Anyone fancy a 39-day trip to Mars?
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- JazHaz
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Anyone fancy a 39-day trip to Mars?
In the future it may be possible, with development of better electrical generation in space and a very promising plasma engine under development in a private sector lab in Houston.
See: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1006/01vasimr/
See: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1006/01vasimr/
JazHaz
Thanks to Gimi, I got an eBook in my inbox tonight (31st May 2014 - Release of Elite Reclamation)!Gimi wrote:Maybe you could start a Kickstarter Campaign to found your £4500 pledge.drew wrote:£4,500 though! <Faints>
Cheers,
Drew.
A bit slow, but I wouldn't mind the cruise!
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- JensAyton
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That’s a stop of a few days, as I recall.
Of course, getting to Mars is easy. It’s getting back that’s the hard part.
Of course, getting to Mars is easy. It’s getting back that’s the hard part.
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- Uncle Reno
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Err, they offer impartial advice about products you might buy?Ahruman wrote:Why which?
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39 days is a bit slow?Kaks wrote:A bit slow, but I wouldn't mind the cruise!
With current chemical propulsion it would be a trip of 500+ days!
JazHaz
Thanks to Gimi, I got an eBook in my inbox tonight (31st May 2014 - Release of Elite Reclamation)!Gimi wrote:Maybe you could start a Kickstarter Campaign to found your £4500 pledge.drew wrote:£4,500 though! <Faints>
Cheers,
Drew.
- JensAyton
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The hardest part of an interplanetary flight is the first couple of hundred kilometres, getting off the planet.Killer Wolf wrote:aye, why the return = harder bit.
For a return trip from Mars, you need to bring the rocket for that plus the launch facility with you.
This increases the mass of your initial launch by a factor of, say, 50.
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- Killer Wolf
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so it'd make sense to send the equipment on ahead first then, i guess, have it parachuted onto the planet then you could assemble it when you arrived, save carrying it all on your actual ship.Ahruman wrote:The hardest part of an interplanetary flight is the first couple of hundred kilometres, getting off the planet.Killer Wolf wrote:aye, why the return = harder bit.
For a return trip from Mars, you need to bring the rocket for that plus the launch facility with you.
This increases the mass of your initial launch by a factor of, say, 50.
- Smivs
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The problem here is that you have to land near the equipment drop, and hope it's OK when you get there.Killer Wolf wrote:so it'd make sense to send the equipment on ahead first then, i guess, have it parachuted onto the planet then you could assemble it when you arrived, save carrying it all on your actual ship.Ahruman wrote:The hardest part of an interplanetary flight is the first couple of hundred kilometres, getting off the planet.Killer Wolf wrote:aye, why the return = harder bit.
For a return trip from Mars, you need to bring the rocket for that plus the launch facility with you.
This increases the mass of your initial launch by a factor of, say, 50.
Better to send a second ship, then rendezvouz in orbit. The manned module could then dock with a decent/ascent module (basically a big fuel tank and engine with legs), which could land the manned module and also get it back into orbit at the end of the mission.
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- JensAyton
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You still have to launch all of it, in relatively tight launch windows (which come about two years apart).Killer Wolf wrote:so it'd make sense to send the equipment on ahead first then, i guess, have it parachuted onto the planet then you could assemble it when you arrived, save carrying it all on your actual ship.
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