I ask you to build tractors, but you build rockets?

"Warm congratulations on the successful launch of the 'Tianzhou' cargo spacecraft."

On April 29, the Tianzhou-1 cargo spacecraft was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Site on board a Long March 2F rocket. It carried out the first supply mission for the Tiangong Space Station in 2016. It carried a total of 13.5 tons of cargo, including 100 kilograms of vegetables.

The reason why the Xinyuan series of rockets are not used is because the Xinyuan 5A, which has the same transport capacity as the Long March 2F, is not cheap. The external quotation is 150 million, which is actually not much cheaper than the Long March 2F.

The Long March 2F is a normal-temperature fuel rocket, and its price is only tens of millions more. It is better to support your own aerospace industry...

The six astronauts who have been in space for nearly 50 days ate fresh vegetables that took no more than 10 hours to pick and praised the ground.

You can also eat fresh vegetables at the Tiangong Space Station. The "Tianhe" core module has been deeply renovated and has a special soilless cultivation room for Chinese cabbage, rapeseed, eggplant, tomatoes, etc.

But these 100 kilograms of vegetables come from the ground. More varieties are obviously more exciting for the astronauts. They can also prepare about 30 kilograms of vegetables for the next return mission, allowing the ground to have a few bites of real space in addition to scientific research. Vegetables.

We can't wait long. The first batch of rich people who purchased the space station travel package are expected to fly to space around May 10th. They are Chen Weizhang, another coal boss, and the old devil Peng Qianxuanyou.

They will stay in the original Yungong Space Station, which is the XS-62 tourist cabin, for 7 days before returning and will be taken out of the cabin once.

The extravehicular spacesuits they used were truly disposable. The price was quoted at 50 million, and the profit margin was 100%, which was not high. They could take it home as a souvenir when they got off, which was very meaningful.

There is another official launch mission in May, or semi-official: the Chang'e-4 mission.

Due to Xinyuan's intervention, the overall mass of Chang'e 4, which is to be launched by Xinyuan 5B, has reached 8 tons. The lander must be redeveloped. After landing on the lunar surface, two patrols will be released.

The landing site was determined during a month of intensive observation in Queqiao, and will be in the Von Kármán impact crater on the far side of the moon.

This will be the first time that humans have landed a spacecraft on the back of the moon and investigated it. The biggest feature is that it uses relay satellites for communication and navigation, so that we can explore the true face of the back of the moon.

The Chang'e-4 mission's lander weighed 3.4 tons and carried the space agency's 150-kilogram Yutu-2 lunar rover and the 420-kilogram Xinyuan "Explorer" robot.

Yes, it's a robot.

"This is... Explorer?"

Lin Ju looked at the ugly mechanical eight-legged spider on the blank field in confusion.

When the system mall was first opened, he bought the technology of the lunar surface walking robot, and then gave it to the engineers to build the lunar surface detector. The result was a big spider? Apart from anything else, this thing is too ugly, right?

The engineers explained to him: "Despite its appearance, Explorer 1 is actually quite good and its performance is also very good. It can move at the fastest 3,000 meters per hour on the moon, while Yutu 2 can only move 200 meters per hour. Mi, the Explorer Type 1 is too strong."

"So fast!"

Lin Ju couldn't believe it. Even if he could climb so fast in the low gravity environment of the moon, could the battery really hold up?

He has just seen the data. The explorer does not have any high-tech power source, it is just a very ordinary nickel-metal hydride battery. The maximum continuous activity time is 150 minutes before the lander uses a large-area solar panel array to charge, or the battery on its back. Folding small solar panels.

In addition to using the space agency's traditional foldable solar panels, the 2.8-ton lander is also equipped with many additional solar panels, which are ready to be moved out and placed by the explorer as a charging source.

Of course, the Explorer also has a nuclear battery, which is an RTG (isotope battery) with a measly 20W maximum power. It uses the heat of isotope decay to generate electricity. The power is only enough to ensure the operation of the chipset and maintain the temperature of key components through heat.

Yutu No. 2 is also available, but the power is lower, only 5W.

Both types of isotope batteries are provided by the space agency, and the technology is similar. The Explorer's is just a bit enlarged, so it can be used just fine.

The "Curiosity" Mars exploration rover that Aramco will launch in a few years will really attract people's attention. The 45 kilogram nuclear battery that can provide 140W power is really eye-catching, but Xinyuan will soon have it. Cheng Nankai said that this is a small Funny thing, before the end of the year, a 50 kilogram big thing that provides 280W power can be manufactured. It is very efficient and can already meet the needs of many spacecrafts.

Of course, before that happens, Explorers still have to find ways to save energy.

Engineer: "There are two ways to move the Explorer. One is crawling, but this is used when carrying loads or working. It can move about 0.3 meters per second, but it consumes a lot of power. The eight mechanical legs will last for more than 40 minutes after running. The electricity is gone.

The second is the energy-saving and fast rushing mode. It travels by jumping. The eight mechanical legs only need to provide 200 kilograms of jumping force to jump very high and far. It relies on the mechanical legs in various directions to adjust the center of gravity in the air and land safely, once The bounce stays in the air for about 1.22 seconds and advances 2.48 meters. It takes 3.2 seconds to charge up to the next bounce after completing one bounce. It advances 46.5 meters in one minute and can advance 3,000 meters in one hour. "

"Will the battery last this long?"

"Under the condition of ensuring a 30-minute scientific research mission and round trip, the 240 kilogram battery can ensure about 800 jumps and advance about 2,790 meters.

If the lander is used as a charging station, the range of activity cannot exceed 1,500 meters. Of course, the explorer can also use its own solar battery to charge, but it will take at least 100 hours, and it must be when the sun is shining, which takes about half a month. full. "

Lin Ju couldn't help but nodded: "Okay, very good. The Explorer robot completely exceeded my imagination."

The Explorer robot was actually completed in February. When I communicated with the space agency, the other party was shocked by the boldness and advancedness of the Explorer's technical route. However, the space agency, which was shocked to the point of numbness, only matched it based on the performance of the Explorer. Task.

For example, the Explorer has eight flexible claws, which can use the built-in small wiper to help wipe the moon dust on the surface of the solar panel, and can also help Yutu 2 escape danger, etc.

As for the explorer's own walking technology, it is actually impossible to test it on the earth. It can only be tested with a model, because the dead weight of 420 kilograms on the earth cannot be lifted up by the mechanical legs with a rated total jumping force of about 200 kilograms. There is no way to try it... …

On May 1st, the Chang'e-4 mission was officially announced and prepared to be launched a week later on May 8th. The mission logo is a cross between CASA and XAP, which obviously indicates that this is a public-private partnership project organized by the Aviation Development Commission.

At the same time, the wonder of the detector, the Explorer robot, was also revealed.