Chapter 1280: A Worldwide Attraction
[Shocked! This is what the world’s first colonial s.p.a.ce s.h.i.+p actually looks like!]
[The first batch of Guanghan Special Economic Zone immigrants are heading to the moon!]
[Did you guys know that the flight to the moon has left?]
[With this, we are one step closer to s.p.a.ce colonization…]
The Chang’e, which had just left the atmosphere, hadn’t even docked on the Magpie Bridge, which was waiting in the lunar transfer orbit, yet the ground was already in chaos.
News about the launch plan occupied the headlines of major news networks.
Whether it was on Weibo or online games, everyone was talking about the Chang’e heading toward the Moon Palace.
Even though landing on the moon was not uncommon anymore, but so many people were landing on the moon at the same time. This was the first of its kind in the history of human civilization.
The state wanted everyone to have a deeper understanding of the Guanghan City plan and also to eliminate the general public’s fear of leaving Earth and going to outer s.p.a.ce.
CTV invited Nie Yun, the driver of the former Skyglow, to present a special program to introduce the Guanghan city plan.
Nie Yun was in the studio. Although his appearance had not changed significantly over the past few years, his temperament was much more stable than before. After all, he was no longer a simple pilot; he was now an air force major general who was serving the aeros.p.a.ce forces.
He stood in front of the camera in a Moon Palace s.p.a.cesuit as he introduced himself to the audience sitting in front of the TVs, computers, and mobile phones.
“The gravity on the Moon is only one-sixth of that on Earth. In addition to the air, food, and drinking water issues mentioned above, there is another important problem. Living in a low-gravity environment for a long time might be harmful to astronauts. Such as damage to the bone density and cardiovascular system. We used to rely on exercise to overcome these health problems, but now, we have a better way… Such as the clothes I’m currently wearing.”
The host asked curiously, “Is there anything special about these clothes?”
Nie Yun said with a smile, “The special thing about this is that its key parts are filled with steel. For most of the non-working areas and part of the working areas of the lunar scientific research station, we have installed induction electromagnets into the floor, which would provide adjustable “artificial gravity” for the staff wearing s.p.a.ce suits in the cabin, to compensate for the lack of gravity. As long as you wear this piece of clothing, you will be able to experience a normal gravitational environment.”
Host: “But… Will this not affect the electronic equipment in the base?”
Nie Yun smiled and said, “Of course not. The equipment that might be affected will be protected by anti-magnetic materials. In addition to s.p.a.cesuits that can imitate a gravity environment, we also have a special gravity room in the lunar scientific research station. It can simulate a gravity environment to help the health of the staff members.”
Host: “Can you be more specific?”
Nie Yun: “Basically, it is like a Ferris Wheel placed on its side. It spins like a centrifuge. Then, combined with the gravity of the moon itself, it provides people in the room with a diagonally downward force. Inside it, you can work out, watch a movie, or play a game with a virtual reality helmet… Or even sleep.”
Host: “But if it keeps spinning, how can people go inside?”
Nie Yun laughed and said, “Is that really a question? People go inside when it stops spinning! After all, you don’t need to stay inside all the time, just 2-3 hours a day.”
In addition to the s.p.a.cesuit, Nie Yun introduced many other things.
Such as the daily routines on the lunar scientific research station, what work they usually did, and which direction they wanted to develop. Also, if the model of Guanghan City proved to be feasible, in the future, they would expand to Mars or even somewhere farther away.
Although there were no cool special effects, the viewers who were sitting in front of the TVs and computers at home had hopeful eyes. They couldn’t help but think about the distant starry sky.
From the moment the Chang’e was launched, their journey to the stars had officially begun.
This was an adventure into the future…
…
“G.o.d Lu is nutty!”
“From now onward, we will have a new city on the map.”
“And they’re a direct-controlled munic.i.p.ality!”
“Shenzhen and Suzhou are crying. We have applied for so many years, and we still aren’t direct-controlled!”
“Even such an amazing scholar doesn’t have a girlfriend, I want to laugh at him. At the very least, I am not a loner.”
Copenhagen airport.
Lu Zhou sat in the VIP lounge. He was swiping through his phone, reading the online comments.
Ten minutes ago, he posted a photo taken at the airport. Soon after, the number of likes was over 100,000, and the number of comments was in the tens of thousands.
This was expected. Almost every time there was a big story about him on the Internet, his Weibo would explode.
And this time was obviously no exception.
Whether it was the n.o.bel Prize or the launch of the Chang’e, his fans were going crazy.
Lu Zhou read the comments piled up in the comments section. He couldn’t help but laugh, especially when he saw the last one.
He wanted to say something along the lines of, [Look at your bank account, and you won’t be laughing anymore.]. But in the end, he resisted the urge.
Lu Zhou found that he was really savage sometimes, but fortunately, he was a kind person.
Even if something was worthy of the whole world’s celebration, one or two haters would appear.
For example, someone did the calculations and predicted that this ma.s.sive s.p.a.ce colonization program would eventually go bankrupt. No matter how much the cost was reduced, there was no way to make the development of lunar resources profitable. They thought the final outcome of this lunar colonization project would be the world laughing at the Chinese astronauts.
Another example was a certain big journalist on Weibo attacking Lu Zhou for thinking about problems too rationally, for criticizing a girl too harshly at the Global Climate Summit, claiming that he lacked compa.s.sion for normal humans and was not reflecting Chinese culture.
However, Lu Zhou himself hadn’t said anything. His fans defended him.
Guanghan was the city with the highest average salary in the world, and they had the opportunity to talk about academic problems with n.o.bel Prize winners. They were n.o.bel Prize candidates themselves.
They didn’t want to go to the moon?
There were a million scientific researchers waiting in line, and there were plenty of people that wanted to go!
Some heroes had given up their personal and family lives because their major was too niche, and they went to s.p.a.ce for the sake of the future of the country. But most people could never receive the right qualifications.
No one’s forcing you to go.
Lu Zhou was smirking while scrolling through his phone. Amba.s.sador Du Yanming walked over to him and spoke to him with a friendly smile.
“Academician Lu, what’s the good news?”
“Nothing, I just read some interesting comments…” Lu Zhou put the phone away. He coughed, looked up at him, and asked, “Do you need anything, Amba.s.sador Du?”
Amba.s.sador Du smiled and said, “Nothing, I just came to see you and to remind you that it’s time to board the plane.”
Time to board?
Already?
“Okay, then I won’t stay around.” Lu Zhou stood up from his chair and stretched out his right hand toward Amba.s.sador Du. He said, “I’ll see you later!”
“See you!” The gray-haired old man shook Lu Zhou’s hand with a smile. “Be careful on the road… But then again, I feel like I will see you soon.”
“Why do you say that?”
Amba.s.sador Du Yanming spoke with a smile.
“Because I always see you in the newspapers!”