The rise of nanometers

Chapter 548 Two Landings

August 18th.

Queqiao-2, which has been in lunar orbit for almost two weeks, is preparing to begin landing on the lunar surface.

Inside the Toad Palace Space Station.

Five astronauts gathered in the core module and began a routine meeting before landing on the moon.

According to the division of labor arrangement, Yang Liming, Zhang Feng, and Ye Yadong stayed at the space station; Nie Changfeng and Shi Keji were responsible for driving Queqiao 2 to land in the Yuhai Hongwan area in the northern hemisphere of the moon.

After receiving the latest instruction document from the ground command center, Yang Liming, who served as the interim general manager of the lunar area, said:

"Everyone, according to the original plan, the moon landing will begin in two hours."

"yes."

They discussed the issues related to the moon landing again, and after confirming that there were no major problems, they divided into two groups.

Nie Changfeng and Shi Keji floated past the two docking bays, entered the cockpit of Queqiao 2, and began routine inspections before landing.

After checking three times, it was determined that there was no problem with Queqiao 2, and the time was almost up. Nie Changfeng looked at the dashboard and saw that the time was fixed at 12:24. There were only six minutes left before their moon landing mission.

Minute by second, tick tock.

In a weightless environment, humans can easily lose their sense of direction. The two used spacesuits to fix their bodies in their seats.

"Queqiao 2, this is the Toad Palace Space Station, separation begins."

Nie Changfeng replied: "Received, starting to separate."

After the docking modules of Queqiao-2 and Changong Space Station were separated, Queqiao-2 flew towards the moon through its auxiliary engine.

Since the moon's gravity is relatively weak and the atmosphere is extremely thin, with almost no atmosphere, this is a very favorable condition for spacecraft to land on the moon.

Of course, everything has pros and cons. Low gravity and ultra-thin atmosphere have good and bad sides, such as the inability to use parachutes or hang gliders for landing.

After flying around the moon three times, Queqiao-2's flight altitude has dropped to less than 80 kilometers from the moon.

Nie Changfeng made a quick decision and began to adjust his flying posture.

Queqiao 2 as a whole started with its head upward, and the main engine nozzle pointed downward. It used the power of the auxiliary engine to push back, allowing Queqiao 2 to land vertically on the central plain of the Yuhai Hongwan area.

The Imbrium Rainbow Bay area is an ancient crater located on the northwest edge of the Imbrium. About two-fifths of the crater boundary of the Rainbow Bay crater is connected to the Imbrium.

At an altitude of 80 kilometers, due to the low gravity, the main engine only started for more than ten seconds during landing, and only used power braking to avoid landing too fast and causing damage to the spacecraft.

Nie Changfeng and Shi Keji had already set the landing procedures for the spacecraft, but they were still staring at the dashboard, ready for manual intervention at any time.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly. Finally, when we were close to the landing point, with only 3 kilometers left, the main engine spit out weak reddish flames, lowered the descent speed to 10 meters per second, and gradually descended.

Less than 100 meters away from the ground, the descent speed of Queqiao 2 is already less than 3 meters per second.

The sand and dust on the ground were impacted by the particles ejected from the engine. The sand and dust gradually increased in size and spread in all directions.

They carefully selected this landing area, which is one of the reasons why they have been in lunar orbit for almost half a month but have yet to land.

After all, sharpening the sword never wastes time cutting firewood. For more than half a month, they have been exploring a suitable landing area.

If it is a small lander, the geological requirements are not high, as long as the lunar sea is flat, but the weight of Queqiao 2 is frighteningly high.

Queqiao 2 itself weighs 34 tons, plus about 21 tons of remaining surplus fuel, while the weight of each cabin in the Guanghan Palace base is 55 tons.

The total combined weight reaches about 110 tons. When using vertical landing, the geological conditions of the landing area must be considered.

If the sandy soil layer is too thick and loose, it is not suitable for this landing plan. If the sandy soil layer cannot support the weight of Queqiao 2 and directly sinks or tilts, it will definitely be a big accident.

In this area of ​​the Yuhai Hongwan area, the thickness of the moon sand layer on the ground is about 30 to 40 centimeters, and underneath is a hard basalt layer, which is very flat.

When the engine nozzle was less than three meters close to the ground, the eight support frames immediately popped out and were firmly inserted into the sand layer on the ground, and were finally blocked by the basalt layer.

[Auto balancing system starts. ]

The eight support frames began to adjust the hull of Queqiao 2 according to their respective heights to ensure that the hull was perpendicular to the ground.

In fact, Queqiao 2 at this time has already undergone a second transformation at the Tiangong Space Station. It is no longer the "I" type launch vehicle, but the tail has been transformed into five parallel cabins.

[Landing completed. ]

Nie Changfeng and Shi Keji checked the various systems of the spacecraft and breathed a sigh of relief when they found that everything was normal.

But it's not over yet.

Nie Changfeng pressed the separation button, and then Shi Keji started Queqiao 2, separated from the five cabins at the tail, and ascended about 10 kilometers.

The system began to adjust the flight posture according to the set program, and then landed again. They were only allowed to do this when there was a lot of fuel left.

Finally, Queqiao 2 landed steadily on the southeast side, about 600 meters away from the Guanghan Palace base.

Since the weight has been reduced by more than half, the landing is more stable this time.

The reason why they will not be separated in the future is mainly to reduce the foundation pressure of the Guanghan Palace Base. In addition, the Guanghan Palace Base needs to be expanded again, and Queqiao No. 2 is still hanging on it, which seems a bit inconvenient.

After two successful landings, the footage of their landing was also sent back to Blue Star.

Suddenly, the domestic Internet was filled with laughter.

As for the foreign Internet, it is divided into three factions: the neutral faction who is indifferent, the jealous faction who says the grapes are sour before they can eat them, and the friendly faction who congratulates and envy.

Naturally, the Moon side has no time to pay attention to all the bizarre comments on the Blue Star Internet.

In the cockpit of Queqiao 2, Nie Changfeng removed the seat belt on his seat and felt the long-lost weight. Although this weight seemed a bit weak, this down-to-earth feeling will give humans an innate sense of security. feel.

It's not time to leave the cabin yet, because there is a lot of dust outside. This is lunar dust that was kicked up during the landing process.

Since the moon has no obvious atmosphere, there is no erosion by water, wind and sand.

For thousands of years, the sand and dust here have remained in a very original state. It seems that they have not been polished by time, and they are obviously sharp and sharp.

If you are not careful, inhaling this moon dust can easily damage your equipment.

In a low-gravity environment, it will take at least several days for lunar dust to fall to the ground.

The two controlled the Guanghan Palace Base through the electromagnetic wave communication system to maintain normal operation. Even if the solar panels were not deployed, the nuclear batteries in the Guanghan Palace Base could maintain the normal operation of the base.

In the cockpit, due to the weak gravity, the two had to be more vigilant. For example, when entering the living cabin below, they had to hold on to the handle of the bulkhead.

On the lonely moon, they must be as careful as possible to ensure that they are not injured or sick, otherwise the mission will end early.

Nie Changfeng, who went down to the living cabin, started to heat the fast food package, opened a bottle of functional nutrient solution, and squeezed a few mouthfuls into his mouth.

After decades, humans finally set foot on this lonely and desolate land.

Around the spaceship and base, the floating moon dust is slowly falling.

In the radar scanning system, these floating moon dust are like the signals of snowflakes.

Thank you for your support (ω`)

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