Chapter 971
Generous Project Bonuses
When this number was broadcast live around the world, the comment sections on foreign websites exploded.
Some people have dug up data from the Apollo program for comparison. Apollo 11 took several days from launch to landing on the moon, while Pioneer 2 compressed the Earth-Moon transfer time to an unprecedented level.
Some have questioned whether this data is fake, but a senior engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory posted on an anonymous forum that, based on the publicly available orbital parameters, Pioneer 2 did indeed use a faster transfer scheme. This scheme requires a significant speed adjustment at the correct location in a very short time, which places extremely high demands on engine thrust and guidance accuracy. Currently, only GalaxySpace can achieve this.
Masla did not issue any official statement, but he sent Wang Donglai an encrypted message, with his usual casual wording: "In less than twelve hours, did you build a highway between the Earth and the Moon or something? I watched the live broadcast in the SpaceX control room. After watching it, Poker was silent for a long time. Your guidance algorithm is at least several generations ahead of ours."
Wang Donglai did not reply to him.
On the evening of December 10th, Beijing time, Pioneer 2 entered lunar orbit.
The atmosphere in the command center was even more tense than during the launch. When the rocket was launched, it was still at home, and if there were any problems, we could still find ways to remedy them.
Now that the rocket is hundreds of thousands of kilometers away, any command sent out has to wait for the signal to travel the long distance between the Earth and the Moon before a response is received. This delay means that every decision must be made more precisely, because there is no room for trial and error.
"Kaituor 2 has entered lunar orbit and is preparing for its final orbital correction before landing."
Xiao Zhao's voice was steady, but you could tell he was trying hard to control his breathing.
On the screen in front of him, sets of orbital parameters were being refreshed rapidly.
"The AI autonomous navigation system has locked onto the landing point."
A set of 3D terrain data popped up on the screen, indicating that the planned landing site was near the Shackleton Crater Chain on the far side of the moon, close to the landing site of Pioneer 1.
The two rockets will dock in a T-shape here, forming the first combined permanent base for mankind on the moon.
"The landing site is flat, with no rocks larger than half a meter in diameter within tens of meters around it, and the slope is within a safe range. AI has confirmed this as the optimal landing site."
Yang Anchao took a deep breath, his fingers pressing even harder on the edge of the control panel, but his voice remained steady and powerful: "Initiate landing procedure."
On the screen, the Trail Blazer 2 began to adjust its posture.
The attitude control engine spews out tiny flames, like an invisible hand gently adjusting the angle of the arrow, with each fine adjustment accurate to two decimal places.
A few dozen seconds later, the rocket changed from a horizontal flight state to a vertical state, with its tail pointing towards the lunar surface. The process of changing its attitude was as smooth as a carefully choreographed dance.
Then the retro-thrust engine ignites, and blue flames shoot out from the nozzle, continuously and precisely reducing the rocket's descent speed little by little.
The altitude dropped rapidly, and the speed decreased from hundreds of meters per second to tens of meters per second.
The AI autonomous navigation system begins scanning the terrain around the landing point in real time, comparing the data with pre-stored high-resolution maps in milliseconds.
When the altitude dropped to several hundred meters, the AI did not trigger any evasive maneuvers. The planned landing point was very flat and there were no obstacles around.
When the altitude dropped to 100 meters, the speed had already dropped to a few meters per second. The flames of the retro-thrust engine blew up the dust on the lunar surface, like a gray flower blooming in the vacuum.
Because there is no air, the dust does not disperse but instead splashes in all directions in a parabolic trajectory before quickly falling back onto the lunar surface, creating a shallow gray ripple beneath the rocket.
With its altitude dropping to a dozen meters and its speed still decreasing, Pioneer 2 slowly approached the gray lunar surface in a near-perfect manner.
The sensors on the landing legs have started working, providing real-time feedback on every inch of the distance to the lunar surface.
Landing!
The number representing the rocket's speed jumped to zero, the altitude returned to zero, the pressure sensors on the landing legs transmitted data, the rocket body had landed steadily on the lunar surface, all four landing legs were bearing the weight, the rocket body was vertical, and the tilt angle was less than half a degree.
The deviation between the landing point and the predetermined coordinates was minimal, far exceeding the design specifications.
The screen in front of Xiao Zhao displayed complete landing data: rocket verticality, landing leg load distribution, rocket structural stress, thrust reverser engine shutdown sequence, attitude control system terminal correction record, and fuel balance. All key indicators were normal.
He opened his mouth, but the first word got stuck in his throat. He cleared his throat and shouted into the loudspeaker at a volume several decibels higher than usual: "Landing successful! Pioneer 2, landed safely!"
The command center was silent for several seconds.
Then applause erupted, not the restrained and awe-inspiring applause of a successful launch, but a thorough, explosive applause, filled with tears and cheers.
Old Zhou took off his glasses and wiped them vigorously with his sleeve, wiping them again and again, but the lenses were always covered with a layer of fog.
The young engineer Xiao Zhao next to him patted him on the shoulder, as if he wanted to say something, but his throat seemed to be blocked by something, and he couldn't say a word.
Yang Anchao sat in front of the control console, watching the small dot representing Pioneer 2 on the screen, quietly resting on the lunar surface, motionless, only a few dozen meters away from the dot of Pioneer 1 next to it.
Two points of light hovered side by side on the grayish lunar surface near the Shackleton Crater Chain, like two silver badges inlaid on the moon's surface.
He picked up the enamel mug and took a sip of the now-cold Fu tea. The tea was very bitter, but the corners of his mouth were curved in a smile.
He picked up his phone and dialed Wang Donglai's number.
"Mr. Wang, Trailblazer II, it's landed safely."
There was a long silence on the other end of the phone, then Wang Donglai's voice came through: "Engineer Yang, the landing deviation was minimal, and the posture was perfect. This is not luck; it is the result of your team's meticulous refinement step by step. Master Zhao should have seen it from heaven."
He paused, then added, "I've reviewed the docking schedule, and there are no problems. The two rockets must complete the module docking before the astronauts exit the spacecraft, but this order wasn't given by me; it was given to yourself. You're not issuing instructions now; you're fulfilling a promise."
Yang Anchao put down his phone, stood up, turned around, and said to everyone in the command center: "Gentlemen, we have made history. But history will not stop here. The docking plan is ready. Next, we will connect the two rockets together on this lunar surface. Everyone, proceed to your respective posts according to the plan."
The applause rang out again, even more enthusiastic than before.
No one sat down to rest, no one left their post; everyone immediately threw themselves back into work because they knew that even greater challenges lay ahead.
Shortly after landing, the lunar base terraforming work officially began. After the Pioneer 2 landed, the internal storage tanks of its rockets were emptied and cleaned according to the pre-arranged plan, and four Yugong robots drove out of the Pioneer 1 section to begin leveling the ground between the two rockets.
Their six robotic arms moved nimbly in the low gravity environment of the moon, scooping up lunar soil, sintering it into lunar soil bricks using electromagnetic fields, and stacking them one by one in the connection area between the two rockets.
According to the mission plan, the Pioneer 1 rocket body remained in a horizontal position as the core backbone of the base. After the Pioneer 2 rocket body completed the tank modification, it docked with Pioneer 1 in a T-shape. Two robots laid a connecting channel made of lunar soil bricks between the docking surfaces of the two rockets, and the astronauts completed the final sealing and reinforcement work in the channel.
The two rockets' propellant tanks were connected to form a joint structure, which multiplied the available space after docking, allowing multiple astronauts to stay and providing ample space for scientific experiments.
The public activity area has more than doubled in size and is now floored with lunar soil bricks. The control room has been moved from the instrument compartment of Pioneer 1 to the middle section of the T-shaped structure, with a more spacious operating table and more complete communication interfaces. The original instrument compartment has been transformed into a mini medical room. The newly added experimental compartment is equipped with a small materials laboratory, a biological incubator, a quantum communication terminal, and an independently powered environmental control system.
Three astronauts, wearing the latest generation of extravehicular activity suits, stepped out of the rocket and left another set of clear footprints on the lunar surface.
Their figures appeared very, very slow in the live broadcast. The low gravity of the moon made every movement seem like floating in water, but it was precisely this slowness that made every movement appear exceptionally solemn.
They brought out the first batch of experimental equipment. The legume seeds for biological breeding were carefully sown in specially designed incubators. Each incubator had undergone strict sterilization. The internal nutrient solution circulation system and spectral lamp assembly had already undergone a complete ground simulation test before launch.
The alloy samples for the materials experiment were placed piece by piece on the external exposure platform. Each sample was labeled with a number and composition. They will be directly bombarded by cosmic rays in the extreme environment of the moon, accumulating valuable basic data for the research and development of structural materials for next-generation spacecraft and first-wall materials for nuclear fusion devices.
The quantum communication terminal has begun sending encrypted test signals to the ground. This upgraded entanglement distribution terminal is more powerful than the original version on Pioneer 1. If it works at the Earth-Moon distance, the next step is to verify it at a greater distance in deep space.
When all this was done, a breathtaking scene appeared on the lunar surface: two silver-gray rockets were connected in a T-shape on the gray lunar surface, with silver photovoltaic arrays unfolding around them like a quiet silver lake, and a protective wall made of lunar soil bricks enclosing a small territory around the rockets, while further away, the lunar horizon curved and stretched into the endless dark space.
This is the first combined permanent base that humans have built on another celestial body.
It is still small in scale and its functions are still rudimentary, but it is a beginning, a beginning that will never be erased.
The chat in the Douyin live stream room went wild the moment the connection was completed.
Someone posted a black and white photo of the Saturn V rocket standing on the launch pad many years ago, with the caption: "The last time humans put astronauts on the moon."
Then he posted a real-time rendering of the T-shaped base after the Pioneer 2 landed, with another line of text next to it: "From today onwards, there is a permanent base built by the Chinese on the moon, and its name is Pioneer."
This post was shared millions of times in a short period of time.
One commenter wrote: "My grandfather was an aerospace engineer. When he passed away, he didn't know when we would be able to land on the moon. Today I printed out this picture and put it next to his portrait."
Someone else posted a very simple Weibo post in the early hours of the morning, consisting of only four words and an exclamation mark: "The moon, here we come!"
These four words were followed by a whole row of crying emojis and hundreds of thousands of likes.
Many people are asking the same question: "When is the next mission? Can we go up and check it out?"
Wang Donglai stood in front of the glass on the second floor and clapped his hands a few times. The sound was not loud, but his palms clapped very firmly.
He didn't go down to steal anyone's spotlight, but simply turned to Lu Cheng and said, "Tell Engineer Yang that parking spaces can be reserved. Doesn't Masla want to park the starship? Tell him the parking fee is calculated by the hour, using technical data for payment. This is a business negotiation; let the legal team draft the terms."
Then he walked out of the observation room, down the stairs to the first floor, and headed towards the cafeteria.
The celebratory banquet was held in the staff canteen of the launch center. There were no round tables, no menus, and no speeches from leaders.
Yang Anchao had the longest tables in the kitchen put together, covered them with disposable plastic tablecloths, and set up dozens of folding chairs.
When the head chef heard that a celebration banquet was going to be held, he dug out all the best dishes he had stored away: hand-pulled mutton, big plate chicken, hand-pulled noodles, roasted lamb chops, and several large plates of stir-fried eggs with sand onions, a specialty of the Gobi Desert.
Alcohol is strictly prohibited, but soft drinks are unlimited.
Wang Donglai stood up, holding his cup, and looked around at the engineers who were crowding the cafeteria.
Some were still wearing the faded blue overalls from the final assembly and testing hall, while others had just come down from the control console, their dark circles still lingering.
He didn't raise his voice when he spoke, but the entire cafeteria instantly fell silent.
"Today I won't talk about technology or missions; I'll only talk about two things. First, the success of Pioneer II is the result of countless sleepless nights, countless test runs, and countless lines of code by everyone here, including those brothers who are still on duty monitoring telemetry data. This is not luck; it's your skill. Second, the company will pay whatever skill is worth."
He paused for a moment before continuing, "The total bonus for the 'Arrow to the Moon' project is one hundred million. It will be distributed according to contribution levels. Finance will begin the accounting tomorrow, and the funds will be in the accounts by the end of the month. Engineer Yang, you are the project's chief commander, so you will need to sign off on the distribution plan."
The applause erupted.
Old Zhou spilled his drink from his enamel mug all over the table. Xiao Zhao stood up and clapped until his palms were red. In the corner, a few young people who had been with the company for a little over a year exchanged glances, and one of them even had red eyes.
Yang Anchao did not applaud, but simply took off his glasses and slowly wiped them with his sleeve, the shallow line at the corner of his mouth appearing deeper than ever before.
As the applause subsided, Wang Donglai picked up his cup again.
He didn't raise his voice, but everyone fell silent without warning.
"One hundred million is just the beginning. We have many more space missions to go, and each success will bring a corresponding bonus package. But I want to remind you that money is just the smallest reward the company can give you. The real reward is on the moon, in those two docked silver-gray rockets, and in the smiles of every astronaut after their safe return. That is the greatest meaning of your work."
He raised the glass higher, and the drink shimmered with a golden light under the lamp.
"cheers."
Everyone stood up and raised their glasses.
There were no synchronized slogans, only the crisp sound of dozens of cups clinking together, and the grinning face of the head chef holding a plate of food in the corner of the cafeteria. (End of Chapter)