Great Country Academician

Chapter 997 The Old Man's Question~

Jinling, Xiashu Space Base.

This institution, which has become a holy place in the hearts of countless astronauts around the world in just a few years, has now grown into a super base covering an area of ​​more than 3,500 acres.

In addition to the large runway for the take-off and landing of space shuttles, there is also a giant factory building covering an area of ​​300,000 square meters.

This is the heart of China's aerospace field and is also known as the "holy land" of the global aerospace industry.

Not only because here, the most advanced new space shuttles in the world can be designed, produced, manufactured and assembled.

It is also because the combination of small controllable nuclear fusion reactors + aerospace engines carries the direction of human future aerospace development.

For Xu Chuan, this place is like a super factory, building his and China's, and even the entire human race's desire and dream for the universe bit by bit.

With a group of leaders and management of the manned Mars landing project, Xu Chuan and Academician Chang Huaxiang took the lead and stood at the door of the factory building of this super factory, standing quietly here waiting for something.

After about five or six minutes, a black convoy slowly drove in and stopped at the factory door.

As the convoy stopped, an old man with a dignified face got off the Red Flag car in the middle.

Seeing the old man, Xu Chuan walked over with a smile and greeted him warmly.

I believe that no Chinese would feel unfamiliar with this person in front of him.

The old man walked over with a smile on his face, shook his hand cordially, and said with a kind smile: "Long time no see, Academician Xu."

Xu Chuan nodded with a smile and greeted: "It has been a while, let's go in first."

"Okay."

The old man smiled and took a step, his eyes fell on the group of people standing behind Xu Chuan, and after greeting Academician Chang Huaxiang first, he smiled and said.

"Don't be so serious, I just came here to take a look. The manned Mars landing project still depends on and thanks everyone for their hard work and efforts."

After smiling and being polite, the group walked into the factory deep in the Xiashu Aerospace Base.

The old man came here to say hello in advance.

On the one hand, it was for the manned landing on Mars tomorrow morning.

After all, it was the first time for humans to set foot on another planet, and it was a historic landing on Mars. For them, this would be an epic glory in the aerospace field of China and even the world.

Although manned lunar landing was also the first time for China, it was much less meaningful given that the United States had already done it in the last century.

So the old man only sent his blessings to the manned lunar landing in Beijing that time, but this time he came to the Xiashu Aerospace Base in person.

On the other hand, he came here to learn about the development of the Xiashu Aerospace Base and the Xinghai Research Institute, and to talk to Xu Chuan about the future of scientific and technological development.

After all, carbon-based chip technology has been broken through, and the last threshold that hinders their rapid development is gone.

It is no exaggeration to say that unless a devastating nuclear war breaks out, there is nothing on Earth that can stop them.

Coupled with the rapid development of aerospace technology, the goals they planned in the past around the rise of the country are no longer appropriate. It is time to replan the path of development in the next few decades.

The group chatted and walked towards the factory building of Xiashu Aerospace Base.

After entering the core production area, under the guidance of the staff, several people put on masks, dust covers and shoe covers and walked through the clean room.

Then, the bright finishing workshop came into everyone's eyes. Here, miniaturized controlled nuclear fusion reactors and aerospace engines are being produced in an orderly manner.

Walking beside the old man, Xu Chuan took the initiative to introduce with a smile on his face: "This is the main core factory area for the production of miniaturized controlled nuclear fusion reactors."

While listening to Xu Chuan's introduction, the old man glanced at this "busy" production workshop where no one could be seen, and asked curiously.

"Is there no one in your factory?"

Xu Chuan smiled and nodded, saying: "Yes, in the normal production process, there will be no personnel or staff in the workshop."

"The production of miniaturized fusion reactors and aerospace engine engines is all unmanned."

"Some parts and raw materials purchased from companies that meet our production standards will be transported to the fully automated warehouse and marked with different codes."

"During production, through the intelligent control system of this factory, intelligent equipment is used to transport, further process and assemble these basic materials and parts."

"And the final finished product will also be packaged in the corresponding packaging workshop, coded and transported out."

Xu Chuan is still very proud of this production factory built by himself.

If it is divided according to the standard level of dust-free workshops, this is a class 100 dust-free workshop.

For the production of industrial parts, this level of dust-free workshop is already a very abnormal value.

Under normal circumstances, even if it is the production of optical instruments, the industrial workshop that needs to ensure the high cleanliness of optical components is only at the thousandth level.

Workshops that require cleanliness, such as installing gyroscopes on aerospace equipment and high-quality miniature bearings, are also at this level.

The higher-level standard of Class 100 is generally used in aseptic manufacturing processes in the pharmaceutical industry, such as surgeries, including transplant surgeries, the manufacture of integrators, and the isolation treatment of patients sensitive to bacterial infections.

For example, the post-operative isolation treatment of bone marrow transplant patients and the ICU treatment room are usually at level 100 standards.

The highly clean production environment at the Xiashu Space Base was personally requested by Xu Chuan.

Although the production requirements for components of miniaturized fusion reactors and aerospace engines are not large, a 100,000-level standard workshop is sufficient for manufacturing.

However, the quality control and quality of parts produced in high-level production workshops are definitely higher than those in low-level production workshops.

This also means there is less chance of failure when they are put together.

For a field like aerospace that requires high-precision control, ensuring the normal operation of all instruments and equipment is the most important thing.

The old man nodded lightly and said with some emotion: "To be honest, I have inspected many production bases across the country, including factories larger than this one, but here I feel the charm of a unique 'technological' development. ”

In this endless production workshop, bright overhead lights illuminate every corner.

Just like the shadowless lamp in the hospital operating room, even if they were standing here at the moment, there would be no shadow under their feet.

The robotic arms that are constantly rotating, grabbing and processing raw materials and parts give people an atmosphere of loneliness amidst the bustle.

It must be said that this place is full of the feeling of a future technology factory.

Xu Chuan smiled and said: "The establishment of this factory relies on the 'standards' formulated by Xinghai Research Institute. Through big data management and control, manufacturers that meet the standards are included in a 'standard list', and through intelligent The system performs real-time management and control.”

"For example, the small fusion reactor it currently produces is sold to the Air Force Equipment Department. Before signing a contract, the Air Force Equipment Department provides a series of indicators, parameters, performance and other requirements."

"Then we submit this report to the intelligent system and issue the 'start' instruction. The system can automatically determine the supplies and materials that need to be purchased, and even which manufacturers are the best choice to purchase from, etc."

"Once the raw materials and parts are available, the factory can operate at the most efficient speed through the preset processing plan, and carry out processing and production around the clock."

“Simply put, this is a production method based on digital technology, computing power, smart technology and green and low-carbon technology.”

"Theoretically, it does not require anyone to control the production process. As long as you enter the product you want, the AI ​​intelligent system will help you handle everything."

“From the procurement of basic materials, to processing, to transportation and delivery, a one-line production process can be completed without a single person!”

After listening to Xu Chuan's introduction, the old man couldn't help but said with emotion: "It seems to point out a development path for our future industrial development."

Xu Chuan smiled and said: "It is certain that the intelligent production system will replace the artificial production system in the future. Whether you like it or not, it will come. This is an inevitable trend of the development of the times and will not be changed by personal will."

The old man smiled and nodded, following his footsteps to learn about the situation in this huge super factory.

As Xu Chuan said, the entire factory is like countless precision mechanical equipment that are closely integrated, and everything is under the control of the AI ​​intelligent processing system.

Looking at this huge unmanned factory, the old man thought for a while, then suddenly looked at Xu Chuan curiously and asked: "Do you think the universe we live in will be like this technology factory? Are all the operations planned?”

Hearing this unexpected question, Xu Chuan was slightly stunned.

"Why do you ask that?"

The old man smiled and said, "It's okay, I just had some thoughts suddenly."

Xu Chuan thought for a while and said with a smile: "It's not impossible. The universe is too big and mysterious. Maybe it's like a petri dish, specially used to cultivate a certain kind of creature. It's not impossible. ”

"But for us at this stage, this kind of problem does not have much significance. Apart from some speculation and fantasy, we have no way to confirm and explore."

"After all, today's human beings have not even gone out of the solar system and want to explore the truth of the universe." Shaking his head, Xu Chuan said with some emotion: "That is too far away."

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Sixty million kilometers away in the orbit of Mars, a silver, white and black space shuttle is cruising quietly in the low Earth orbit of Mars at a speed of 3.5 kilometers per second.

This is the Hanhai space shuttle.

In the open cabin, several astronauts carrying out the manned mission were floating in mid-air chatting. Forty-one days have passed since they took off from the earth.

Leaning on the side of the window, Liu Yang, the only female astronaut in the six mission plans, quietly looked at the scenery in the distance.

Under their feet was a brown planet that looked earthy, lifeless and desolate.

"Liu Yang, it's time for dinner."

At this moment, another middle-aged man wearing dark blue uniform floated over and shouted.

"team leader."

Seeing Zhai Zhigang, Liu Yang came back to his senses and said hello.

"It's time for dinner. Let's go and have dinner." Zhai Zhigang, who led the manned Mars landing mission, smiled and shouted, "After dinner, do some exercise and have a good sleep. Tomorrow, we will carry out the landing mission."

Liu Yang propped his palm against the porthole for a while, and with a little effort, he "flew" over skillfully.

"By the way, what are we going to eat tonight?"

"Spicy grilled fish, sausage pie and cream bread, and drinks."

"Alas, these again." Hearing the familiar names of the dishes, Liu Yang couldn't help but sigh.

Zhai Zhigang shrugged and smiled, "It's good to have something to eat. When I went to space before, I ate "toothpaste", not like now there are all kinds of dishes."

For this manned Mars landing project, Xiashu Aerospace Base arranged two space shuttles to carry out the mission together, and the supplies they carried were not comparable to those of previous space missions and manned moon landings.

Apart from various scientific research instruments and equipment, the remaining supplies are all related to food, clothing, housing and transportation.

There are hundreds of types of food, ranging from staple foods such as noodles, steamed buns, and rice to various braised meats, stewed meats, broccoli, shredded potatoes, and other dishes.

But no matter how many types there are, they are still scarce in this space voyage that lasts more than a month.

According to the average number of meals per day for astronauts, even if the ground staff prepares hundreds of kinds of food for them, it will only be enough for about a week to ensure that there is no cycle.

Moreover, more than 100 kinds of food are not all dishes, there are also other types of side dishes and fruits, etc.

In the more than 40 days, the types of food they have stored have been cycled again and again.

Not to mention Liu Yang, even he is a little tired of eating.

Of course, in addition to the types of food, another factor that affects their taste is the environment in space.

In many cases, weightlessness can cause congestion in the human nasal cavity, dulling the taste nerves, changes in saliva secretion affecting the taste, or affecting the taste because of not being able to see the color of the food or smell the smell of the food.

However, compared to when he first became an astronaut and performed space missions, the quality of life in space travel is much better now.

In the early years, the food he ate in space was packed in bags and made into a toothpaste-like meat paste, which he squeezed to eat.

Let alone the dining experience, even this toothpaste-like food can't be much better no matter how much it is seasoned.

Now, they can eat all kinds of steaming food just like normal meals on Earth.