Mars or Bust. A good read

[akarunway 1]

Comments? http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/9257395/mars_or_bust?rnd=1143357398219&has-player=true&version=6.0.8.1024

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

[billvon 3,120]

A popularized version of the reference Mars mission with the expected mistakes (Katrina-strength winds, launching when Earth and Mars are closest.) For a more accurate, and far more interesting read on the subject, check out Mars Direct by Robert Zubrin. It's a much simpler and cheaper way to get to Mars and back.

[akarunway 1]

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A popularized version of the reference Mars mission with the expected mistakes (Katrina-strength winds, launching when Earth and Mars are closest.) For a more accurate, and far more interesting read on the subject, check out Mars Direct by Robert Zubrin. It's a much simpler and cheaper way to get to Mars and back.

I'll check it out. Thanks

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

[kallend 2,150]

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A popularized version of the reference Mars mission with the expected mistakes (Katrina-strength winds, launching when Earth and Mars are closest.) For a more accurate, and far more interesting read on the subject, check out Mars Direct by Robert Zubrin. It's a much simpler and cheaper way to get to Mars and back.

Interesting article in Scientific American a month or so back, on how protecting humans from radiation might be the spoiler for any manned space flight much beyond the Moon. Even a Mars trip represents a very large exposure.

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The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[billvon 3,120]

>Interesting article in Scientific American a month or so back, on
>how protecting humans from radiation might be the spoiler for any
>manned space flight much beyond the Moon.

Yeah, but I don't buy that. Mars has an atmosphere and thus provides a lot more protection than the moon from radiation (and things like micrometeorites.) Shielding people inside isn't hard. Heck, bring an inflatable tent, pump it up there and just shovel dirt on top; you can get any level of shielding you want with enough dirt.

Being outside is going to result in radiation exposure, but not _significantly_ greater than what US nuclear workers (think Homer Simpson) receive. Some numbers:


500 rem - fatal dose
500 rem - amount of radiation you would receive if you stood outside naked on the surface of mars for a year
6-12 rem - amount of radiation you would receive annually on mars if you lived in a shelter and went outside occasionally with a reasonably shielded suit
5 rem - US annual limit for radiation exposure of people who handle nuclear materials

[kallend 2,150]

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>Interesting article in Scientific American a month or so back, on
>how protecting humans from radiation might be the spoiler for any
>manned space flight much beyond the Moon.

Yeah, but I don't buy that. Mars has an atmosphere and thus provides a lot more protection than the moon from radiation (and things like micrometeorites.) Shielding people inside isn't hard. Heck, bring an inflatable tent, pump it up there and just shovel dirt on top; you can get any level of shielding you want with enough dirt.

Being outside is going to result in radiation exposure, but not _significantly_ greater than what US nuclear workers (think Homer Simpson) receive. Some numbers:


500 rem - fatal dose
500 rem - amount of radiation you would receive if you stood outside naked on the surface of mars for a year
6-12 rem - amount of radiation you would receive annually on mars if you lived in a shelter and went outside occasionally with a reasonably shielded suit
5 rem - US annual limit for radiation exposure of people who handle nuclear materials

The in-transit dose was the problem. Adequate shielding from a solar flare apparently requires tons of (for example) water.

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The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[pirana 0]

Yep. IIRC, with our current inability to predict solar events in detail, it's just a matter of odds in avoiding a big event. Basically, if you are outside the Earth's magnetosphere during a large CME that comes our way - you're toast.

" . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

[billvon 3,120]

> Adequate shielding from a solar flare apparently requires tons
>of (for example) water.

Which they will have to bring anyway. The Mars Direct mission uses a Mars lander that has a central airlock, surrounded by the water tank. A flexible membrane separates dirty and clean water, and a filter constantly (and slowly) changes the dirty water back into clean. It can be dumped before landing if the weight is an issue.

During a flare everyone squeezes into the airlock, and they wait out the flare there.

More advanced systems use a magnetic field to redirect charged solar particles, much like our planet's magnetic field does. But that's off in the future.

[Amazon 7]

I would love to take my bust to MARS

I am a geologist by training, I am past childbearing age.. so little worries about being irradiated ( just the cancer probobility would be a bitch) Heck I think we need an old foggies home there. Less gravity..= less strain on my poor old tired and painful body.

[pirana 0]

Might be able to land a wingsuit too.

" . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

[TheAnvil 0]

I should go because I am very compact and take up little space. Unfortunately, they do not have a tequila factory on Mars and would be unable to supply me with enough for the trip, so I won't be going.

Vinny the Anvil
Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL
JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

[billvon 3,120]

>Might be able to land a wingsuit too.

Gravity is 60%, but pressure is around 4 millibars. So assuming everything scales linearly (which it doesn't) you'd have to land at a speed around 15,000 mph.

[kallend 2,150]

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>Might be able to land a wingsuit too.

Gravity is 60%, but pressure is around 4 millibars. So assuming everything scales linearly (which it doesn't) you'd have to land at a speed around 15,000 mph.

Ummm- Mars's escape velocity is only 11,000mph.

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The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[rehmwa 2]

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>Might be able to land a wingsuit too.

Gravity is 60%, but pressure is around 4 millibars. So assuming everything scales linearly (which it doesn't) you'd have to land at a speed around 15,000 mph.

Ummm- Mars's escape velocity is only 11,000mph.

That's the tough part, in order to land a wingsuit on Mars, you have to only partially wear it. And then slowing take it off as you approach the surface. If not done correctly, you take the chance of just shooting off into space again.

It's very tricky. Only 100 jump wonders should even try it.

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Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[billvon 3,120]

>Mars's escape velocity is only 11,000mph.

I'm talking lift required, not in terms of orbital speed. Heck, if you want to get into orbital mechanics, you don't even need a suit to land yourself, as long as a) you can get going 11,000mph and b) you can keep that speed all the way down to the surface (you'd need a really good headdown.)

Besides lift doesn't scale linearly anyway. You could probably figure this out - if you need 100kts of airspeed at 1000mb at a given AOA to get X lbs of lift, how much speed do you need to get the same lift at 4mb?

[kallend 2,150]

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>Mars's escape velocity is only 11,000mph.

I'm talking lift required, not in terms of orbital speed. Heck, if you want to get into orbital mechanics, you don't even need a suit to land yourself, as long as a) you can get going 11,000mph and b) you can keep that speed all the way down to the surface (you'd need a really good headdown.)

Besides lift doesn't scale linearly anyway. You could probably figure this out - if you need 100kts of airspeed at 1000mb at a given AOA to get X lbs of lift, how much speed do you need to get the same lift at 4mb?

I think rehmwa has the right idea - get a 100 jump wonder to try it first.

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The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[popsjumper 2]

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[...I think rehmwa has the right idea - get a 100 jump wonder to try it first.

Pruitt (bseriesboosted) where are you when we need you?

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
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