Great Country Academician

China National Aeronautics and Space Administration is very fast.

After learning about the accidental astronaut stranding on the Artemis lunar landing ship, NASA immediately held a relevant meeting and decided to let the Chang'e 5 orbiter, which is still in lunar orbit, pass Look at the specific situation.

For them, this is not only a good opportunity to compete for various firsts, but also a good opportunity to attack the country across the Pacific.

Jinling, Xia Shu Space Center.

After Xu Chuan took a short break, the Chang'e-5 orbiter, which was far away in the lunar retrograde (DRO) orbit around the moon, also completed its orbit adjustment simultaneously.

Although the Chang'e-5 orbiter originally had other missions, for now, it is obviously more important to confirm that something unexpected happened to NASA's Artemis lunar module.

After all, now is the time when the space race is in full swing, with both sides competing to land on the moon. If it is revealed that one party made a major mistake in landing on the moon, it will be a major blow to the reputation and strength of the aerospace field, and even the international structure.

If something unexpected happened to the Artemis lunar module, Americans would definitely not be willing to disclose such news themselves, and would even deny it.

But they don't mind helping this old rival. After all, this is a matter of life and death.

At the satellite control center, the signal transferred from the space agency has been analyzed.

Standing in front of the monitoring screen, Xu Chuan touched his chin and stared at the screen in front of him with interest.

Judging from the images transmitted back by the Chang'e-5 orbiter, at this moment, in the Aitken Basin at the south pole of the moon, a lunar module and a life support unit are lying quietly on the moon.

There were no signs of activity on the ground, and no American Stars and Stripes could be seen.

Just as Wu Yuankang said, something unexpected happened to the Artemis lunar module that was the first to land on the moon.

"Judging from the footage, the Artemis lunar module is tilted at a serious angle. It cannot be ruled out that one of the landing gears is damaged."

Standing next to Xu Chuan, Academician Chang Huaxiang looked at the clear picture transmitted back by the Chang'e-5 orbiter and analyzed: "It's just that I don't know why such a serious problem occurs."

"After all, theoretically, even if the landing gear is damaged, it should not affect the normal opening of the lunar hatch."

On the surveillance screen, the images and surveillance transmitted back by the Chang'e-5 orbiter are quite clear.

In order to complete this shooting mission, it switched from a lunar retrograde (DRO) orbit around the moon to a polar launch orbit.

As a price, after the filming of this time is completed, it will crash on the lunar surface.

Because its remaining fuel is no longer enough to support it to complete another orbit change, it can be said that it has used its 'life' as a price to help the motherland complete this mission.

As for the reason why the Chang'e-5 orbiter was dispatched instead of using the more convenient Xinghai space shuttle, it is because Xinghai still has its own tasks to perform.

Not only because of the need to release materials for the construction of the lunar base and scientific research experiments, but also to ensure the safe return of the two astronauts Chen Dong and Liu Yang.

Xu Chuan would not have allowed the Xinghai to leave its orbit rashly unless necessary.

In the satellite control center, after staring at the Artemis lunar module on the screen for a while, Director Wu Yuankang of the space agency suddenly said: "Do you think their lunar module will damage the door opening control?" Device or something? Causes the hatch to not open properly?"

Standing next to him, Xu Chuan shook his head and replied: "This is theoretically possible, but NASA will definitely consider this situation."

"Generally speaking, there are two ways to open the lunar module. Just like our lunar module, one is controlled by electrical signals, and the other can be opened manually if the electrical signal control is damaged."

"In the case where a separate electrical signal controller is damaged, it is possible to open the hatch manually. So this is unlikely."

For the field of aerospace, whether it is an ordinary aviation aircraft flying in the atmosphere or a manned spacecraft exploring outer space.

The door switch, or in other words, most of the control systems, generally have two systems.

This was the case with Apollo 11, which achieved manned landing on the moon.

When they landed on the moon, Aldrin or Armstrong broke an important circuit breaker switch because of their spacesuits when they left the cabin!

It is located on the right side of the lunar module, on the control panel No. 16, and this switch is called "Engine Start Override".

The Chinese translation is: ‘engine start override’.

If this switch is damaged, it means that the lunar module's engine cannot be started under the control of Aldrin or Armstrong, which means that they will be stranded on the moon.

However, NASA is far more considerate than ordinary people. In the lunar module, they installed two power systems, each powered by different batteries.

The equipment of the lunar module is connected to these two sets of equipment to obtain power.

However, some critical equipment, such as engine start control equipment, can draw power from either system.

So even if the lunar module completely lost one of its power distribution systems, it could still ignite its engines. As long as any one of the circuit breakers, and its associated distribution system, is working properly, you're fine.

But if you think that’s the end of it, you’re wrong.

Computers and automated circuits weren't the only ways to start the lunar module's engines.

In the lunar module, there are core equipment such as engine starting, and there is a completely independent 'start' button. You only need to adjust some circuits and press it, and the engine can start.

Multiple guarantees are the key to the successful completion of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Otherwise, Aldrin or Armstrong would have been permanently stranded on the moon in the last century.

As for now, to be honest, Xu Chuan doesn't think NASA will make such a 'low-level' mistake.

Judging from the images captured so far, it is certain that the Artemis lunar module was damaged. At least based on his judgment, something unexpected happened to the landing gear that was stuck in the lunar soil.

But as Academician Chang Huaxiang analyzed, it is impossible to effectively analyze and judge the reason why the damage to the landing gear will cause the door to be unable to be opened based on these monitoring alone.

After staring at the surveillance screen for a while, Xu Chuan turned to look at Wu Yuankang next to him and asked: "Director Wu, NASA has not disclosed the news about the accident in the Artemis lunar module, right?"

Wu Yuankang nodded and said: "Not yet. I have arranged to keep an eye on it. If the other party makes it public, I will receive the news as soon as possible."

After thinking for a while, Xu Chuan smiled and said, "Then do you want us to help them?"

"Help?"

Wu Yuankang was stunned for a moment, then hesitated and asked: "The above means that we can use this opportunity to negotiate interests with the United States. What do you think, Academician Xu?"

"No."

Xu Chuan shook his head and said with a smile: "You misunderstood. When I said help, I didn't mean to rescue the other party's astronauts for free. It meant that we helped them land the Artemis lunar module on the moon if there was an accident. The news should be made public."

"Based on my personal guess, NASA has not disclosed this matter yet. It seems that they are already prepared to keep it secret."

"If NASA fails to find a way to rescue these two astronauts, I suspect that the other party may not even disclose the death of Artemis, but will find other reasons to excuse it."

After a slight pause, he squinted his eyes and looked at the Artemis lunar module in the surveillance screen, and then said: "As for the United States asking us to ask for help and asking us to rescue the two astronauts, to be honest, I think it is possible On the contrary, it’s not that big.”

"For them, the death of two astronauts is not an unacceptable thing. If there is no way to rescue them, they will wait until the dust settles and then come out and announce it. They will find a reason to say that the astronauts encountered an unexpected situation on the moon and It’s not impossible.”

"After all, there are always risks in aerospace, and accidents are normal. At most, the stock price of the aerospace sector will fall a little, and NASA's credibility will suffer some damage."

Saying this, Xu Chuan curled up his lips and said: "So instead of doing this, it is better for us to take the initiative to expose this matter. Don't Americans always say that every citizen has the right to know? If they know that NASA is hiding something What will happen if we have a space accident?"

"I don't believe that the people in the United States will watch their own astronauts die on the moon and remain indifferent."

On the side, Wu Yuankang's eyes were bright and he continued with a smile on his face: "In this way, if they do not have enough strength to rescue themselves, the only thing they can do is to ask us for help."

As he spoke, he gave Xu Chuan a thumbs up, flattered him and said with a smile, "As expected of Academician Xu, he is so thoughtful."

In fact, this plan is not just Xu Chuan's idea, but also what they are planning to implement.

After confirming that the Artemis accident actually occurred, the space agency and senior officials were already considering how to maximize their interests from this accident.

They don't have much 'concern' for their competitor, the United States.

With the development of the times, only one of the two countries can stand at the top.

This is a trend and inevitable competition.

It is impossible for them to let go of this opportunity. The competition between countries is related to the happiness of more than one billion people.

Once they show weakness, they will inevitably be the ones to fail.

Listening to Wu Yuankang's flattery, Xu Chuan smiled dumbly, shook his head and continued: "But in addition to asking us for help, they actually have another approach, such as choosing to directly give up the lives of the two astronauts."

"I even think they are more likely to give up."

"After all, they only need to compensate the astronauts' families for giving up two astronauts."

"But asking us for help will not only cause the United States to lose its prestige in the aerospace field and bring risks such as technology leakage, but it will also cost us a fortune."

"From this point of view, I think NASA may choose to give up those two astronauts directly."

Hearing this, Wu Yuankang laughed and said, "Academician Xu, please rest assured. As long as the Artemis moon landing accident is made public, there is actually only one way they can go."

"Giving up the lives of two astronauts is normal if it is really impossible to rescue. But if we disclose information and say that we can rescue, but NASA does not rescue, the concept is completely different. ”

"No matter what the reason is, it is impossible for the US government to watch its astronauts and not choose to rescue them when they can."

"If they really choose to do this, it will be a better thing for us."

On the side, Chang Huaxiang smiled and added: "If the astronaut's life is given up when it can be saved, it means that the American authorities will likely give up the life of any American citizen at any time."

"This will be the most deadly disaster for a country."

At the same time, on the other side,

United States, NASA headquarters in Washington.

The elderly president has already visited NASA's general command center and is talking to the two astronauts on the Artemis lunar module.

As the president of a country, when such a major accident occurs during the manned moon landing, he naturally needs to stand up as a load-bearing pillar to deal with the relevant situation.

". Please rest assured, we are doing our best to find a way to rescue you. Don't give up. You will definitely come back!"

After a satellite phone call and briefly comforting the two astronauts trapped on the moon, the elderly president looked at NASA Administrator Bill Nelson with exhaustion and anger:

"Tell me, where is your plan! Where is the plan to bring our astronauts back? Where is it?!"

Standing opposite, Bill Nelson was silent for a long time before he said seriously: "Although we have the ability to launch a lunar landing spacecraft to the moon through the BRF launch vehicle, it will take at least a week of preparation time."

Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by an elderly gentleman with a wave of his hand. He looked at Bill Nelson coldly and said, "But the astronauts on Artemis can't last a week!"

"Is this your shit plan?"

Hearing this, Bill Nelson fell silent.

No one knows better than him how long the two astronauts on board the Artemis lunar module can last. Even if they don't eat or drink, including all the oxygen reserves, the two astronauts are lying there doing nothing. , they can only last for two days at most.

Judging from the latest feedback data, it is even more impossible for the lunar module to restart its engine and return to lunar orbit.

They tried to have two astronauts perform an ignition operation, but the data transmitted back showed that one of the side engines was damaged due to damage to the landing gear during landing. Although it could still start, it could no longer be maintained. Normal balance.

This means that it is also impossible to return to lunar orbit to seek help from the astronauts on the Orion multi-purpose manned spacecraft.

For NASA and even the United States, there is no doubt that this moon landing accident has turned into a disaster.