Chapter 103 Do something
The two could not stay on the moon for too long.
The next day, Fan Ren, led by Li Jian, sat in a simple transport vehicle and followed a group of astronauts to the mining site.
After leaving the gate of the base, since the base is located in the center of the basin and is surrounded by high slopes, Fan Ren felt a very depressing and suffocating feeling not long after walking.
It was precisely because of this feeling that he had great respect for the teammates who had never complained.
He followed the team in silence.
Although the mine is not far away, it is very inconvenient to move around in the heavy outdoor pressure suit.
By the time he arrived at the mine, Fan Ren, who was wearing a pressure suit, was already drenched in sweat.
He listened to the heavy breathing coming from the helmet earphones and felt very guilty.
If I hadn't insisted on making this trip, who would have known that the working environment on the moon is so bad.
These astronauts belong to the military, and Xinghai only needs to arrange tasks for them and is not even responsible for their salaries.
In a sense, they are soldiers who come to the moon to complete their mission.
A series of urgent problems that needed to be solved flashed through Fan Ren's mind.
This model is still fine nowadays, because the number of places for the moon landing is limited, and the astronauts of Daxia are scrambling to be selected.
Given the tenacity of Daxia soldiers, they would never complain about poor conditions while performing their missions.
But this does not mean that Fan Ren can unscrupulously suck the blood of these astronauts. This is not in line with the original corporate philosophy he had in mind when Xinghai was established.
The salaries and benefits enjoyed by Xinghai's employees can be said to be among the highest in the industry today, and there are also many bonuses of various kinds.
Just for the research and development of solid-state batteries, Xinghai has been jokingly called the "mass production millionaire" by the industry.
So now, with the lunar project, the same must be true.
When they arrived at the mining site, the astronauts climbed onto large mining vehicles that had been assembled and transported in batches.
As the ground shook slightly, a cloud of dust came out from the rear of the mining trucks, and then they started to move with a tremor.
"The Aiken Basin is a very good location. Our mining operations do not require us to dig below the surface. We can mine nearly 50 tons per day just by working on the surface."
Li Jian introduced on the side that Fan Ren had a rough idea of these data.
The 50-ton mining volume corresponds exactly to the 5-day transportation period of five Star Series rockets between the Earth and the Moon.
After this batch of rockets returned to Earth, the remaining five rotating rockets were launched again to the moon to transport a new batch of ore.
As for the previous batch of rockets, the first and second stage thrusters were being assembled. After continuous optimization, this process took about a week.
Resource allocation is a very important subject, especially in lunar mining projects. Once equipment stops working, the losses will be too great.
This also needs to be taken into account during the subsequent expansion process.
During his observation, Fan Ren discovered that as the mine was dug farther and farther, the distance to the base gradually increased, and the transport vehicles responsible for transportation were almost unable to keep up with the speed of the mining vehicles.
"Boss, you plan a mining route, and I'll arrange a conveyor belt to transport the minerals. If we keep using transport trucks, it will be inconvenient later."
"Boss Fan, what you said is absolutely right. If there is a conveyor belt, then those of us who are responsible for transportation tasks can also switch to mining tasks, which will greatly improve efficiency."
"Well, thank you for your hard work. I will arrange these things right away. And with the conveyor belt, it will be much more convenient for you to travel to the mining site." Li Jian nodded and pointed to a piece of flat land in the distance and said, "How about that piece? For the space elevator, it is better to put it in the center of the basin, and then spread out the conveyor belts. In this way, we don't need to worry about transportation before we dig this hillside flat."
Fan Ren looked in the direction he pointed and saw that it was indeed a very flat area. He then looked around.
If this basin could be completely dug up, then all the mechanical equipment on Earth that uses iron could probably be replaced.
This piece of land is truly a treasure.
The two went to the flat area for an observation, and finally said goodbye to the astronauts before returning to the base.
In the rest area, he and Li Jian sat opposite each other.
"Boss, I want to set up a reward standard for these astronauts. Do you think it's appropriate?"
As soon as Fan Ren's serious words came out, Li Jian immediately fell into deep thought.
In his opinion, apart from some subsidies issued by the military, there are no other additional reward standards for carrying out missions.
Besides, a soldier’s duty is to obey orders, and he really doesn’t care whether he is rewarded or not.
But we cannot expect everyone to have such high standards, and in management, this approach cannot last long.
"You're right. This situation is a special one. No one will think too much about it. After all, opportunities are rare. It's only natural to suffer a little."
He sighed for a while, then said: "But if we add a reward system, it will not be in line with the usual style of our Daxia military. You know what I mean."
Fan Ren nodded, he was also struggling with this.
"In fact, mining operations do not require much expertise. In fact, because our current mechanical equipment is highly intelligent, the role of humans is only for the purpose of 'supervision'. In this case, have you ever considered recruiting qualified professionals with high salaries to replace our astronauts? After all, the project here will be a long process."
Li Jian expressed his thoughts.
After listening to this, Fan Ren fell into deep thought. The idea proposed by Li Jian was based on his perspective as the base commander.
There is indeed nothing wrong with this.
Moreover, the training cycle for professional astronauts is particularly long, which requires the assessment of numerous professional knowledge and physical fitness beyond that of ordinary people. Only then can they stand out from the crowd and be selected.
It is indeed a huge waste to use these talented people in mining operations.
And after that, when the second phase of the space elevator project is completed, the Starlink series of rockets will no longer need to directly enter the Earth and the Moon.
As mining volume increases, the number of Star Series rockets will also see rapid growth.
At this time, a large number of astronauts are needed to operate these rockets to carry out various space transportation missions.
Even if Daxia Aerospace trains faster, it is impossible to train hundreds or thousands of astronauts for its use every year.
Thinking of this, he nodded and recorded these thoughts.
"There is another problem. I plan to build an additional satellite to communicate between the Earth and the Moon. This place is too desolate, and the environment is very depressing. Building a dedicated line for the personnel at the lunar base to contact their family and friends on Earth at any time will also help them maintain their mental state in this environment for a long time."
Li Jian's eyes lit up.
Only Fan Ren could say these words. Neither he nor any other astronaut from the military here could speak.
Because they are soldiers, and soldiers must have a will of steel.
(End of this chapter)
