SpaceX, BO and the rest of the new space movement are changing that, but we're a long long way from a manned Mars mission.
Space stuff...
- Thread starter pete01
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Exactly
Oh ok, you seem agitated....its not a subject I want to argue about....just thought we were having a discussion, never mind.
Agree. But all those mentioned are barely out of the Earth's orbit.
They'd need to build a launch pad from a zero gravity or low gravity location (the Moon), to be able to propel a bloke further into space. When I say further, I mean as far as the nearest planet.
Space is just too big. Humans need too much water. Humans don't live long enough. Some things are just insurmountable.
Getting a human onto the Martian surface is not beyond the realms of what's plausible within the next few years.
Not killing them within the first few hours or days though, is another thing altogether.
And getting them back - alive - no chance.
On the far side?
We're still lighting candles, with a maximum velocity of a couple of tens of thousands of miles per hour.
Until we can develop the tech to reach squillions of mph from earth's surface, it ain't happening.
I make the point of "from earth's surface", as ion drives and the like might have high potential velocity, but they also have virtually zero thrust.
Nah, Mars is achievable with simple chemical reactions. Hoffman transfers are months not years and we can keep people alive in cans for that long. Its expensive but practical. Much further/faster than that starts to get a lot harder.
Not really, getting to the Moon needs up to 4km/s additional velocity. Mars takes about 7km/s.
Bolting together a slimmed down ISS with more storage and strapping some boosters to it in orbit is clearly technologically possible.
The biggest difference in terms of scale between doing a Mars return and a Lunar return that people don't see straight away is probably the Mars launch, you need a much bigger rocket than on the Apollo Landers to get back to Mars orbit. 1.7km/s > 3.5km/s doesn't double the size of your rocket, it's much much worse.
OMG
And the fact that they need to take enough water and food for a (additional weight) 9 month trip.
Pipe dream and logistically/practically impossible from the Earth.
Water recycling is old tech and 98% efficient. Food for a 6 person crew for 3 years is only 10 tons. Ludicrously expensive but nothing particularly difficult to launch.
Isn’t the idea that water on the moon can be chemically split to provide oxygen and hydrogen for power, so the moon is a stepping stone for travel to mars
