mamooth
Diamond Member
Basically, NASA finally admits it's all been wishful thinking. They're not even close to being able to do it, and they won't be close in the foreseeable future. While they say it's all about money, it's far more than money. They just don't have the tech.
NASA finally admits it doesn’t have the funding to land humans on Mars
It doesn't help that they'll miss the best launch window. There are two 'launch window cycles' at play. There's the more important window, which comes every 2.2 years, when Earth is close to "catching up" with Mars. Every Mars launch happens in that window. And there's a less strong 16-year cycle, based on the eccentricity of each planet's orbit. That reaches a minimum in 2018. We'll miss that window, then it won't get that good again until the 2030's. It's maybe a 20% difference in flight time, but if you're trying to have your people not die from radiation, minimizing trip time is vital.
So, realistically, nothing until the 2030s, at the earliest. Maybe Chang-Díaz will have his VASIMR plasma drive working by then, which would help considerably. If it works, it would have much more power than the present Hall thruster plasma drives, and get twice the "gas mileage".
NASA’s longshot bet on a revolutionary rocket may be about to pay off
And another thing, it's been found the Martian soil is so toxic, it will kill all bacteria. Any bacterial life on Mars will have to be buried deep. The new European robot probe will bring a 2-meter drill.
Mars covered in toxic chemicals that can wipe out living organisms, tests reveal
NASA finally admits it doesn’t have the funding to land humans on Mars
It doesn't help that they'll miss the best launch window. There are two 'launch window cycles' at play. There's the more important window, which comes every 2.2 years, when Earth is close to "catching up" with Mars. Every Mars launch happens in that window. And there's a less strong 16-year cycle, based on the eccentricity of each planet's orbit. That reaches a minimum in 2018. We'll miss that window, then it won't get that good again until the 2030's. It's maybe a 20% difference in flight time, but if you're trying to have your people not die from radiation, minimizing trip time is vital.
So, realistically, nothing until the 2030s, at the earliest. Maybe Chang-Díaz will have his VASIMR plasma drive working by then, which would help considerably. If it works, it would have much more power than the present Hall thruster plasma drives, and get twice the "gas mileage".
NASA’s longshot bet on a revolutionary rocket may be about to pay off
And another thing, it's been found the Martian soil is so toxic, it will kill all bacteria. Any bacterial life on Mars will have to be buried deep. The new European robot probe will bring a 2-meter drill.
Mars covered in toxic chemicals that can wipe out living organisms, tests reveal
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