The moon is the only natural satellite on Earth and the fifth largest satellite in the solar system. The diameter of the moon is one quarter of the earth and its mass is 1/81 of that of the earth. Compared with the planets it orbits, it is the largest satellite and the second highest density in the solar system, second only to Io.

The astronomy community generally believes that the moon was formed about 4.5 billion years ago, not long after the appearance of the earth. There are several hypotheses about the origin of the moon, and the most widely recognized explanation is that it is formed in fragments produced by a huge impact between the Earth and the celestial body as big as Mars - "Theia".

Because the moon is very conspicuous in the sky, coupled with regular changes in the moon phases, since ancient times, in addition to astronomy, the moon has also had a significant impact on human culture, calendar, art and myth.

From the orbit of Space City to the orbit of the moon, it is not too far. When the two orbits are gradually approaching, the First Deep Space Resource Development Fleet chose an appropriate time to set off.

The reason why the moon was chosen as the first stop for interstellar resources was because the moon was the closest celestial body to the earth. The distance between the moon and the earth is about 30 times the diameter of the earth.

100 spacecraft are marching across the dark space and heading straight for the moon.

Looking out from the porthole, the moon hanging in the universe became more and more eye-catching.

Since the moon's rotation is synchronized with its revolution (tidal locking), it always faces the earth on the same side.

In the vast universe, at this distance, the brightest celestial body besides the sun is the moon. Although it appears very bright white, its surface is actually very dark and its reflectivity is only slightly higher than that of the old asphalt.

"Reduce your speed and prepare to enter the moon orbit."

The First Deep Space Resource Development Fleet, under unified deployment and command, entered the moon's orbit in an orderly manner, and chose the right opportunity to land in the appropriate target area.

Because there is no atmosphere on the moon, and the heat capacity and thermal conductivity of the lunar surface matter are very low, the temperature difference between day and night on the moon surface is very large. During the day, the temperature is as high as 127 in places where the sun is exposed vertically. At night, the temperature can be reduced to -183.

"The A-group spacecraft successfully landed in the target area - Dream Lake."

"The Group B spacecraft successfully landed in the target area - the Apennines."

"The spacecraft successfully landed in the target area - Plato Crater."

"The D-Team spacecraft successfully landed in the target area - Lenghai."

The First Deep Space Resource Development Fleet is divided into 5 groups, each of which has landed in its respective target areas as planned.

Before this lunar mineral resource mining operation, scientists from the Interstellar Exploration Alliance had already conducted comprehensive exploration of the moon and had a detailed understanding of the moon's geological structure and resource storage.

The moon also has hierarchical structures such as crust, mantle, and core. The average thickness of the outermost lunar crust is about kilometers. The depth below the lunar crust to 1,000 kilometers is the lunar mantle, which accounts for most of the moon's volume.

The bright area on the surface of the moon is highland. The dark area is low-sinking areas such as plains or basins, called the Moonland and the Moon Sea respectively. The bright part is mountain range, with mountains and mountains crisscrossing and craters everywhere, namely the Moon pit, which is a cyclic and uplifting low-lying shape. There are more than 33,000 craters on the moon with a diameter of more than 1,000 meters. The Bailey Crater near the Antarctic is 295 kilometers in diameter, which can fit the entire Hainan Island. The deepest mountain is Newton Crater, with a depth of 8,788 meters.

"The mountains and deep valleys appear, and it is indeed a unique sight."

As the A-Term spacecraft successfully landed in Menghu Lake, it was also the first time he stepped onto the land of the moon. Looking at the scenery in front of him, he said with emotion.

"Report to the commander, the teams of the First Deep Space Resource Development Fleet are ready. Please indicate the next action!"

Corin, the head of the First Deep Space Resource Development Fleet, asked Yuan Shichen for advice.

"According to the established goals, start taking action immediately!"

Yuan Shichen ordered in concisely.

"Follow your command!!"

A series of "mechanical monsters" with strange shapes roared out of the spacecraft's reserve warehouse.

Because the moon has no atmosphere, no one can hear the roar, but the mechanical vibration can still be clearly transmitted to everyone through the land under his feet, and the scene is very shocking.

These huge and strange-shaped "mechanical monsters" were transformed and designed in combination with the exploration and excavation robot prototypes left by the Creator in the underground city of Sand Star.

These exploration and excavation robots have extremely high automation systems. Like the [Geocentric Builders] who are responsible for building [Geocentric City], they can also work independently in the deep underground world.

"Boom~"

Another series of vibrations came from the feet. This time, another model of machinery was launched with exploration and excavation robots. With these two types of robots, the ore can be directly smelted into a variety of metal materials on the surface and even underground, and extremely efficient resource collection.

"On the surface of the moon, iron and aluminum are very rich. Take iron as an example. Sand soil of 5 cm thick on the surface of the moon alone contains hundreds of millions of tons of iron, and the entire moon surface is 10 meters thick on average. The iron on the surface of the moon is not only extremely rich, but also easy to mine and smel. The moon's other mineral resources are also extremely rich. The 17 most common elements on the earth are everywhere on the moon."

Corin, the head of the First Deep Space Resource Development Fleet, enthusiastically introduced some specific mining plans to Yuan Shichen.

"For different mineral resources, the engineer team also sets up different collection procedures for mining robots."

"The aluminum on the moon is composed of a complex structure called plagioclase. If aluminum is made by conventional refining methods, it is difficult to succeed on the moon. After experiments and research, the engineers set up a new aluminum smelting process for mining robots. The specific method is to crush the moon rock, heat and melt it at 1700, and then cool it to 100 to make a polyphyte ball, then crush it, and add 100 sulfuric acid to it to leach the aluminum. After removing the silicide by centrifugal separation and filtration, it is then pyrolyzed at a temperature of 900 to obtain a mixture of alumina and sodium sulfate. Then, sodium sulfate is washed away and dried, and then mixed with carbon and heated, chlorine is added to react with it to produce aluminum chloride, which is electrolyzed and obtained the final product - pure aluminum."
Chapter completed!