New Mars Forums

I asked this about a year ago and I was never able to check the reply and I can't seem to find the thread (forgot where I posted it!)
I'm just wondering if there are any engines that are currently available, or on the horizon, that are electric powered and could be used to either get from Earth into space and/or get from Earth to Mars?
Power supply isn't a problem, I'm just wondering if the actual propulsion is there.
Also, I heard that ION engines are electric powered but in one report I heard that they still require fuel, albeight very little.
Anyway, thanks for any help.

Does anyone know if any of the Mars missions are planning on travelling to Mars through the paths where the gravity wells of the different planets cancel each other out. I just took a crash course in movement of satellites etc in physics class today (I had to miss THE most important 2 days last term!)
my teacher mentioned that it is now possible to map where these areas of zero gravity are and that they allow space travel with a fraction of the energy.
Anyway, hope someone can make sense of my ramblings.

Only 13 days of classes left before I have to study for my end of SCHOOL exams, oh joy!

umm, I haven't read EVERY reply to this topic, but couldn't they just package a third floor in a crate and just build it on top? I'm sure it could be used as some team-building thingo that the big companies all seem to love. I believe that the prototype has a crane attached, this could be put to use by lifting equipment and pre-fab building materials up to the third floor.

Also, a rocket could be sent up with a large prefab set of load-bearing walls that, when put together, would look pretty much like shipping containers. You could dig a pit, build this larger hab, and cover it in regolith (If it weren't for the Mars trilogy I wouldn't have a clue what that word is ) This new underground area wouldn't take too long to complete and I'm sure that in training they astronauts (mars-o-nauts) could practice building one.

So, as the topic asks, are there any electric drives that would work for surface to space flight and what are the approximate payloads that could be carried with them?

If there are any that can take large payloads, perhaps an investment in creating a fusion (or is it fission) reactor on the moon would be in order. The idea is that the energy is beamed directly to the ship as it is flying, therefore it doesn't have to carry any fuel and there is no danger of nuclear explosion from an engine or whatever.

Anyway, maybe the question could be answered.

3 years travel??? I don't think it will take that long. From what I've read the entire journey with a month on the surface could be done in 1.5-2 years.
I could be wrong of course but 3 years a tad excessive.

about the spent uranium rods, why not just launch them into the sun. I'm sure the people on mars wouldn't mind and I can't see it doing damage to the sun

you may not have noticed but I did say AROUND THE BASE. It would be common sense to clear the area in which the base is and also roads between colonies.

ummm, I believe that the moon should be revisited for the reason that it can be used to mine water and possible fuels for space craft to go to Mars. The same thing should happen to one of the moons around Mars. This would allow more trips to Mars due to the drastically reduced prices of fuel and water because they don't need to be flown into space.

hmm, maybe just dropping a fuel station to phobos and then having a space station would be best. It would also be a LOT easier and smaller.

A possible mode of transport could be the use of small one or two man buggies. They would be open air and would effectively be just a roll cage with with wheels and an engine.

A base design would be something like the US Navy SEAL desert attack vehicles.

Does anyone know what is the most likely fuel source to be mined on Mars during a visit? Are there any effective hydrogen engines available at the moment or in the short term future (5 years max.)

Electric buggies would be OK, but I'm assuming that a hydrogen or LPG engine would be better because of speed and power.

Does anyone know if it would be possible to convert motorbikes (2 wheel) to electric?

These are basically ideas for use around the main base area and for short scout trips. They could also be trailed behind a rover and used further afield.

ha ha, as would I.
One possible means of returning could be to use the suns gravity to pull the ship back closer to the Earth. (I'm not sure about this but it would probably be, like the sail, slow).

I get the feeling that this thing would just be used to go to Mars orbit and stay there as a space station.

I've read snippets of info on the use of Solar Sailors and I was wondering if it would be possible to use one as a type of train. The idea is that you have a large sail with attached crew compartment. You could possibly have a rotating taurus to create gravity if the money or need was there.
The carriages on this would be loads from shuttles or rockets.
The advantage of this design is, the sails could have solar cells spread through them and, because the sails must be in sunlight, permanent power. It is also a reusable vehicle that could be stationed in Mars orbit acting as a space station. The fact that the vehicle requires no fuel means that is can carry larger payloads and can easily be slowed down which means that you won't have to wait for a launch window to head off for Mars.
I believe that the biggest drawback to a sailor is that it is rather slow compared to rockets (this is an assumption, comparing a yacht to a powerboat). If people could please reply with comments it would be appreciated as it could well prove to be a useful item in interplanetery travel.