about his purpose and mission in physics.
He had the most peaceful sleep of his life.
