Shulou(Shulou.com)06/02 Report--

We have said something about the Earth-Moon Space Economic Zone. In theory, because it involves national interests and long-term planning, and has a feasible operation plan, the Earth-Moon Space Economic Zone gives people a lot of room for imagination. Although the news is exhilarating, another thing related to the moon has attracted the attention of the public again recently:

China's launch of the "artificial moon" first illuminates the Chengdu area.

Compared with the earth-moon space economic zone, the artificial moon is obviously more powerful and more imaginative. Moreover, such space-oriented ideas have been repeatedly seen in the newspapers in recent years. Musk wants to cover the whole world with WiFi by satellite, and Japan wants to build a space elevator to the moon, as if it always implies that the earth is almost unable to accommodate expanding human beings.

And, because the protagonist is China, in the case of some marketing numbers with rhythm, many Chinese people are a little unknown, so a sense of national pride arises spontaneously.

But can the artificial moon really save 1.2 billion of its electricity bill a year with long-term illumination, as reported? Does it have a lesson from the past? How likely is this "artificial moon" to go to heaven?

Next, let's take a look.

The Russians have already done the artificial moon.

With regard to the artificial moon, China (in fact, the author searched the whole network and found no official news about the artificial moon. The most authoritative one is probably the news of a science and technology daily published by Xinhuanet last year. Others are mostly foreign media and some rhythmic marketing accounts. To illustrate the need, let's assume that the plan is serious.) it is not the first.

As early as 1993, Russia developed its own artificial moon plan. Russia's artificial moon project, also known as the "Flag Project", is completed in three steps, the first of which is called the "Space Mirror" project.

To put it simply, a cargo ship is used to break away from the space station after completing the cargo mission and unfold a film mirror with a diameter of 20 meters above itself, so that it can reflect sunlight to the ground. The light intensity it forms is about the same as a full moon. Practice has proved that the Flag Project 1.0 was indeed a success, and the Russian mainland ushered in the first artificial light from space in human history.

If nothing else, Russia deserves to be a fighting nation in the face of the courage to make great changes.

After the successful implementation of the first step, Russia began the second Flag Project 2.0 in 1999, increasing the diameter of the mirror to 2.5 meters in an attempt to increase the brightness to 5-7 times that of the full moon, with a diameter of 7 kilometers. Unfortunately, the film mirror wrapped around the Mir station's antenna, which was eventually torn apart, and the attempt ended in failure.

Due to the high cost of the artificial moon and the real plight of economic depression in Russia, the Flag Project also went bankrupt. It seems that the plan was caused by an accident, but in fact, any accident in the sky is not accidental. What is hidden behind it is the deficiency of technology and the lack of national strength. No country put forward a similar plan for more than a decade until last year a news article in the Science and Technology Daily linked it to China.

It is reported that China's artificial moon program aims to illuminate the whole of Chengdu on a 500km orbit, and the main purpose is to save electricity in Chengdu, 1.2 billion yuan a year. According to the Science and Technology Daily, citing Wu Chunfeng, director of the Tianfu New District system Science Research Association, similar to the principle of Russian thin film mirrors, China's artificial moon also adds light to the ground by reflecting sunlight. The difference is that China's artificial moon is actually a "man-made space lighting satellite with a large space mirror". Due to different materials, it can easily achieve 8 times the brightness of the current moonlight. And there are three satellites planned, which will be launched in 2022 and illuminated alternately, which can achieve 24-hour coverage of an area of 3600 to 6400 square kilometers.

If you only look at the effect, the artificial moon is still very attractive. Let's put aside the question of whether it is feasible or not and think about this question:

Why are the two superpowers so in love with the artificial moon?

The artificial moon is not to illuminate your beauty.

The country spends so much to make it out in the month, obviously not so that you can take a beautiful selfie at night. As far as it is concerned, obtaining the light source is naturally the first priority.

In the case of Russia, most of its territory is in high latitudes, with short days and far less heat in winter. Therefore, it seems reasonable to build an artificial moon in space to extend the duration of sunlight to alleviate the problem of heat deficiency, thereby increasing crop yields and reducing food dependence.

For Chengdu, China, the artificial moon also has the possibility of construction from a geographical point of view. People who have been to Chengdu or live in Chengdu all the year round know that the Chengdu Plain is located in the Sichuan Basin and is foggy all the year round. Chongqing is even more known as the "fog capital" of China. According to Wu Chunfeng, exposure of 3600 square kilometers to 6400 kilometers is enough to cover the urban area and improve visibility to some extent.

Secondly, the capture of light can effectively improve the electricity of solar power stations. Especially in Russia, it can be described as thousands of miles of ice, thousands of miles of snow, due to geographical reasons, hydropower is not easy to make full use of, and solar energy resources are relatively scarce. A man-made moon hangs in the sky, and if the diameter can be satisfied, not to mention supplying the whole country, there is hope to realize the power supply to specific areas ideally.

The country spends so much to make it out in the month, obviously not so that you can take a beautiful selfie at night. As far as it is concerned, obtaining the light source is naturally the first priority.

In the case of Russia, most of its territory is in high latitudes, with short days and far less heat in winter. Therefore, it seems reasonable to build an artificial moon in space to extend the duration of sunlight to alleviate the problem of heat deficiency, thereby increasing crop yields and reducing food dependence.

For Chengdu, China, the artificial moon also has the possibility of construction from a geographical point of view. People who have been to Chengdu or live in Chengdu all the year round know that the Chengdu Plain is located in the Sichuan Basin and is foggy all the year round. Chongqing is even more known as the "fog capital" of China. According to Wu Chunfeng, exposure of 3600 square kilometers to 6400 kilometers is enough to cover the urban area and improve visibility to some extent.

Secondly, the capture of light can effectively improve the electricity of solar power stations. Especially in Russia, it can be described as thousands of miles of ice, thousands of miles of snow, due to geographical reasons, hydropower is not easy to make full use of, and solar energy resources are relatively scarce. A man-made moon hangs in the sky, and if the diameter can be satisfied, not to mention supplying the whole country, there is hope to realize the power supply to specific areas ideally.

It doesn't matter what the artificial moon can do, the important thing is that it can be "built."

After imagining the beautiful visions of the artificial moon, the next step we have to face may be soul torture from reality.

The first is the feasibility of technology. The Russian Flag Project has shown us its difficulties and risks. Although the first step has been successful, its practicality is very limited, while the second step has not achieved the desired results, in vain about the possibility of the future. But at least Russia has not made it difficult for itself, and it is feasible both in theory and in practice to create a circle with a diameter of seven kilometers at the height of 300 to 400 kilometers of the International Space Station.

But China's argument has been criticized by many serious people. For example, to achieve 24-hour uninterrupted irradiation of thousands of square kilometers on a 500-kilometer track, this claim has been demonstrated in detail by many people, and the final conclusion is that if this effect is to be achieved, at least the orbit of the man-made moon will reach tens of thousands of kilometers. Are you sure you mean it when you send it 10,000 kilometers away to reflect sunlight?

At the same time, space exploration, especially such a huge project, is not like sending a satellite and throwing it away. At worst, it will be a waste of 100 million yuan; a man-made moon may cost billions of dollars for the project. If it is a trifle, Russia will not suspend the project after a failure. In other words, a mistake may ruin the overall situation, and the risk it brings is something we have to seriously consider.

Furthermore, how much rigidity is needed to build such a man-made moon, and it is worth the cost to complete it? In the case of Chengdu, is it really so urgent that it can't wait to use the artificial moon to save some electricity bills? Compared with the money spent on construction, is it worth saving $1.2 billion? And for disaster relief, how many scenes will need such a big "miner's lamp" to illuminate?

From this point of view, the necessity of the artificial moon is obviously a question to be considered. And even if the key technical difficulties can be solved in the end to achieve normal operation, its performance-to-price ratio is almost certainly very low. As a result, many serious people almost scoff at the topic of the artificial moon and make a mockery of it.

However, it may not be appropriate to look at the artificial moon from a purely economic point of view. In the context of the opening of a new round of space arms race, the importance of space resources has been paid more and more attention by all countries, and capable countries have delved into their own aerospace technology in order to have a place in space in the future. From this point of view, the practical value of the artificial moon is at best an addition, and the technical ability behind its success is what we should pay attention to.

In other words, not being able to create the moon and being able to make it without making it mean two completely different things. In the new era, technical ability is a powerful fist to help oneself win rights and interests.

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