What challenges will space technology face in the future?

After forty or fifty years of development, space technology has entered the stage of comprehensive benefits? At present, the application of satellites is constantly improving and expanding the scope of application; Military satellites are constantly upgrading; Astronomical satellites and interstellar probes constantly send back new information about the universe; Manned space flight is being carried out in an orderly manner; Space shuttles and spaceships often travel between heaven and earth; The international "Alpha" space station has been built ... In the more distant future, what direction will space technology develop and what challenges will it face in the future?

No matter what choice is made, the development of space technology must solve the problems faced by mankind. What are the three purposes of benefiting mankind and enhancing human knowledge and wealth? At present, mankind is facing countless problems, which are becoming more and more serious with the development of industrialization? Since the space age, people have put forward various methods to solve the above problems? Some may be the future direction of space development?

Population? Ecology and environment are hot issues in the world today? 1969, American physicist o' neill put forward the idea of space city and space immigration? He believes that the best way to solve the above problems is to build space cities in space and gradually move humans to space cities around the earth? Space City has a natural environment suitable for plant growth, with hundreds of herbs planted on it. Trees? Jianghu? In addition to these artificial natural environments, is there a road in Space City? Residential area? Entertainment area? Downtown? Workspace and so on? After human beings move into space, let the earth be transformed according to the role of natural forces for a long time, and restore the vitality and good ecological environment in the past? In a few hundred years, the earth will go into battle lightly and become more vibrant without human intervention? Flocks of animals? Good weather with trees in the shade? Nice weather, huh? Vientiane update? If necessary, humans can return to earth?

With the expansion of the concept of space migration, a large number of ideas emerged in the 1970s and 1980s to build a lunar base or even transform Mars? Scientists from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States put forward such an idea on July 8, 199 1? They made a rough timetable for the process of transforming Mars: after initial exploration, by 20 14, the human advance team will take the lead in landing on Mars? They first made an investigation and initially opened up the equatorial region? 15 years, 10000 experts landed on mars? They installed solar reflectors? Start a nuclear chemical plant? Build a nuclear power plant to calcine Martian ores and rocks? All these efforts are aimed at producing a large amount of carbon dioxide, creating an artificial greenhouse effect and gradually increasing the surface temperature of Mars?

By 2080, the average temperature of Mars will reach-15℃, and clouds will appear in the sky. Tundra plants near the equator also began to release oxygen; The polar ice and dry ice began to melt? Gradually, the atmosphere became stronger? Rivers and lakes are slowly forming, plants are growing more vigorously, and oxygen is more abundant? This process continues to develop in a benign direction: there are more and more lower animals and plants, more and more oxygen, higher and higher temperatures, and a trickle flows into the sea? By 2 130 years, the temperature of Mars will rise above 10℃; By about 2 170 years, a huge plant system will be enough to enrich the atmosphere with oxygen? At this time, what I saw on Mars was: blue sky? Green leaves? Qinghe? Dense forest, everything is so vibrant? At that time, humans finally transformed Mars, which was a hundred times worse than Pisa Hara Desert, into a second earth?

In order to solve the energy problem, scientists put forward the idea of satellite solar power station? In the 1970s, many American companies made in-depth research on satellite power stations? Boeing has done the most detailed work on the solar satellite power station? The power station envisaged by the company has two forms: one is photoelectric conversion scheme, and the other is Brighton thermal cycle scheme? Each scheme aims to generate 10GW of electricity? The first scheme includes the use of silicon photovoltaic cells and gallium arsenide photovoltaic cells? The second scheme is very similar to the turbine generator on the ground. It relies on a huge cavity heat absorber to absorb solar radiation, and the absorbed heat turns the liquid in the circulator into helium and reaches a high temperature of several thousand degrees? When helium expands, it drives the turbine to rotate at high speed through the turbine above? Reflux enters the compressor through the cooler? Turbine-driven compressors and generators can generate 65,438+00,000 volts AC output, which is boosted to 330,000 volts through transformers and then sent back to the ground in the form of microwaves?

In the United States, there are still scientists and relevant departments studying the problem of building solar power stations on the surface of the moon? Research shows that 20,000 solar power stations can be built on the surface of the moon, generating more than 20,000 GW, with an annual income of 15 trillion US dollars? This figure is equivalent to 60% of the world output value? Although the initial investment is large, the future operation cost and maintenance cost are very low, so the development prospect is very broad?

Space industrialization is another major theme of future space development? Space industrialization has a wide meaning and can be processed from space? Production? Pharmaceutical? Smelting extends to the space information industry? Space tourism and space energy, and the longer-term space industrialization also includes the development of moon and planetary resources? Many experts point out that the initial stage of space industrialization is entirely possible in medicine? Optical glass? Electronic equipment? Magnetic material? Industrial tools? New materials and processing technology have led to a new industrial revolution?

In the space environment, microgravity and ultra-vacuum provide extremely high manufacturing purity? Possibility of bulk semiconductor crystal with excellent uniformity; And can be uniformly stressed for mass production. High purity? Excellent optical fiber and glass materials; Can produce high-performance alloys? New materials such as magnetic materials and metal foams? Many scientists are very optimistic about producing biological products and special drugs in space? The three major application fields of commercialization of biological products are: biomolecular crystallization? Biological separation and culture of living cells? The production prospect of special drugs is also very broad, and many of them are expensive at present? The specific drugs that cannot be mass-produced are expected to be mass-produced in space, with obvious economic and social benefits? Materials? The income from processing and biomedical products is conservatively estimated to be hundreds of billions of dollars. If spatial information service is included? Space tourism? Including space energy, the total income of space industrialization in the future 15 will exceed1000 billion US dollars?

As can be seen from the above description, the future development prospect of space technology is very broad, and its impact on human society will be far-reaching, but the challenges it faces will also be enormous? Technically, it is necessary to solve the low-cost launch problem of a large number of loads and the assembly problem of large space structures. What about materials? Industrial production of drugs and other products, etc. Judging from the current situation, space city? Space immigrants? The moon base and the basic technology needed to transform Mars are already available to human beings. Space production? The feasibility of processing is verified by experiments? At present, the potential launch capacity of the world space year can reach tens of thousands of tons, so it is not very difficult to assemble large space components? So technically, the goal of aerospace industrialization is not far away? Obviously, the huge capital demand will restrict the development of space technology in the future, but the biggest challenge to realize the goal of space industrialization may come from human values and cooperative spirit?