Reborn in 2014: A One-Man Tycoon

"Ministry of Infrastructure, what are your thoughts?"

Meng Chuan's gaze fell on Li, the head of the infrastructure department.

The man on the screen pushed up his glasses and tapped the tablet on the table twice with his fingertips.

A long list of data reports is displayed.

"President Meng, thanks to the support of China's robotics technology, our infrastructure robot team has been successfully established."

Engineer Li's voice carried an undeniable confidence:

"Ten thousand solar-powered heavy-duty robots have been mass-produced. To facilitate their transport to Mars, we have adopted a lightweight design, with each robot weighing forty kilograms."

"But since the gravity on Mars is only 38 percent of that on Earth, these robots can theoretically carry 200 pounds and run without slipping."

Li Gong was also a member of the Green Gang.

Over the years, Meng Chuan has infiltrated the rocket company, replacing many important positions with his own people.

Mars is mainly composed of sandy slopes.

Therefore, these robots have all been simulated in the Gobi Desert and feature a dual design of tracks and magnetic wheels, making them very stable.

It is mainly responsible for short-distance material transportation, such as from mines to building material factories, or from landing points to construction sites.

Because it is designed for solar energy, the entire body is covered with solar panels.

It can last for twelve hours during the day, but at night when there is no sun, a full charge will only last for two hours.

Li Gong paused, then swiped his finger to another page:

"A prototype of the transport vehicle has also been produced. It is a six-wheeled all-terrain vehicle with a load capacity of five tons. It is equipped with sand and radiation protection features, but it has not been mass-produced."

"Firstly, they are too bulky; a single starship cannot fit several of them, making it too costly to transport them in one trip."

"Secondly, the construction sites are scattered in the early stages, so the small robots are more flexible. It's not too late to transport them in a concentrated manner when factories are built or main roads are repaired later."

Meng Chuan nodded, "As expected of a professional."

To consider things comprehensively means to be thorough.

"How about we excavate this area?"

Meng Chuan pressed for an answer.

Li immediately turned the page again.

Meng Chuan's gaze swept across the design drawings of the robot dog on the screen.

The metal frame is encased in a sand-proof shell, and the bucket mounted on the head looks like a simple, shovel-shaped mouth.

"Ten thousand excavator robots have also been manufactured."

Engineer Li smiled:

"It was originally a regular inspection robot dog that was modified by adding a hydraulic bucket. It can dig hard soil and gravel without any problem, and its efficiency is more than ten times faster than manual digging."

"The most important thing is that it saves time. One robot dog can replace two porters and one digger, and it doesn't have to rest."

At this point, Engineer Li paused slightly, his tone becoming more cautious:

"But there is a drawback—these robots and robot dogs are all for short-range operation, with an effective signal range of only five kilometers. If we are to go deep into the mountains for excavation, the controllable range may only be three kilometers."

Li Gong's meaning is quite clear.

To control these robots and robotic dogs, someone needs to live on Mars permanently.

It's impossible to remotely control these robots and robot dogs to do work from Earth.

“That’s no problem. I will send people to be stationed on Mars in the early stages, so the outposts on Mars must be built first.”

Meng Chuan had already planned it out; he would let the Green Gang members go up first.

Ideally, someone like the Master of the First Hall would be suitable, someone who can withstand harsh conditions and quickly resolve machine malfunctions.

"That's no problem."

Engineer Li pulled up another set of drawings:

"There's also been progress on building materials and equipment. A small steel and cement production line has been developed. It has a modular design and can be disassembled to fit twenty standard cargo boxes. It can be transported to Mars and then reassembled."

"The cement is made from Martian soil mixed with the additives we brought, and the steel bars are made from refined iron oxides. We tested it in the laboratory, and the strength is about 80% of that of C30 concrete on Earth, which is enough to build an outpost."

Meng Chuan nodded again:

"What about energy?"

Energy is of paramount importance.

They want to build factories on it, maintain the operation of various equipment, and allow people to live on it.

We can't do without energy.

Although there is coal on Mars, it certainly won't be needed in the early stages.

"Therefore, the photovoltaic panels have to be transported separately."

Engineer Li opened an energy calculation spreadsheet:

“We designed a large foldable photovoltaic array, with each panel unfolding to 12 square meters and a conversion rate of 23%. We have also tested a coating that is resistant to Martian dust storms. In the early stages of building the outpost, we will need to transport at least 200 panels, along with 10 energy storage battery packs, which will basically be enough to stabilize the power supply for the robots and oxygen production equipment.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Meng Chuan asked a crucial question:

"Based on this calculation, how much transportation capacity would be needed for all these items?"

Engineer Li took a deep breath and announced the astonishing number:

"All the equipment, robots, and solar panels combined would require three hundred Starships just to get to our own space station."

"If you include the building materials for the outposts and the oxygen generators for the Life Modification Department, the conservative estimate is five hundred."

"Another 500 will be needed to transport them from the space station to Mars. In total, 1,000 starships are the minimum."

The meeting room fell silent instantly upon hearing this.

The director of the aerospace department turned pale:

"A thousand? We only have fifty starships at most right now. That's not even enough for us to build a space station in space. Even if we work overtime, it might not be enough to gather enough in a year..."

Meng Chuan wants to build a space station between Earth and Mars to serve as a transit point.

This space station alone would require a hundred starships.

The aerospace department will need at least three more months to gather the necessary funds.

Even with the advancement of construction technology, increased construction efficiency, and the recycling and reuse of starships, a thousand starships are still possible.

It will take at least two years to complete.

"Wait a minute, from the space station to Mars, without Earth's gravity, theoretically our starships shouldn't need to carry as much fuel, and the payload should be increased! Why do we still need five hundred ships to go from the space station to Mars?"

Meng Chuan suddenly asked.

"President Meng, we can't just calculate the Earth's gravity! We also need to calculate our journey! At our closest point to Mars, we are 5500 million kilometers away. And our space station is built 500 million kilometers away in space."

"The closest distance from the space station to Mars is still 5000 million kilometers."

"Because the distance has increased, the amount of fuel our starship needs to carry cannot be reduced."

Meng Chuan felt embarrassed after hearing this.

He really asked a very amateurish question.

"Ahem, actually we don't need to gather a thousand starships all at once."

Meng Chuan coughed lightly to ease the awkwardness before speaking:

"We don't need to wait to build new starships; we can rotate the old ones. From Earth to the space station, and from the space station to Mars, we'll operate in three shifts. We'll transport half of the robots and robot dogs first—five thousand heavy-duty robots, five thousand excavating dogs, plus ten production lines and solar panels—to set up the outposts. The rest will be transported later."

Engineer Li nodded.

But the head of the aerospace department stood up and said:

"Mr. Meng, I would like to add that Earth is not currently at its closest point to Mars."

"Both Mars and Earth revolve around the sun, and there is a conjunction of Earth and Mars every 26 months."

"That means Earth and Mars are 5500 million kilometers apart. This conjunction will take three months to occur and will only last for 25 months."

Meng Chuan nodded:

"That's perfect! In these three months, we'll focus all our efforts on building the space station, transporting all the supplies there, and then sending them to Mars from the space station three months later."

"No! We don't have three months left. We need to launch 45 days ahead of schedule, and our starship's twin-peak nuclear propulsion system will take at least 45 days to reach its destination..."