Mars and Off Planet Colonization - General Possibilities Discussion

[Skotty]

Cruz, becoming a SpaceX fan? Huh...

While Elon is sometimes associated with clean sustainable energy, putting him at odds with conservative politics (which I have to wonder if this is partially just part of the "oppose whatever the Democrats want / undo everything Obama liked" disease), it is virtually impossible for them not to like SpaceX. Innovation, space exploration, American leadership in industry, reduced costs, private industry taking up responsibility that would otherwise be government institution, American flags painted on phallic rockets with noise, controlled explosions, flames and bravado...it's all kinds of conservative goodness. The only thing missing is that it was a Tesla Roadster shot into space instead of a Chevy Silverado.

 

[KarenRei]

That wasn't a liberal vs. conservative comment. SLS is a major jobs programme at NASA, and Cruz represents Texas. He's previously been a big SLS supporter. I'd think a threat to SLS wouldn't have been taken well by him.

 

[Skotty]

That wasn't a liberal vs. conservative comment. SLS is a major jobs programme at NASA, and Cruz represents Texas. He's previously been a big SLS supporter. I'd think a threat to SLS wouldn't have been taken well by him.

Good point. I suppose it's possible that he might think SLS will become a boondoggle that will stifle support of funding for NASA, whereas if NASA can put more of their funding on mission objectives and less on rockets it will help spur support for NASA missions and funding. But that is pretty strong speculation.

 

[Nikxice]

Cruz is definitely warming up to SpaceX. He was introduced and seated in the front row at the recent Commercial Crew announcement. Which means he's also met Gwynne, likely the best in breed at selling commercial Space.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Good point. I suppose it's possible that he might think SLS will become a boondoggle that will stifle support of funding for NASA, whereas if NASA can put more of their funding on mission objectives and less on rockets it will help spur support for NASA missions and funding. But that is pretty strong speculation.

SpaceX has two locations in Texas and is expanding.
SpaceX is working to make space cheaper.
Result would be more, smaller boondoggles.

 

[ecarfan]

SpaceX has two locations in Texas and is expanding.
SpaceX is working to make space cheaper.
Result would be more, smaller boondoggles.

Definition of “boondoggle”: work or activity that is wasteful or pointless but gives the appearance of having value.

Nothing SpaceX does could be accurately described as a boondoggle.

 

[ecarfan]

Marginally related to the topic of this thread.

 

[ecarfan]

On reddit, posted by u/BlakeMW: “Estimating the mass of a Martian Propellant Plant for Starship - a detailed analysis” Estimating the mass of a Martian Propellant Plant for Starship - a detailed analysis : spacex

 

[ecarfan]

So when Elon says “Moon first” is he referring to the Dear Moon mission (which won’t land anyone on the surface) or something else? I think he’s talking about the Dear Moon mission.

 

[Grendal]

After testing is completed and a mission with a real Starship happens, there is little doubt that the Dear Moon mission has priority. It's spectacular publicity no matter how you look at it. It should also be inspirational and have the public demanding for bigger and better missions. At that point SLS should mostly be dead and those funds should be pointed at SpaceX unless legislators openly ignore public demand.

 

[ecarfan]

This is an intriguing proposal for a 3D printed Martian surface habitat

3D-printed Mars habitat could be a perfect fit for early SpaceX Starship colonies

 

[ecarfan]

Op-ed by Buzz Aldrin arguing that Mars is the ultimate destination and we need to get on with it! https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...great-migration-humankind-mars/?noredirect=on

 

[ggr]

Funny coming from the guy who pooh-poohed Elon's goals a couple of years ago.

 

[Joel Weber]

Could the magnetic shield for Mars idea be applied to the moon to give it an atmosphere?

NASA proposes a magnetic shield to protect Mars' atmosphere

 

[ggies07]

What do you guys think of this?

Algae 'Bioreactor' on Space Station Could Make Oxygen, Food for Astronauts

Creating an edible biomass from carbon dioxide within the spacecraft means less food would need to be transported or delivered on space missions. The researchers estimate roughly 30 percent of an astronaut's food could be replaced by algae due to its high protein content,

 

[ggies07]

This is an intriguing proposal for a 3D printed Martian surface habitat

3D-printed Mars habitat could be a perfect fit for early SpaceX Starship colonies

woah! Amazing detail in their video. What about radiation vs. underground habitats?

 

[ecarfan]

SpaceX beginning to tackle some of the big challenges for a Mars journey

SpaceX is seriously looking for partners to handle things like ISRU (making rocket fuel, O2, and drinkable H20 on Mars), long term food storage, power generation on Mars (in addition to solar, nuclear power will be needed but existing systems are inadequate).

 

[ggr]

Here's a random thought regarding Starship and a Mars mission. No matter how much they try to recycle everything on the Starship while on the way to Mars, I'm pretty sure there will be lots of consumables that can be disposed of. We all know that a Hohmann Orbit is the most efficient path, but I think that pre-supposes that the mass of the vehicle is constant and fixed. If you can (a) pack less consumables in the first place, and (b) throw away sh*t (literally), does that mean that you might be able to use a faster but less efficient trajectory? My guess is that it would make very little difference, but I don't know how to figure it. But you could, for example, with more fuel available, boost a little more at the start (which puts the apehelion out past Mars, like the Roadster orbit) and brake a little more on arrival?

 

[Singer3000]

How do you refuel an Earth to Mars ship for the return voyage? Or does it carry the full round trip fuel load with it?

Musk talking about a chance if all goes well of a Mars cargo mission in the Dec 2022 Earth-Mars Opposition. One assumes this might include a prototype propellant factory? The physics of it might be straightforward, trickier to see how a robot gets access to decent volumes of H2O without a human on hand. Would be pretty sweet though if the first humans that landed were doing so in the knowledge that there was already enough fuel in storage on Mars to get them home again.

 

[bxr140]

If you can (a) pack less consumables in the first place, and (b) throw away sh*t (literally), does that mean that you might be able to use a faster but less efficient trajectory? My guess is that it would make very little difference, but I don't know how to figure it.

I think the big dart thrown against that concept is that there will be a huge push to make as much stuff as reusable as possible, and that includes poo. (Think: The Martian). So, odds are there will be a very minimal amount of one-time-use mass that could be discarded during the helio phase of the transfer and thus a very infinitesimal improvement.

More likely is that SpaceX could use the massive capability of the vehicle, likely coupled with a few aerobraking passes (as discussed in some other thread...but I don't know which one) to shorten the transfer time relative to a Hohmann. One could imagine the crewed mission being very lightly loaded, with most of the supplies already in-place on the martian surface.