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How much extra thrust is necessary for Mars launch? It almost seems simple after a while.
Falcon heavy (1 falcon + 2 falcon 1st stages) to take one Dragon capsule + payload.
Now please correct me if I'm way off here but basically you need enough thrust to reach escape velocity going in the correct angle on the correct time to hit Mars.
Manned missions after this one? Seems like a lot of work is still required. Dragon capsules could take people down to the surface from orbit but no one is going to be making an interplanetary voyage in something so small with so little resources.I would be very interested in hearing if anyone has heard Elon take about if he envisions another unmanned mission to Mars after this one, with return of samples to earth (i.e. a rover, unmanned Ascent Vehicle and Earth Return Vehicle) before the manned mission, or if he's thinking manned mission directly after this one???
Bringing back samples to Earth before doing the manned mission seems to be the scientifically best thing to do...
This is encouraging to me if it begins the process of extracting Mars from the icy grip of the planetary scientists who wish (demand) that it be kept absolutely pristine so that they can complete research programs... It's an entire planet which is (or may be) suitable for colonization and population, not their private Petri dish. If the Dragon capsule were to open up and deposit a ton of highly-refined manure on the surface of the polar region, it'd be a good beginning...
Just wait to see what this does to SLS...
Yes! Tons of Manure and TONS of seeds... I know planetary scientists (and the search for ET) would freak, but realistically sending out manned explorations to Mars with any intent on bringing people back would be prohibitively expensive, risky and I believe, of limited yield. Where's the launch site to bring the people back into space? Mars does have an atmosphere, not like the moon.
Let's start Terraforming!!! I like one of NASA's ideas of capturing an asteroid (or comet) to learn how to do it. Then we should send it to Mars to start adding some water...
This is the part of that article that I found most interesting, quote: