Zhao Changxing is not an expert in organic chemistry, but as an outstanding astronaut responsible for reviving human civilization, he also received relevant training when he was on earth. It is definitely not possible to do cutting-edge research, but it is still possible to digest and absorb the theoretical ideas of experts and use it to make some elementary changes that can be flexibly adapted to different practical situations.
Reactors, catalysts, fume hoods, biological enzymes, energy modules and other things were all finally created by him with the help of things already on the spacecraft. Everything was ready, and he immediately started trying.
The first attempt failed. During the process of synthesizing methanol from hydrogen and carbon dioxide, too much formaldehyde and other impurities were accidentally generated due to operational errors, which lost their use value and had to be thrown away.
This attempt took about three hours.
The second attempt took four hours and still failed. The temperature was not controlled well during the reaction. As a result, all the synthesized organic matter was carbonized under the lack of oxygen. It was better to use it to keep warm, but forget about eating it.
This is a critical moment for the synthesis of starch, a type of carbohydrate or sugar. He has temporarily stopped the construction tasks on Sedna and devoted all his attention to it.
"Xiao Xi, report the pressure and temperature data."
"Okay Captain, the temperature is..."
"Elemental proportions?"
"normal."
…
With Zhao Changxing's full attention, more than five hours passed. This synthesis experiment has ended. If nothing else goes wrong, this synthesis should produce about 50 grams of starch and some other by-products.
Carefully opening the reaction kettle, Zhao Changxing's heartbeat immediately accelerated as he looked at the thin layer of white powder scattered throughout the tray. He carefully collected it and stared at it carefully.
This white powder seemed to exude an alluring aroma, causing Zhao Changxing's mouth to secrete saliva unconsciously, and his stomach growled crazily.
He suppressed his hunger and ordered: "Xiao Xi, take it for testing and identify its ingredients."
This thing is undoubtedly starch, but the key question is how many impurities are mixed in it and what are the ingredients of the impurities. If you accidentally eat some formaldehyde or methanol, and you are poisoned to death or your eyes are blinded by poison, then the joke will be big.
Assuming the mission of reviving human civilization, Zhao Changxing cherishes his body very much.
"OK."
Xiao Xili agreed quickly, and immediately controlled various equipment and began to test it.
The results came quickly.
"Congratulations, Captain, these starches are very pure and have very few impurities. You can eat them."
"That's good."
Zhao Changxing immediately became happy. He rushed into the kitchen, lit a fire and boiled water. When the water boiled, he used cold water to make a paste of 50 grams of precious starch. After the water boiled, he poured it into the boiling water and slowly stirred evenly.
After a while, a bowl of thick paste came out of the pot.
Sprinkle them with salt, pour a little soy sauce and sesame oil, pick up the spoon, and devour them hungrily before they cool down completely.
The satisfaction of having his stomach filled came out, and Zhao Changxing felt that his whole body was full of strength again.
The feeling of eating nutrient solution is different from eating starch.
"Now it seems that it is completely possible to solve the food gap by artificially synthesizing starch. However, the efficiency is too low now. It can only synthesize about half a catty 24 hours a day, which is completely insufficient in terms of calories. We must continue to improve. Either expand the scale or improve the conversion ratio.”
He recalled the data from these experiments, made some explorations and improvements, and finally stabilized the daily output of a single reactor at 350 grams. In order to improve, he took the time to assemble a reactor, so that the daily output would be 700 grams of starch.
700 grams of starch can provide the human body with about 2,500 calories. For Zhao Changxing, who must perform heavy physical and mental work every day, his daily basal metabolism is almost the same, which is basically the same. Even if there is a slight chip, it will not cause any damage to the body.
The only thing to worry about is the lack of trace elements and vitamins. After all, these synthetic starches are not born in nature. But that’s okay, synthetic vitamin tablets can perfectly solve this problem.
The food problem was finally solved, and Zhao Changxing could finally focus his energy and time on building a soilless cultivation workshop and replenishing the spacecraft's energy reserve.
After installing the double-layer screen door for the soilless cultivation workshop, Zhao Changxing immediately started the sealing test. This job was relatively simple. He first placed a barometer in the workshop, then released various mixed gases directly from the gas seal tank, and then pressurized it until it was equivalent to two atmospheres.
After that, he left the place through the double screen door, connected the power supply from the Falcon spacecraft, and turned on the electric heating equipment in the soilless cultivation workshop to ensure that the temperature inside the workshop remained constant. After all, changes in temperature may also cause changes in air pressure.
All that's left to do after that is wait. Of course, he was not idle during this period, but once again started collecting and transporting water ice. After getting another large piece of ice, he started the next construction task.
It is obviously not possible to have only one soilless cultivation workshop on Sedna. In the original plan, the astronauts wanted to build a comprehensive base here that could accommodate two hundred people. This base will use nuclear fusion as its power source and a soilless cultivation workshop as its food source, covering different areas such as living areas, office areas, and industrial areas. At that time, people can use the industrial equipment brought from the earth, such as simple mineral processing and refining equipment, metal processing equipment, etc., to try to slowly advance industrialization step by step.
Even if there is missing equipment, people can also rely on 3D printers to print it out directly. Anyway, the database of the Spark spacecraft contains blueprints for all the equipment in the history of human civilization, from as small as a shovel to as large as a nuclear fusion reactor.
After building the most urgent soilless cultivation workshop, the next thing Zhao Changxing wants to build is a life-support area. The survival area contains nuclear fusion reactors, water circulation and purification systems, air circulation and purification systems, temperature control systems, and other systems necessary for survival. It will provide power, oxygen, water, and thermal support for all subsequent construction tasks, as well as the current soilless cultivation workshop.
According to the original plan, the subsistence area was the first area to be built. After all, without it, the soilless cultivation workshop would not be able to produce. However, Zhao Changxing calculated that during the debugging process of the soilless cultivation workshop, he could just spare some time to build the living area. As long as it can provide support for the soilless cultivation workshop, defer the rest of the area.
This does not require the life support area to be built too well, and it will not take long. What's more, in the early stages, the Falcon spacecraft can also directly provide power support for soilless cultivation areas.
After recalling the planning drawings of the entire base, with Xiao Xi's assistance, Zhao Changxing determined the construction site about 50 meters away from the soilless cultivation workshop and in the west direction.
It is still an off-the-ground construction solution supported by support columns. First use electric heating equipment to remove tholin, solid gas, dry ice and other things from this area to expose the surface. Then use electric drilling equipment to drive in the support columns, fix them, and then lay the floor. This set of processes, Zhao Changxing Already very skilled.
He ended his work for the day while hitting the thirteenth support column. At this moment, thirteen hours have passed since the soilless cultivation workshop was pressurized and inflated, but the time is not enough. This test must last three days.
During this time, the Falcon spacecraft will stay here to provide energy for the electric heating equipment in the soilless cultivation workshop. Zhao Changxing could only communicate with Xiao Xi and use remote control to land another backup landing spacecraft, the Falcon 2 spacecraft, and carry him away from here.
Returning to the Spark spacecraft, he first moved the building materials needed for the next day to the Falcon 2 spacecraft before he had time to rest for a while. At this moment, the two reactors have stopped working, and a total of about 500 grams of starch has been produced.
This process no longer requires Zhao Changxing's intervention. Xiao Xi has a certain degree of intelligence. As long as Zhao Changxing writes the entire steps into a program, Xiao Xi can complete the subsequent work. All Zhao Changxing needs is to add raw materials, equipment maintenance, and the final harvest.
After cooking a large bowl of thick porridge and eating it deliciously, Zhao Changxing began to think about another thing.
Today, the construction of Humanity Base No. 1—the name he gave to the first human base to be born on Sedna—is on track. It is expected that in more than 70 days, the soilless cultivation workshop will produce the first batch of food. In about eight months, the main buildings of Humanity Base No. 1 will be completed. In about a year, the entire base will be fully operational.
At this time, it is time to consider the issue of human reproduction.
Now is undoubtedly the time when the inheritance of human civilization is at its weakest. There is only one human being left in the entire universe. If you die, humanity will be finished. Developing the population is also an urgent issue.
It's just that he is not too confident in himself. After all, in the original plan, several female astronauts were responsible for taking care of young children and raising them.
But this problem cannot be circumvented after all, and must be done. No matter how difficult it is, you have to grit your teeth. What's more, Xiao Xi is here, so it should be able to share some of the burden for itself.
So, how many people will you reproduce in the first batch?
He gritted his teeth and decided to set the number at 10 people.
Five men and five women.
In this way, excluding the more than nine months of gestation in the artificial womb, when they reach adulthood in 18 years, they will have five more people to help build the base. The remaining five people will continue to raise the next generation, which can support about 50 people. If they continue to choose half male and half female, and continue this cycle, plus the offspring they give birth to naturally, when they die of old age at about 90 years old, the population of human civilization will be restored to about 1,780 people.
This situation is still good.
He made up his mind.
