Space/Science — HabitableZone

Space/Science » in reply to " We started with what would be required for flights to Mars and worked backward"

re: Which isn't from the Report. But only means there should be commonality in spacecraft design...

Another quote from the report:

In Stage 3, the development of human landers for the Moon and Mars is completed. It is conceptually attractive to envision using the same basic lander design for both planets and, indeed, such commonality should be pursued where possible. However, there are several basic differences in the requirements that must be imposed upon the two systems, and for which the final design must account. The lunar lander requires a descent Δv of approximately 1.85 km/s from low lunar orbit; in the absence of an atmosphere, the ascent requirement to the same orbit will be similar, for a total Δv of approximately 3.7 km/s. A Mars lander must employ an aeroshell for the entry phase, and the descent propulsive Δv will be considerably less than for a lunar landing, while the ascent Δv alone will be of the order of 4 km/s. Further design differences will arise if in situ Martian resources are used to provide fuel for the ascent phase. It is likely that a lander designed for Mars will be an “over-design” for use at the Moon. However, the ascent stage of a Mars lander might, by itself, serve as a single-stage, fully reusable lunar lander. It may also be desirable to flight test the Mars vehicle at the Moon. (from page 8)


To state this in terms you understand: Mars is Mars like NOT Moon like!

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