Free Web NovelChapter 1385: Chapter 660 The Most Tense Moment
The entire world was shocked by the impressive performance of the Yixing H-1 Mars Detector released by the Mars-1 spacecraft.
International space exploration has continuously launched Mars probes to investigate the Martian surface, and the most significant challenges for these probes have been energy and information transmission.
Energy is one aspect. freёwebnoѵel.com
Using traditional battery technology, the lifespan of Mars probes is severely limited by battery life, preventing them from operating for an extended period.
Later, with the advancement of solar technology, Mars probes generally operated on a solar power charging system. However, the presence of an atmosphere on Mars means that solar panels are affected by the planet’s seasonal changes. Even in seasons with abundant sunlight, there can be insufficient energy supply for the probes.
Two years ago, a Mars probe launched by M Country adopted a more advanced nuclear power mode. Due to the limited mass of the probe, it could only use the simplest form of nuclear technology. The power conversion from nuclear to electrical energy was even less efficient than solar charging technology, but its advantage was stability and a longer lifespan.
Moreover, probes always faced issues with information transmission.
Radio frequency signals are not omnipotent.
The farthest distance between Mars and Earth can exceed 150 million kilometers, and even electromagnetic waves take 500 seconds to travel that distance. Adding on information conversion, command interpretation, etc., the time consumed becomes quite significant.
Several probes sent to Mars, whose energy lifespans had not yet run out, lost contact with Earth primarily because they weren’t operated in time, leading them into dangerous situations.
These two points are the key limitations to the operation of Mars probes.
The Yixing H-1 solved the issues of energy and information transmission. It used solar energy transfer technology for power, with monocrystalline blades at the rear providing a constant supply of solar energy. Information transmission and operations relied on Spatial Connection Technology, enabling instantaneous, delay-free operation.
Combining these two technologies, at least in theory, the probe could continue to operate indefinitely unless it encountered uncontrollable hazards.
While international public opinion was still in discussion, the astronauts had already completed their work, finished the mission, and returned to the spacecraft.
Television hosts also started introducing the methods used by the Mars-1 spacecraft to return to Earth, "The Mars-1 spacecraft primarily relies on transmitted solar energy, along with onboard solid fuel, to break free from Mars’ gravity and ascend. Afterwards, it will use Z-wave satellites orbiting Mars to establish a space shuttle corridor for its return."
"The entire process involves many cutting-edge technologies."
Although the TV hosts made only a brief introduction, it still had an awe-inspiring impact; the technical difficulties of ascending from Mars were completely different from those of ascending from Earth.
No matter whether the return mission succeeds or not, the mere existence of a theoretical technological capability is already quite remarkable.
For humanity’s exploration of the stars, Mars exploration is a history filled with failure.
The most notable failures belong to Country E’s Aerospace Bureau, which began Mars exploration over fifty years ago. Out of more than twenty related missions, only a few achieved success.
In the 1960s, specifically 1960, former Country E began its Mars exploration missions by launching a Mars probe.
This launch was successful and is one of the rare successes in Country E’s history of Mars exploration.
Two years later, Country E launched Mars 1, which lost contact with the ground at a distance of 100 million kilometers from Earth, and there was no further news ever since. During the same period, the launches of Mars 1962A and Mars 1962B also resulted in failure.
Another two years passed, and Country E once again launched a probe, which also ended in failure. Although the probe successfully reached the vicinity of Mars, it failed to send any data back to Earth due to damage to its solar panels.
The persistent spirit of Country E’s Aerospace Bureau is commendable; despite successive defeats, they launched another probe years later, which once again ended in failure.
The continuous failures did not deter Country E’s Aerospace Bureau. Four years later, they continued to launch probes and sent off two at once. One exploded seven minutes after launch due to an engine failure, and the other crashed to the ground less than a minute after liftoff.
A little over a year later, they continued to launch, sending off three probes at once. The first probe encountered a mishap after ascending, and unknown reasons emerged; Country E did not admit to launching it. The second probe successfully reached the Martian surface, becoming the first man-made object to do so, but it quickly encountered a dust storm and lost contact before landing. The third probe successfully landed on Mars but suffered the same fate as the second and lost contact after operating for only twenty seconds.
Afterward, Country E successively launched Mars 4 to 7, almost gambling as they directly sent off four probes. Of these, Mars 5 successfully sent back sixty images to Earth but ceased operation after nine days, while all other probes failed to land successfully.
Later, Country E conducted several more Mars exploration missions; some had issues after the launch, while others lost communication with Earth after entering Martian orbit.
