Posted on 10/15/2014 7:00:27 PM PDT by BenLurkin
A new study says that the Mars One concept could fail on several points: oxygen levels could skyrocket unsafely. Using the local resources to generate habitability is unproven. The technology is expensive. But the founder of Mars One says the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) student study is based on the wrong assumptions.
“It’s based on technology available on the ISS [International Space Station],” said Bas Landorp in an interview with Universe Today. “So you end up with a completely different Mars mission than Mars One. So their analysis has nothing to do with our mission.”
The mission has sparked a debate about sending humans on a trip with no promise for a return, but thousands of applicants vied for the chance to do
(Excerpt) Read more at universetoday.com ...
The only thing that could go wrong is you die. Liberals don’t put much value on other’s lives so it’s not a problem if it’s you that dies.
If you fail, something is learned.
That’s great.
Let us know what you’ve learned.
The sensible approach to manned Mars exploration is simple in concept: send nuclear powered tunneling robots first to mine underground habitats. It solves all sorts of problems, plus it makes future missions cumulative, so they don’t have to “reinvent the wheel”.
It’s pretty easy to conceptualize the process.
1) First assemble and fuel a modular “interplanetary shuttle” in orbit around Earth. It will take the spaceship from Earth orbit to Martian orbit and back. This means that all the ship has to do is get into orbit from Earth, land on Mars, get into Martian orbit, and land on Earth. It doesn’t have to carry all the fuel it needs to go between planets, so can carry more water, food and equipment.
2) The first ship to Mars is on a one way trip, so the shuttle returns to Earth empty. The Martian lander is to take the robot to the surface, then to be cannibalized to build the habitat in the rock shaft.
3) The tunneling robot drags a conveyor belt underneath and behind it, which takes away the mined rubble. At intervals while mining, it bores holes in the ceiling and inserts reinforcing rods. Finally on exiting the clean shaft, it sprays the rock with a sealant against microfissure leaks.
4) The lander provides the pressure doors, flooring, supports members, etc. All pre-wired and ready to assemble. Once done with pressure and heat retention tests, the robot either continues to tunnel and improve the place, or plugs in its nuclear reactor to provide power.
With existing technology they’ll be dead before they get to Mars.
Along with the issues brought up by MIT, the issues of cosmic radiation and in situ resource utilization (ISRU) have to be overcome.
Those issues, spelled out in what was briefly, before Obama, a very influential report by the National Academy called "The Scientific Context for Exploration of the Moon (2007), were national priorities.
Far from cancelling our lunar program, Obama and his Democrat colleagues cancelled those specific technologies and the vital research already underway, with varying degrees of progress, almost immediately after he assumed office. The challenges haven't gone away, and anyone who wishes to read about them for themselves are welcome to read that same report here.
I won't comment on the direction NASA and the National Academy have taken since 2009, except to remark on the similarity to that of the CDC.
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