Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 285 The Beginning of the Lunar Terraforming Project

"Hello everyone, I'm Lin Ran. Today I'm interviewing our soon-to-be CEO, who should also be an old friend watching this video, the founder of Tencent Group, Pony."

Starting today, I plan to create my own program called "Burning," which is named after me. The format may be interviews or my own explanations; it won't be confined to a fixed format.

The first episode of Burning begins with a conversation between me and Pony.

News like Pony Ma leaving Tencent to take the helm at Apollo Technology is a story with immense news value and global influence; it was never reported before.

The news was announced by Apollo Technology's own official account.

Don't the Tencent board members know where Pony Ma is? Don't they tell their relatives and friends, and then the news leaks out?
Including the staff who helped edit the video, it's impossible that Lin Ran or Pony edited this interview video themselves; the information would definitely have been leaked in the process.

The media will naturally obtain the information through various channels.

But no one released it.

Even on Zhihu, anonymous answers about Pony Ma joining Apollo Technology have had their ranking reduced.

This is where the difference between established tycoons and newly rich individuals becomes apparent. If it were someone else with new money, the news would have been all over the place by now.

"Let Pony say hello to everyone first," Lin Ran gestured.

Pony waved to the camera: "Hello everyone, I'm Pony. I've always worked in the internet industry, or more accurately, I've never left Tencent."

This is my first time trying a new field and fully committing myself to a new company.

Just like Lin Sheng's lifelong dream of going to the moon, he chose aerospace engineering as his undergraduate major and Apollo moon landing as his graduation project. As soon as he had the ability, he returned to China to launch the Apollo moon landing project.

In my mind, Lin Sheng has always been a person with exceptional talent, ability, and execution.

My dream is also about space. I've loved looking up at the stars since I was little. When I was young, my father used four months' salary, which was 4 yuan, to buy me a semi-professional astronomical telescope. I used that telescope to observe Halley's Comet. I wrote an observation report and sent it to Yenching University. I won third prize in the Yenching University Astronomical Observation Competition, which was worth 40 yuan.

After achieving success in my career, the first thing I thought of was to build an observatory. The universe makes me feel very small.

Even the startup screen of our WeChat is a photo of Earth taken by the Apollo 17 astronauts on the moon with a Hasselblad camera. This photo is called "Blue Marble," which symbolizes that Earth is like a marble.

The photos Lin Sheng took on the moon are breathtaking, and his photo with Aldrin on the moon fills me with envy.

I never imagined I would start a business in the aerospace field because I always thought it was too difficult.

Fortunately, Lin Sheng appeared. In my opinion, his genius surpasses the limits of human imagination.

With Lin Sheng by my side, I believe starting a business in the aerospace field is not so difficult, and with some effort, we can still achieve some remarkable results.

Therefore, I am very happy to be able to embark on a new entrepreneurial journey in the second half of my life, in a field I love, and with my partners still so young and outstanding.

Pony's smile was truly genuine.

Lin Ran chimed in, "I have to clarify that it was Pony who volunteered."

I think from a management perspective, Apollo Technology will grow rapidly. Last year we had 2,000 people, and now, only half a year later, our size is already rapidly approaching 10,000.

Then Pony is one of our investors, so I asked him if he had any suitable CEO candidates to recommend. He said he was the most suitable candidate.

We hit it off immediately. Just as Pony had complete faith in my professional abilities, I had just as much faith in Pony's management skills.

Pony said, "I think we should stop praising each other. In today's popular internet terms, wouldn't this be called mutual flattery?"

Lin Ran: "That's right, okay, let's talk about our vision. This is both an interview video and a job posting for you."

The job posting that Pony and I filmed will help you, if you're interested in Apollo Technology, learn more about our company and hopefully spark your interest in submitting your resume to our website.

Pony added, "That's right, we welcome students from all industries to join us."

When I decided to join Apollo Technologies, which may be the greatest company of this century, I talked with Mr. Lin many times.

We need to establish a foundation of mutual trust, define management boundaries, and reach a consensus on our future vision, including detailed communication about what kind of people we should recruit for each position.

After my friends learned that I was going to work at Apollo Technology, many of them wanted to follow me and become senior executives. This is due to my influence, as well as Lin Sheng's influence.

But I can't bring all my friends and old acquaintances here. On the one hand, they may not be a good fit in terms of ability, and on the other hand, we need to build a completely new company, not a Tencent in the aerospace field.

Compared to Tencent, Apollo Technology rose to prominence much faster, but faced a more complex situation because it had no competitors in the market and no external forces to force it to improve.

Take reusable rockets and lunar landings as examples. If we remain complacent, we can live very well simply by operating the commercial rights to reusable rocket missions and lunar landings.

There is absolutely no problem in securing the top spot in the commercial space industry.

However, Lin Sheng's vision is to establish a permanent base on the moon in the short term, to have regular flights between Mars, the moon and Earth in the medium term, to establish a small base on Mars, and to transform Mars into a habitable planet in the long term.

This vision means that we are competing with ourselves, and we don't have much time to waste.

Instead, we face two dilemmas simultaneously. First, the ease with which we are living necessitates sufficient intrinsic motivation. Second, if the vision is not progressing smoothly, burnout can easily fester internally.

Lin Ran waved his hand: "Pony, it's still the same logic I told you before. At Apollo Technology, you never have to worry about our progress being slow. Our progress speed is always the wildest kind."

Pony said helplessly, "Am I lowering the audience's expectations?"

To avoid our success becoming commonplace, which could lead to us becoming the target of public criticism if we fail even once in the future.

Lin Ran joked, "Why worry about failing before you've even failed?"

I never think I'll fail. If I do fail, what will I do? When I'm interviewed or anyone asks me, I'll just say I forgot.

What? I've failed before?

Pony said, "Lin Sheng is still too young. In today's terms, he hasn't been beaten down by society. I'm more of a veteran. I've experienced being universally criticized by the media, netizens, and in real life, with everyone thinking we were wrong."

I don't know what you're thinking, but I never want to experience that feeling again.

Lin Ran said, "If the organization that landed on the moon becomes an enemy of the world because of one failure, then it's not that we're wrong, but that the world is wrong."

Indeed, we are probably in a position of being universally reviled in America. I've seen screenshots of foreign forums posted by my subordinates in the company group chat, and most of them are saying that we are thieves or something like that.

Fortunately, such accusations will only last for less than a year, because we will complete a non-Apollo-technology lunar landing this year, giving these skeptics a resounding slap in the face!

Pony chimed in: "That's right. This time, we will launch two rockets in two separate launches. We won't use the lunar orbit rendezvous method. Instead, we will launch directly from Earth to the Moon in one go and achieve a soft landing on the lunar surface."

One of them will be manned, and the other will be loaded with fuel. They will land at adjacent locations one after another, and then transfer the fuel on the lunar surface.

After transferring the fuel, the crew capsule returned to Earth.

Pony was naturally shocked after hearing this plan, because it meant not only going to the moon, but also using a completely new plan. This was not a simple replication of the Apollo moon landing, but rather a plan with its own unique understanding.

Of course, if it can't be done, then it's just empty talk. But since Lin Ran proposed this year, Pony believes that Lin Ran can do it.

“Mr. Lin, I still want to have a proper discussion about this topic, specifically the new plan we're currently working on,” Pony asked.

Lin Ran nodded and explained, "This plan is technically feasible. It requires precise landing on the lunar surface, precise control of fuel transfer on the lunar surface, and precise control of orbit switching."

Perfect, these are all our strengths.

Pony asked, "After studying it carefully in private, I have some doubts. Intuitively, it seems that doing this can save fuel, since I don't need to land, meet up, and land again. But can it really save fuel in practice?"
First, we need to transfer fuel on the lunar surface, which requires specialized fuel transfer equipment. Second, landing on the moon also requires thrust to achieve a soft landing.

Finally, if the lunar lander chooses to escape the moon's gravity directly, the acceleration required will be higher than that required to enter lunar orbit.

Could you explain in detail to me and the viewers watching the video what the advantages of this technical approach are?

Lin Ran thought to himself, "What's the advantage? The advantage is that I've done it before."

He was very familiar with the same technical approach he used when he led the joint US-Soviet moon landing.

Back then, I could achieve an accuracy of 1200 meters. Now, I can achieve an accuracy of at least 200 meters. If I weren't worried about the fuel tank being knocked over by the lunar module's landing, I could even achieve an accuracy of 5 meters.

He explained, "The fundamental reason is that the Apollo moon landing involved lunar orbit interaction, so its launch window was particularly limited. It had to adopt the most fuel-efficient Hohmann transfer orbit. Secondly, it also had to consider the lunar surface lighting, and the angle needed to be suitable. Then, the lunar module also needed to take off at a specific time during its return process."

There might only be a few suitable days each month.

The separation of the fuel tank and lunar lander allows the fuel tank to be launched in advance and remain on the lunar surface, while the lunar lander, with its abundant fuel, doesn't need to worry too much about launch time. This prepares us for future routine lunar missions.

We only need to consider the lighting.

From a fuel perspective, on average, our method is actually more fuel-efficient.

Furthermore, we can use the Burning-1 Recycled Rocket to launch the fuel. The Burning-1 Recycled Rocket has a payload of about 8 tons, which means we can send a fuel tank of about 5 tons to the moon.

Even considering all the equipment and the need for a soft landing on the moon, we can still deliver at least 2 tons of fuel.

The lunar lander would need about this much fuel to launch from the moon.

This means we can save costs to a great extent, since Burn 1 is a reusable rocket.

One more thing to add is that the fuel tank will be designed to be removable, and all non-core components can be removed.

The fuel transfer equipment is reusable and has a lifespan of at least fifty times.

More importantly, the metal plates removed from the fuel tank itself will be nailed to the ground by our astronauts using long spikes. As the fuel tanks are launched one after another, the area of ​​the entire metal plate will become larger and larger.

These metal plates will then form the ground of our future lunar rocket launch base. These metals are oxide dispersion reinforced titanium, which we and China Aerospace have recently developed. Under the high temperature of the lunar lander launch, it combines with the lunar soil to form a strong compound.

Even if we do build electromagnetic launch towers in the future, these existing ground structures will still serve as the best take-off and landing platforms for large lunar drones.

The weaponization of the moon—isn't that a foregone conclusion?

Why do we need drones? What do you want to do with drones on the moon?
When America landed on the moon, it wouldn't be unreasonable for me to send a drone to track and observe her, would it?
As for how you said that they bumped into each other, wasn't that just kids playing around and not knowing any better?
As a side note, this oxide dispersion strengthened titanium alloy was first proposed by NASA, but China quickly followed suit after learning about it. Whether NASA has successfully manufactured it is unknown, but China has.

After Lin Ran finished speaking, he concluded: "In short, our segmented launch method has no other advantages, except for one: it is economical and the launch cost is definitely much lower than that of the Apollo moon landing."

Meanwhile, with technological advancements, the overall cost will continue to decrease, and once the entire system is fully mature and lunar infrastructure is initially in place, the cost could be reduced to an unimaginable level.

The Apollo moon landing was only an initial option; we never believed that we could always rely on the shoulders of our predecessors without developing our own technology.

As for the feasibility of this technical approach, we will launch the first fuel tank during the lunar landing window in August, followed by another in September. If all goes smoothly, we will conduct a lunar landing under the new plan by the end of this year.

Unfortunately, Qian Fei and Zhao Jianguo still couldn't go.

Their cardiopulmonary function was affected after they fell ill, and they are still in the process of recovery.

The mission was carried out by Li Cong from China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation and Wei Xuhang from Apollo Technology Corporation.

They were also responsible for both the fuel transfer and the disassembly and precise installation of fuel tank components on the ground.

Pony looked longingly at him: "I have a feeling that I can go up there someday?"

Lin Ran laughed and said, "Of course you can. Once the technology is mature, you can go as long as you're willing to pay the money."

The ground structure built from the fuel tank components is not just a take-off and landing platform; the fuel tank itself is being transformed into a small lunar hotel, which is also part of our Apollo Technologies business.

Pony, as the CEO of Apollo Technology, you must have some kind of discount, right?

Pony remarked, "So, if you're watching this video and are interested, we absolutely welcome you to join us!"

Apollo Technology needs every outstanding talent to join us.

Clearly, this interview program, created by a newly emerging top star and a star who hasn't yet faded into obscurity, is like dropping a huge bomb on Chinese social media, generating even more buzz than Tokyo.

Lin Ran and Pony have enough traffic. Pony's departure from Tencent to join Apollo Technology has generated even more traffic. Lin Ran's mention of a lunar landing this year, using a completely new method and being the first step in a highly feasible lunar terraforming project, has also generated a lot of buzz.

Moreover, the timing is quite close; it's June now, and the fuel tank will be launched in July.

On Weibo's trending topics, Bilibili's rankings, Bilibili's view counts, and Zhihu's headlines, the headlines on every social media platform you can think of are all about Lin Ran's Pony interview.

Even on Xiaohongshu, it's all like that.

The only exception is Douban, where people are discussing movies, so please don't disturb them.

"No, why am I already feeling so excited listening to this?" Li Yiqing asked after finishing reading.

Seohyun replied, "I'm also very excited. The progress feels like it's taking off, and we're going again this year."

From a technical standpoint, there's really no problem. Instead of having a command module and a lunar module every time, and then abandoning the lunar module and leaving it on the moon where no one cares.

It would be better to adopt the technology of the "Burning God" (燃神), at least the fuel tank can be reused continuously.

Putting aside the cost and practicality of converting the fuel tank into a hotel, even if I don't convert it, leaving the fuel tank on the moon as my fuel storage device is still better than the lunar module in the Apollo moon landing that was never used after landing.

Furthermore, I consulted some friends who are studying aerospace engineering, and this approach can indeed greatly mitigate the problem of a limited lunar landing window.

Li Yiqing added, "I also asked my friend, and he meant that if enough people go there and the automatic navigation system is mature enough, it's not just about avoiding obstacles, but actually about being able to land without a window, even in the dim light of the moon, and still achieve a perfect landing."

Xu Xian murmured, "No, is it because we wasted too much time before, or is Ran Shen just too awesome? With him here, it feels like landing on the moon is as easy as drinking soup. No one has mentioned this technical route before, but now when I think about it, it feels amazing in every way, like it's the most awesome technical route right now?"

The recently successful Burning 1 Retrofit was put to use immediately: the Saturn V launched its large lunar module, while Burning 1 Retrofit launched its fuel tank.

We will then develop a larger, reusable rocket, or even use that to launch the lunar lander.

This cost is infinitely lower than NASA's.

Even if the Starship project succeeds, could a Starship to the Moon really be a cheaper option than the Burning God technology?

Li Yiqing said, "I always thought that the Burning God was a replica, and it was still a bit inferior to SpaceX's original in the aerospace field."

If this moon landing is successful, I think he'll be even more impressive than Musk.

Lin Ran came to Yanjing to receive academician awards, give interviews, and meet with bigwigs. He also managed to steal a moment to have a meal with Xu Xian and meet her.

Xu Xian then posted on his WeChat Moments, showing off his relationship with Ran Shen (a popular internet personality), captioning it: "The closest I've ever been to an academician."

The comments from his classmates below were all asking for offers from Apollo Technology. His advisor even privately messaged him asking if he could do a postdoctoral fellowship under Lin Ran, or that doing a doctorate wouldn't be shameful, since he was a direct disciple of an academician, which would be a natural advantage when applying for promotions.

Li Yiqing had heard a lot about Lin Ran's deeds from Xu Xian. As two people who were familiar with Lin Ran, they were still shocked after watching the interview, let alone the vast number of netizens.

"Thinking about it carefully, the plan that Ran Shen mentioned in the interview is really feasible, and it is a sustainable plan that matches the innate talent of farming in the Chinese people."

NASA's approach is to launch everything in one go, and Musk's is similar: big rockets, large payload capacity, all in one go. But we're like farming; everything we launch has to be utilized. We can't launch too much at once, so we launch it in several smaller launches. In short, we're like farming.

After planting on the moon, plant on Mars, and after planting on Mars, slowly explore outwards.

This is a kind of romance unique to us Chinese.

"We admire Pony's courage to innovate across disciplines in the second half of his life, and we also admire the spirit of the 'Burning God' who has never stopped striving for progress despite his unprecedented achievements in lunar exploration. I believe that their collaboration will open a new chapter for the development of China's aerospace industry."

In short, social media was filled with praise, while foreign websites focused on whether China's moon landing would be successful.

Everyone was amazed by Apollo Technologies' plans this time, and all space enthusiasts' eyes were focused on the fuel tank launch in July.

Launching from the fuel tank is essentially a soft landing, which isn't difficult for Apollo, a technology that has already achieved lunar landings. What everyone is more concerned about is the manned lunar landing at the end of the year, and whether this technical solution is actually feasible.

However, in China, everyone has almost forgotten about the Fields Medal.

This year's Fields Medal ceremony was held in Helsinki on July 5th. Naturally, the organizers dared not defy public opinion and therefore did not award the prize to Lin Ran simply because he was not present.

Lin Ran was included in the final list of winners, and the organizers extended a warm invitation to him to deliver his acceptance speech remotely.

There were four winners in total. Lin Ran replaced James Maynard, not Xu Jun'er.

This is mainly because everyone's research is related to number theory, and even James Maynard himself specializes in prime numbers.

James Maynard was unlucky; he encountered a competitor who surrounded him from all sides like a six-pointed star.

Lin Ran just didn't expect that other award winners would speak up directly during the awards ceremony.

　I'm humbly asking for monthly votes.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)