Chapter 1,324 The key problems restricting human exploration of space
【Unmodified version】
Having said this, Wu Hao pointed to the introduction video played on the big screen hanging next to him and introduced it with a smile to everyone.
"The main body of our inflatable and expandable space experimental capsule is made of a new polymer composite material specially developed by us. Compared with some traditional polymer composite materials, our material has many advantages.
For example, in general, this kind of material is prone to aging, hardening, and loss of toughness during long-term alternations of hot and cold temperatures. But our material does not. It can maintain toughness and resist aging for a long time in such an alternating hot and cold environment.
The performance is excellent.”
“And this polymer composite material is also very strong. Because of its high strength, it has strong tensile resistance and impact resistance.
Of course, no matter how strong it is, it will be difficult to withstand the impact of those space debris at six, seven or even ten kilometers per second.
Not to mention this kind of polymer composite material, even the hardest metals in the world, chromium and titanium, cannot withstand it.
Therefore, our human spacecraft does not expect to rely on materials to prevent these debris from impacting, but has established an accurate debris detection and forecasting mechanism.
Monitor the status of debris in space in real time to adjust the trajectory of the spacecraft to avoid debris."
"Secondly, it is necessary to have good self-healing and repair capabilities. In other words, after being hit by these debris, the spacecraft can repair itself in time, or repair quickly. This can avoid deterioration of the situation and threaten the safety of the spacecraft.
, and even the safety of astronauts inside the spacecraft.
This time, on this inflatable and expandable experimental space capsule, we put a special liquid into the interlayer of the capsule's polymer composite outer shell.
When a leak occurs in an inflatable inflatable space capsule, this special liquid will block the leak in the shortest possible time, preventing the internal pressure of the spacecraft and the outflow of cabin air.
In addition, the inflatable expansion shell of the inflatable test chamber is also made of a variety of overlapping materials.
This will further improve the strength of the inflatable and expandable space capsule, and its overall performance has even surpassed the metal shell of traditional spacecraft and is even better."
Speaking of this, Wu Hao said with a smile: "We have been closely monitoring this inflatable and expandable space test module since its launch. It has been nearly three months since its launch, and its orbital operation has been in good condition.
.”
Please take a look, this is the situation inside this inflatable and expandable space capsule. What we carry inside is the space farm experimental project.
After the inflatable and expandable space capsule was launched, the space experiment capsule was immediately inflated and expanded, and the space farm experimental project began immediately.
This time, more than 20 kinds of plant seeds accompanied the spacecraft to space. In addition to some vegetables, there were also some wheat, rice, and corn, as well as potatoes, sweet potatoes and other food crops.
In addition to plants, this time there are also several types of protein-rich insects and some microorganisms, building a complete space ecosystem at once.
According to the plan, this inflatable and expandable space capsule will fly autonomously in space for seven to eight months to fully verify its reliability and safety.
In addition, it will also verify whether it is feasible to build space farms and space ecosystems in space capsules.
As we all know, the food problem has always been one of the most important issues that has troubled us humans in going into space. Currently, astronauts on all human spacecraft in space rely on supplies from the earth to survive.
Every once in a while, the cargo spacecraft carrying this large amount of supplies will take off, dock with the space station, and deliver important supplies to the space station.
For example, water and food, which are most important to astronauts, occupy almost half or even more of the entire cargo spacecraft's capacity and space.
In the future, humans will land on other planets, such as the moon, Mars, and even further planets.
It would be unrealistic, unreliable, and expensive to rely on earth supplies for supplies.
Therefore, adapting measures to local conditions and being self-reliant is a key issue currently being studied by scientists, and it is also one of the key problems restricting our human exploration of space.
Speaking of this, Wu Hao smiled slightly and said: "A few years ago, there was a not-so-famous space science fiction movie called "The Martian." I believe everyone has seen or heard of this movie. The main story of the movie is that the male protagonist survived by growing potatoes on Mars.
This is not a completely false science fiction fantasy, many of which are based on our current scientific research results.
For example, we display based on the relevant data returned by a series of previous detectors.
There will be a large amount of water resources in the south pole part of the moon and in landmarks on Mars.
For example, in the south pole of the moon, there are a large number of glaciers and frozen soil, which contain considerable reserves of water resources, which are enough for human use.
On the surface of Mars, according to NASA's latest exploration and research results, there is liquid water on the surface of Mars that changes with the seasons. In addition, there are abundant glaciers and frozen soil in the South Pole of Mars, and the water resources reserves are also very considerable.
With water resources, this lays the foundation for human survival. In addition to being used for drinking by astronauts, water resources can also be used as fuel.
The decomposed hydrogen can be used as rocket fuel, while the separated oxygen can not only satisfy human breathing, but also serve as a combustion accelerant.
The carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere, as well as the carbon dioxide in our human breathing exhaust, combines with the dehydrated hydrogen to produce another high-quality rocket propulsion fuel, methane.
These can provide very favorable natural conditions for us humans to survive on distant planets.
Of course, reality may be more difficult than this, and there are still many problems that have not yet been solved by scientists.
For example, these planets are very desolate, and there is no organic matter in the soil, let alone nutrients. If you want to grow vegetables and food on these alien planets, you must constantly improve the soil.
This is a big project and cannot be completed in a short time.
Therefore, the best way for our human space exploration mission is this advanced factory-based soilless cultivation technology.
It does not rely on soil, directly uses hydroponics or air cultivation to carry out factory-scale planting, thereby providing sufficient food supply for astronauts.
Our space farm project also wants to explore this field and pursue the ambitious goal of long-term human survival in space and on alien planets."