NASA wants to go to Mars. That's amazing!
The way it is achieved, as depicted in the following dazzling images used in NASA's public campaigns, appears to consist of the following parts:
NASA's tentacles to Mars
Send astronaut Scott Kelly to the International Space Station for a year to understand the impact of zero gravity.
Performed the Asteroid Redirect Mission to move a near-Earth asteroid into lunar orbit, proving that solar power propulsion is feasible in space.
Using the components of the space launch system, assemble a Mars transfer spacecraft in distant Earth orbit.
On the new spacecraft, get everything you need for astronauts on their trip to and from Mars, then send them on their way!
Keep the spacecraft in space for future trips to Mars. Astronauts and supplies are transferred back and forth separately.
I'm not trying to say that brainstorming isn't a good idea, but it's not the way I'll go to Mars. I was too confident and too impatient, so this plan wasn't for me.
First, we can probably skip this one-year task. In fact, NASA, I can give you a direct conclusion: a year in a zero-gravity environment can cause bone loss, muscle atrophy, damage to the immune system, exposure to radiation, and the shape of astronauts' eyes will change. We already know all of these things. Similarly, we already know that solar power propulsion is feasible in space — very effective, powerful, and adjustable. Commercial satellites are now using solar power to propel flights, and more of them will be added in the future. Oh yes, since the new millennium, NASA itself has used solar power to propel flights, such as Dawn and other missions! Nothing to prove. We can use known technologies.
Next, assemble a Mars transfer spacecraft, send it out, and reuse it in future explorations — I love this. Here's how I'll accomplish this task.
First, a company that has developed solar-powered propulsion satellites is asked to build several spacecraft buses. They cost about tens of millions of dollars each, and they can be carried on the Falcon, Ariane, or Atlas Liftoff. (This is a money-saving business for NASA!) Then, hold them together. What I really want is their propulsion system. Each spacecraft has a propulsion system powered at about 10kW, and NASA wants to boost it to about 100kW to travel to Mars. So, with the help of my rocket science calculations, we need to... 10 satellites. Or, if we remove all these communications-related loads that these satellites often carry (and I don't care about their purpose), maybe we can bring that number down to 5.
Four satellites fixed together (with mandatory blue ion engine exhaust)
Someone may need to think about the best way to hold these connected satellites together. Maybe with some kind of shelf. But I'm not really worried about that, because NASA has twenty years of experience in building modular devices and fixing them to the structure in space. They can do it to their strengths and use their own proven technology.
Now we need a place to accommodate astronauts. It's best to have an environment that's right for solving problems, solving those problems that Scott Kelly is about to identify. Many of the major physiological problems associated with space travel are related to being in zero gravity. Our Mars transfer spacecraft can't carry gravity with us, which is a pity.
Oh wait! Science fiction knows the answer. Science fiction had the answer decades ago! Spin the spacecraft up. In this way, the astronaut can get a gravity-like effect, subject to the force that flows outward along the axis of rotation.
But building a huge ring spaceship takes a lot of time, work, energy, and resources. I had something different on my mind. Something simpler:
My Mars Transfer Spacecraft, done!
The one on the right is a cylindrical inflatable living space. (Inflatable components are great for space building because they require only a small launcher.) Since everything on my launch module is made up of widgets, we can launch them once a month without having to lift them off every two years because they need super heavy rockets like the Space Launch System (SLS). This inflatable living space is connected to the central propulsion core by chain rope, or by some kind of structure. Astronauts will feel "gravity" tugging them to the right of this image (and slightly down due to the propulsion). On the left is a simple balance: the shape I drew would be reminiscent of a detached upper stage rocket. It may be used as a long-term storage tank, but its main purpose is simply to make balancers and make rotation easier. The entire spacecraft will rotate around the propulsion axis, fast enough to give the crew on board at least the level of gravity on the moon or Mars. (The parts of this image are not proportional!) ）
I'll do one last thing before I send this manned spacecraft to Mars. I'll fill the spacecraft with enough food, water, and air for astronauts to travel to Mars and make surface stops.
However, this is not enough for the return trip.
But I'll bring seeds. When astronauts land on Mars, the first thing they will do is become high-tech space farmers. They will grow all the food they need for the return trip on the surface of Mars.
Why would I want to do that? One is that seeds are smaller and smaller in quality than mature foods. In an energy sense, they may not be as expensive as transporting food directly to Mars. Second, on Mars, we can get water and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to nourish the growth of crops. So, throughout the mission, I was actually saving time and money. There's another reason, one that I find more convincing. If we have completed our mission and do not yet know how to colonize and explore other planets, and cannot continue to colonize and explore them, what is the purpose of the whole effort? Learning to use the resources of other worlds is fundamental to future space exploration. We know there's water on Mars, we know there's oxygen there, and we even know we have the potential to grow crops in its soil. We should focus on this idea and develop it. In other words, I suppose, it would be short-sighted and foolish to try mars exploration with just what we could carry from Earth— pragmatically and philosophically.
We need a Mars project that can develop technologies that can use resources on Mars to support future Exploration of Mars. We need to do this in a modular, renewable, scale-adjustable way. We need to make sure that our astronauts — no, our pioneers — have the tools, the materials, the infrastructure, and the autonomy to solve their own problems. In other words, we need to stop thinking about how to send some people in spacesuits to Mars, stop thinking about how to get astronauts to do scientific research on Mars, and instead think about how to colonize Mars. This requires many tiny things to come together, and some big things to fit in. However, for most of the work of the task, we already have the corresponding technology. We have had these technologies since the beginning of our lives. We need a space program with the right configuration to use these technologies.
That's how I explain how to start a trip to Mars.
Resources
1. WJ Encyclopedia
2. Astronomical terms
3. Ye Ying - Joseph Shoer
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