Chapter 548: We must get ahead of them
As expected, the news sparked heated discussions among people all over the world.
"Our first lunar scientific research base has finally been officially established. I believe that it won't be long before we can travel to the moon."
"It can be seen that the recent exploration results of the Golden Rabbit No. 1 are indeed very excellent, which is why the Rabbit has set up a plan for a lunar scientific research base so quickly. In terms of lunar exploration, Sam is already at a complete disadvantage."
"Sure enough, the first lunar scientific research base was built here in Shackleton Crater. With the lunar base, our exploration of the solar system will be more in-depth."
Soon after the news was announced, SAM Space Agency also learned of the news.
"They are actually... planning to build a moon base?"
Even though they were prepared for this news, Williams and others from SAM Space Agency did not expect that the Rabbit would prepare to build a lunar base so soon.
You know, as early as the last century, SAM Space Agency had sent astronauts to explore the moon many times.
Even so, they have never built any lunar base, but only explored a very small area of the moon and brought back a small amount of lunar samples.
Establishing a lunar scientific research base is easier said than done.
Not to mention how many construction-related technologies are involved, transporting so much construction materials to the moon, 380,000 kilometers away, is an extremely huge project .
"We must tell the gentleman the news immediately."
Thinking of this, Williams immediately dialed the private number.
"What? Rabbit is actually planning to build a scientific research base on the moon?"
Upon hearing the news, the white-haired old man was also shocked.
In fact, simply announcing a plan is not such an unacceptable thing.
Because many plans previously announced by many countries were ultimately not successfully implemented.
For example, Japan plans to build a lunar base in 2025 and use robots as "pioneers" on the moon.
So far, no major action has been taken.
Tianzhu planned to launch its first unmanned lunar spacecraft in 2008, but this plan was delayed for more than ten years.
Including the various space programs of the Soviet Union and the United States, all of them were shelved for several years or even more than ten years.
During this period, only the Rabbit has been strictly implementing its various space programs with almost no delays.
Such performance is enough to make any other country believe that Rabbit always keeps his word.
"Sir, the location chosen by Rabbit is also one of the lunar research bases planned by our Sam Space Agency. If they were to occupy this location in advance, we would undoubtedly lose the opportunity to explore the moon."
Because there are no clear regulations on the use of the moon, the principle of "first come, first served" is basically followed.
Even if SAM Space Agency had already made plans for various lunar scientific research bases, these locations could not always be ready for SAM Space Agency.
"Damn it... they actually wanted to take over the position we planned first !"
At this time, the white-haired old man still stubbornly believed that these areas should belong to Sam, and he gritted his teeth.
Thinking of this, the white-haired old man continued to ask:
"How is the preparation for the restart of the Space Launch System going now?"
"We are already actively preparing for this. We expect that within two to three years at the earliest, our space launch system will be able to launch the moon rocket again."
After regaining a large amount of funding, SAM Space Agency focused almost all its energy on restarting the Space Launch System.
But even so, designing a rocket from scratch is not an easy task.
"Two to three years... is still a bit slow."
At this rate, even if everything went very smoothly, it would be difficult to catch up with the progress before the Rabbit built a lunar scientific research base.
At this time, the white-haired old man suddenly thought of another plan.
"Director Williams, let me ask you, if we completely replicate the Apollo project, how long will it take to complete the launch of the moon rocket again?"
After hearing what the white-haired old man said, Williams was stunned for a moment, then gave his own answer.
"If we completely replicate the Apollo project, we can greatly reduce the time required for various research. We can re-launch the moon rocket within a year at the earliest. However..."
"Just what?" the white-haired old man asked.
"It's just that, you know, the cost of the Apollo project is too expensive. Such a huge amount of money is totally beyond the reach of Sam's space agency."
The entire Apollo project has been confirmed many times to be a space project that can successfully land on the moon.
But the costs involved are beyond the reach of SAM Space Agency.
This feeling is like building a Great Pyramid of Khufu with human labor in the 21st century.
Even if the technical problem can be solved, it is something they don't want to face.
"Director Williams, can you estimate how much it would cost to replicate the Apollo project?"
"A conservative estimate is about five times the cost of developing the Space Launch System," Williams said.
This is also one of the reasons why SAM space agency has been reluctant to replicate the Apollo project.
According to current prices, it would cost about 1.2 billion Euros to build a Saturn V rocket, not to mention various other expenses.
The Saturn V rocket cannot be recovered due to its own technical limitations.
This also further increases the launch cost of each manned lunar rocket mission.
Because of this, SAM Space Agency deliberately abandoned the original technology and decided to re-study the new moon rocket launch system.
But at this time, the sudden rise of Rabbit's aerospace technology left Sam with no time to delay any longer.
"Director Williams, I will help NASA solve the cost issue. Get ready to restart the Saturn V project."
Williams' face was full of shock when he heard the white-haired old man's words.
Williams did not expect that in the face of such huge expenses, this gentleman still made this decision resolutely.
"No matter what, we must not let the rabbits build a base on the moon first!"
Shortly after hanging up the phone, the white-haired old man found the relevant person in charge and announced a new initiative.
