To understand the respective advantages and disadvantages of electric propulsion and chemical propulsion, one first had to grasp a concept even a middle school student understood: acceleration.
Over shorter distances, chemical propulsion's enormous thrust could accelerate a spacecraft to a very high speed in a short time, giving it an overall advantage in travel time.
However, when the distance expanded to millions or even tens of millions of kilometers, it became a different story.
Although electric propulsion could not, like chemical propulsion, eject propellant all at once in exchange for enormous thrust, it could accelerate continuously and, with its immense specific impulse, achieve a maximum velocity far exceeding that of chemical rockets.
Therefore, a BFR rocket needed three months to cross tens of millions of kilometers and reach Mars.
But for the Rosy Glow, departing directly from Lunar Orbit, one month was enough.
That was even after missing the optimal launch window for the Hohmann Transfer Orbit. If Mars and Earth happened to be in the ideal relative positions, it might not even take a month to complete a journey from the Moon to Mars.
In the deep, dark expanse of space, the Rosy Glow, having delivered the Moon Palace spacecraft's stationed astronauts to their destination and replenished its propellant, slowly separated from the Moon Palace space station.
Sitting in the cockpit, Xu Zhenghong raised a hand and pressed his helmet, reporting to ground control in a clear voice.
"This is Rosy Glow. We have completed all flight missions and request further instructions."
"This is Ground Command Center. Congratulations on completing all missions. Please switch to cruise mode and await further instructions."
"Received. Switching to cruise mode."
Sitting in the copilot's seat, Liu Biao watched Xu Zhenghong switch to cruise mode and casually asked,
"We're not heading straight back?"
"Ground