Chapter 132: Lunar Base

The lunar base is modest in size, covering less than 1,000 square meters. It is constructed entirely from modular alloy steel plates and divided into numerous independent compartments. Each room operates as a self-contained unit with its own life-support system; this design ensures that should a fault occur in one area, the remaining sections remain functional, thereby guaranteeing the safety of the base.

"Initiate diagnostic system!"

Once various pieces of equipment and instruments had been moved into the lunar base, Nan Junpeng activated the automated diagnostic systems.

Compressed air was slowly released into the interior. Soon, each independent compartment was filled with air brought from Earth, while climate control equipment began regulating the internal environment to maintain constant temperature and humidity—the most basic of requirements.

"Beep! Air leak detected. Please repair immediately."

"Li Yang, head to Room 8 to seal the leak. Phew, thank goodness it's only one leak. Everything else looks perfect."

Hearing the alert from the lunar base's central computer, Nan Junpeng sighed with relief. A single leak was a minor issue and easily rectified. Given that the base was assembled from pre-planned alloy plates on the lunar surface, even the most precise design could hardly avoid a few small hitches. A single leak was nothing to worry about.

"Leak sealed. Lunar base status confirmed as perfect. Initiating trial run."

Li Yang quickly finished the repairs, and the central computer began automating the various systems to ensure the base functioned perfectly without any major risks or hidden flaws. After all, this base served as the bridgehead for China's expansion onto the Moon.

In the future, China would undoubtedly establish larger, more sophisticated, and more comprehensive lunar bases, but all of that required this small base as a foundation and springboard. It could not afford to fail.

Nan Junpeng, Li Yang, Xiao Mingguang, and the four other astronauts returned to the *Houyi* aerospace plane. After consuming food to replenish their energy, they drifted off to sleep. They had been working for over ten hours straight to complete the construction of the lunar base in one go.

Working for so long in heavy spacesuits on the Moon was physically demanding, and even with their excellent physical condition, they were exhausted and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

According to the lunar landing plan, they would work on the Moon for several days, completing the construction of the base and its runway. Later, they would use lunar rovers to conduct resource surveys and collect samples. Their scheduled departure for the return journey was October 4, 2019.

Back on Earth, at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, the seven astronauts' actions were strictly monitored by the command center. The scientists were all beaming with joy; everything had proceeded perfectly thus far.

With the successful landing, the construction of the base, and its flawless operation, the only remaining concern was the *Houyi* aerospace plane’s liftoff and return journey.

"There is nothing left to worry about now. Once the lunar runway is complete, our aerospace planes will be able to land directly on the surface. We can continue to extend and widen this runway to build a major airport, making travel to and from the Moon more convenient and rapid," one scientist noted.

"However, this base is too small and quite troublesome to build. It seems we will need to develop larger aerospace planes to transport pre-assembled base modules directly to the Moon to form a larger facility," another remarked.

Liu Shiying watched the data streaming back from the Moon. It was the morning of October 2nd, and many of the scientists had not slept all night, remaining on standby in case of an emergency. Seeing that everything was running perfectly, Liu stretched and prepared to go home to rest, knowing there were still several busy days ahead.

"Yes, let's go get some rest. With our current space capabilities, the expansion of the lunar base will be rapid. I suspect it won't be long before we can head to the base ourselves for scientific research," Li Fu added, nodding in agreement.

With China's current aerospace technology, landing on the Moon was no longer a major challenge, and the costs were far lower than the lunar missions of the previous century.

The widespread use of aerospace planes allowed for the fast, inexpensive, and efficient transport of supplies into space. Even shipping goods to the Moon was many times cheaper than what other nations spent on rocket launches, and the payload capacity far exceeded that of traditional rockets.

Rockets were massive, yet their cargo capacity was pitifully small and their costs exorbitant. A single launch vehicle for a satellite or spacecraft could easily cost hundreds of millions.

High costs, low capacity, and a high risk of failure—even the United States, with its advanced technology, had suffered two major accidents in its history, leading to the loss of over a dozen astronauts. This was the primary reason the U.S. had gradually retired its space shuttle program.

However, it was different for China, which had mastered aerospace plane technology. These planes were safe, reliable, and convenient. Because they primarily consumed electricity and compressed air, they were highly cost-effective. More importantly, the "Black Gold" material developed by Li Fu had reduced the production cost of an aerospace plane to just 3 billion Chinese Yuan—less than one percent of the cost of a traditional launch vehicle.

If Li Fu's aerospace company could develop even cheaper models in the future, costs would fall even further. This was the source of China's confidence in its ambitious goal to make the space industry the core pillar of its economy.

Eight hours later, at 14:00 on October 2nd, the seven astronauts woke up. After eating, they donned their suits, boarded their lunar rovers, and resumed their busy schedule.

"Lunar base operations are excellent. No issues detected," Nan Junpeng reported after checking the systems. The eight-hour trial run had been flawless, putting everyone at ease. According to the plan, two of the seven would remain at the base to await the next wave of astronauts, making the base’s reliability critical.

"Lan Yu and Liu Qi will stay at the base and the aerospace plane. The rest of us will head out on the rovers to survey for resources."

Nan Junpeng divided the team. Their task for the day remained heavy: prospecting for resources around the base and collecting samples.

Five lunar engineering vehicles left long tracks across the surface. Nan Junpeng’s team split into two groups to explore in different directions, while Lan Yu and Liu Qi remained behind to set up solar panels and unload supplies from the spacecraft.

The base was powered by magnetic batteries similar to those on the aerospace plane; two large units provided millions of watt-hours of power, sufficient for long-term operation. Nevertheless, solar panels were essential as a backup energy source.

Xiao Mingguang, Yu Haitian, and Ouyang Hao drove their rovers across the desolate, cratered landscape. These pockmarks were the result of eons of meteorite impacts. Unlike Earth, the Moon had virtually no atmosphere—less than one-billionth of Earth's air density—meaning there was no air friction to burn up incoming meteorites.

Every object, large or small, struck the surface directly. Over time, this had sculpted the lunar landscape, with large impacts creating vast basins and "lunar seas," and smaller ones creating the constant craters that covered the surface.

In contrast, Earth’s thick atmosphere acted as a shield, burning up small meteorites and significantly reducing the impact of larger ones. Astronomers had even noted that the Moon had served as a shield for Earth throughout history, intercepting several cataclysmic impacts. In a sense, the Moon was Earth's bodyguard.