116: Chapter 116 Lunar Base Project

"Academician Chen, do you mean the country plans to establish a space base or a new space station in the future?"

As an astronaut and the commander of the astronaut team, the space station was Lin Feng's true "home." Anyone whose "home" was about to be demolished would... well, Lin Feng's current expression said it all: surprise, anticipation, and excitement.

"Haha, I'm afraid you'll have to ask Academician Chu Ge about that."

After speaking, Academician Chen looked at Chu Ge, who had an innocent look on his face. Everyone turned to look at Chu Ge, waiting for his answer.

"This can only be called a plan. The timeline would be at least after the kunpeng enters service. Only then will we have the time and capability to build a space base. The functions of a space station might be replaced by the aerospace carrier in the future. The future direction of development will mainly be toward space bases. My plan is for the first Lunar Base to be established on the Moon."

Chu Ge felt helpless and had no choice but to reveal a little. He hadn't even proposed the Lunar Base plan yet; speaking about it now was somewhat out of line.

"Haha, Little Chu, you don't understand. The few people standing before you have voting rights. In the future, your Lunar Base plan will need their input. Besides, do you think there's anything left that can stop this Lunar Base plan of yours?"

Academician Chen was exceptionally sharp. From Chu Ge's hesitation, he knew what Chu Ge was worried about and simply laid it out for him.

"Haha, Elder Chen, you should have said so earlier. I was struggling to find the right words. However, the timeline I mentioned earlier is mostly accurate. It's not the right time yet; neither the funds nor the time are sufficient."

Actually, Chu Ge was too embarrassed to say—and of course, he couldn't—that the fundamental reason was that he didn't have enough money to exchange for the space base technology. Although it probably wouldn't be as expensive as the aerospace carrier, he had to be frugal and prioritize the construction of the Interstellar Fleet.

As for Huaxia, it was a similar situation. There were too many areas where the country needed money. Compared to some Western countries, the percentage of money invested in the military annually had always been relatively low.

This year, because of several of Chu Ge's projects, investment might have increased significantly, but this ratio still had to remain within a safe range; otherwise, problems would arise.

Although "Project Red Shore" had been continuously bringing in a large amount of hot money for Huaxia, the scope was too large. Trillions of huaxia currency could vanish in minutes. Another issue was engineering construction; even if Chu Ge could split himself in two, there weren't enough engineers for the construction.

They were all assigned to the "kunpeng." Where would they find so many more engineers to be incorporated into another massive project?

Elder Chen nodded as he listened to Chu Ge.

"When the US did the Manhattan Project, they coordinated almost all the top experts and engineers from the West and their own country to complete that project of the century. And we have to rely entirely on our own strength; the difficulty is indeed a bit greater."

Everyone nodded after hearing this.

"My plan is to prepare for the Lunar Base plan after the aerospace carrier enters service. One reason is that there is an element needed for the Interstellar Fleet up there, and another is that Helium-3 itself is a highly efficient energy material. With our current technology, cargo spaceships traveling back and forth between the Moon and Earth would only take minutes. This way, it's as if we've unlocked the wealth code of the Moon, haha."

As Chu Ge said this, he looked out the window with an expression as if it were raining money from the sky. Lin Feng and the others laughed along. This plan had actually been in Chu Ge's mind for a long time.

To Lin Feng and the others, this was very fresh and sounded full of futuristic vibes. But they knew Academician Chu wasn't joking. It was just that he couldn't spare the effort right now; otherwise, he would have gone to the Moon to build greenhouses long ago.

Chu Ge had even calculated roughly where to land and where to build the base. That...

"Little Chu, it's time to draft a report for your Lunar Base plan. Applying early might bring unexpected help."

Academician Chen gave Chu Ge a meaningful look.

"Hmm? What do you mean, Elder Chen?"

"Haha, Director Wang has to tell you this. Isn't that right, Director Wang?"

At this moment, Academician Chen was like a matchmaker, pulling strings for Chu Ge and the others, connecting one after another.

"Elder Chen, you really have a sharp eye. You're referring to the satellite that's about to be launched, right?"

Academician Chen nodded with a smile, while Chu Ge, Lin Feng, and the others were still completely confused.

"Academician Chu, the country will launch several scientific research satellites in the near future. One of them will be a lunar probe, mainly used to obtain 3D images of the lunar surface, analyze the distribution characteristics of relevant material elements on the lunar surface, and detect the thickness of the lunar soil."

Chu Ge was a bit surprised, his mouth immediately forming an 'O' shape. Had the country already predicted his prediction?

"Haha, you don't need to be surprised. This was originally unrelated to your base plan. It's a scheduled mission plan from the National Space Administration. According to the Moon Palace Project, they are preparing for a manned lunar landing mission this year or next. The probe being launched now is just to prepare for the subsequent landing."

Academician Chen's words made everyone realize. No wonder he told Academician Chu to submit the plan as soon as possible; it perfectly matched his plan. To establish a base, you at least need to roughly know the distribution of resources on the moon or choose a specific landing site beforehand.

"Alright, I'll write the report in a moment. I've already thought through this plan in my head; it just hasn't been put into words yet," Chu Ge responded immediately.

However, he also understood that Academician Chen had deeper intentions. If the state approved Chu Ge's Lunar Base plan, the manned lunar landing mission would likely be canceled. There would be no need to waste resources on it anymore, and they would instead start preparing for the base.

Clearly, as far as Academician Chen was personally concerned, there would be no problems with the Lunar Base plan.

After discussing the Lunar Base plan, Chu Ge briefly introduced some of the engineering progress of the "kunpeng" to everyone. Some of the sci-fi-esque performance indicators deeply shocked Lin Feng and the others. When he heard that the aerospace carrier would primarily perform scientific research missions in its early stages, Lin Feng couldn't hold back.

"Haha, coming to see Academician Chu today has truly shown me what a pillar of the nation looks like. Academician Chu, I'll have those young men sign up when I get back. In the future, the aerospace carrier will be their base for scientific experiments," Lin Feng said excitedly.

Lin Feng spoke with excitement.

"You're welcome. The aerospace carrier was prepared for you guys in the first place, haha. No need to sign up."

"However, you still need to conduct further experiments on that gene reagents this time. I suggest setting up a specific biological research subject for this gene reagents. During these three months on the space station—no, the subsequent astronauts should continue it as well—we need at least one to two years of data. Don't rush for success. Anyway, the aerospace carrier won't be taking off during this time."

"Use this time to complete the clinical trials of the gene reagents on the Moon Palace. I want to see the specific data on its impact on human functions in space."