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#1 2002-06-23 12:49:33

Dayton3
Member
Registered: 2002-06-03
Posts: 137

Re: How Many Mars Mission Plans Can You Name - Mars Mission architectures

How many mission plans can you name?

1) Mars Direct-Conjunction-two launches per mission
2) Mars Semi-Direct-Conjunction-three launches per mission
3) Mars Hybrid-Direct-Conjunction-three launches
4) NASA Baseline Plan-Conjunction-six launches
5) Athena-Dr. Zubrins Mars Precursor Flyby mission
6) NASA 90 Day Plan-Opposition-number of launches unknown but requires 800 tons leaving LEO.
7) The Case For Mars-Conjunction-number of launches unknown but requires 1600 tons leaving LEO-(note,this is basically a Mars Cycler for the first mission design)

8) Livermore Laboratorys-"Great Exploration"-Conjunction-one or two launches per mission.

9) NASA Split/Sprint Mission-Opposition-basically the 90 Day study architecture splint into separate cargo and manned missions.

10) Mars 2000-Conjunction?-requires 17 launches per mission.

11) Mars Mission One Crew Manual Architecture-Opposition-requires and ungodly two dozen or more launches.

12) Mars PhD. (Phobos/Deimos) Mission-Opposition-six launches per mission.

13) Gas Core Fission Propelled Mars Mission (late 1970s)-Opposition-large number of launches.

14) Nuclear Electric-Three Ship Mission-Opposition-18 launches per completed mission.

15) NASA Mission Concept (Presidential Commission, 1969)-Opposition.-Shuttle, Space Station Core Mission Module, Nuclear Transfer stage, Mars Excursion Module)

Can anyone think of any other proposed Mars Mission architectures?

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#2 2002-06-24 08:32:07

Mark S
Banned
Registered: 2002-04-11
Posts: 343

Re: How Many Mars Mission Plans Can You Name - Mars Mission architectures

Phillip Bono's "Project Deimos" required the single launch of his ROMBUS SSTO rocket, which would collect fresh propellant tanks in earth orbit from an awaiting satellite.  After the propellant transfer, ROMBUS would fly to Mars and the crew would land in a small Mars excursion module, a la Apollo.

The Borowski plan, which is similar to NASA's baseline but uses artificial gravity and a propulsive capture at Mars, would require six Magnum launches plus a Space Shuttle launch.  I can see the STS being replaced with a crew taxi mounted on an EELV, but it's still pretty expensive to get everything into LEO.


"I'm not much of a 'hands-on' evil scientist."--Dr. Evil, "Goldmember"

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#3 2002-06-24 21:34:52

Phobos
Member
Registered: 2002-01-02
Posts: 1,103

Re: How Many Mars Mission Plans Can You Name - Mars Mission architectures

One shouldn't forget the various Soviet manned Mars missions that had been on the drawing board in previous decades.  They had some good ideas in my opinion, things like attaching sensors to the hull so cosmonauts know which parts of the ship have the most and least amounts of radiation levels, etc.
Of course the drawback to most of them is that they used the Battlestar Galactica philosophy of design.


To achieve the impossible you must attempt the absurd

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#4 2002-06-27 01:55:30

Shaun Barrett
Member
From: Cairns, Queensland, Australia
Registered: 2001-12-28
Posts: 2,843

Re: How Many Mars Mission Plans Can You Name - Mars Mission architectures

Then there's the kid in James Blish's novel, "Welcome To Mars". In his father's garage he invented an electrical gravity-control device which ran on flashlight batteries.
   His mission architecture for a Mars trip involved little more than a heavily-caulked wooden crate sprayed with 5 layers of epoxy resin and a layer of zinc oxide in silicone resin!! Onboard supplies consisted of a little food, spare batteries, and some 22 litre steel flasks of oxygen!
   Makes all those heavy-lift launch vehicles look silly, doesn't it?!!!
                                            big_smile


The word 'aerobics' came about when the gym instructors got together and said: If we're going to charge $10 an hour, we can't call it Jumping Up and Down.   - Rita Rudner

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#5 2002-06-27 14:24:08

Phobos
Member
Registered: 2002-01-02
Posts: 1,103

Re: How Many Mars Mission Plans Can You Name - Mars Mission architectures

haha, I bet Dayton wasn't expecting to read about some kid flying to Mars on flashlight batteries.  Neither was I for that matter. smile  I remember seeing some movie about this one kid that built a spaceship in his garage using plans out of a magazine.  At the very end it showed him blasting off through the roof of the house and his parents were like "oh well."


To achieve the impossible you must attempt the absurd

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