To pile on… also needs: zero boil off of propellants during the 8-10 months of cruise and landing or there won’t be enough propellants left to land, which along with on orbit propellant transfer has never been demonstrated at scale and then there’s the small item of coming
back, even IF you stick the landing. If Ship lands empty, it takes approximately 700 MT of propellant to get off the surface and to TEI. Needs C and O2 from the atmosphere, and H2O from water ice… no problem, the math on this for power, other equipment on the surface and duration required is problematic.
Sounds like Mission to Mars is the DOGE of aerospace engineering. But with enough hype and taxpayer money, Musk can divert attention away from the thousands of deaths worldwide and the mindless destruction of effective government that should be his legacy.
I've posited that somehow Musk or someone can resolve these issue so I've focused on carrying humans to Mars and pondering things like crew composition, human needs for food and water, psychological elements and how the crew might survive if they should make it to Mars and safely land. And there is no way this will work for humans, at least not for years, if not decades. For instance, the crew will live in microgravity for months and then will weigh 35% of so of their earth weight. Will they even be capable of mobility?It's one thing to exercise to keep muscle mass but they will now be LIVING with this newfound weight. And on and on I can go with the other problems Musk seems to simply brush off. He says he wants to die on Mars, well why don't we send him there?
Hi Will,
I'm loving your work. I'd like to explore doing a story with you for PBS. Let me know if you're interested.
To pile on… also needs: zero boil off of propellants during the 8-10 months of cruise and landing or there won’t be enough propellants left to land, which along with on orbit propellant transfer has never been demonstrated at scale and then there’s the small item of coming
back, even IF you stick the landing. If Ship lands empty, it takes approximately 700 MT of propellant to get off the surface and to TEI. Needs C and O2 from the atmosphere, and H2O from water ice… no problem, the math on this for power, other equipment on the surface and duration required is problematic.
So, you’re telling me there’s a chance. 😉
Sounds like Mission to Mars is the DOGE of aerospace engineering. But with enough hype and taxpayer money, Musk can divert attention away from the thousands of deaths worldwide and the mindless destruction of effective government that should be his legacy.
I've posited that somehow Musk or someone can resolve these issue so I've focused on carrying humans to Mars and pondering things like crew composition, human needs for food and water, psychological elements and how the crew might survive if they should make it to Mars and safely land. And there is no way this will work for humans, at least not for years, if not decades. For instance, the crew will live in microgravity for months and then will weigh 35% of so of their earth weight. Will they even be capable of mobility?It's one thing to exercise to keep muscle mass but they will now be LIVING with this newfound weight. And on and on I can go with the other problems Musk seems to simply brush off. He says he wants to die on Mars, well why don't we send him there?