One-way Martian ticket: Pick passengers for Musk's first Mars pioneer squad Admit it. You were tempted to fulfil your sci-fi fantasy – no, not that one – and apply to Mars One Foundation to become a Red Planet pioneer three years back. That call saw 202,586 put their names forward to join a one-way trip starting in 2025. Elon Musk this week undercut Mars One, promising he’d land 100 pioneers on the …
"Musk seems to think can be traversed in 80 days."
Yeah. He also states that his cars have an autopilot when the firm that originally provided the tech stated it should be 'driver assist'
Not knocking his achivements. Just not sure that I trust him with my life.
But hey. Maybe I don't want to be on the 'Greatest Ever Reality Show' enough.
Roughly 150 tons of fuel are joined to the stack by the second launch. It's that which will be consumed to boost to the specified 6.5km/s transfer velocity and slow down at the far end. It's the size of the fuel budget that gets them the speed, and nothing to date has had a budget anywhere close.
True, but that gives you a lot more velocity to brake at either end. In the early 90's the Defense Analysis Agency did a report on this. 76 days is possible if you can get up to 20 Km/s.
At the speeds Musk is proposing (around 8 Km/s) 80 days will be possibly in an alignment that comes up in about 20 years. The average for the speed he's been talking about is about 115 days, more like 4 months.
Could you boost this with intermediate fuelling points along the way? I know there is one case study that calls for refuelling close to the moon using libration (Lagrangian?) points to maintain a stable position. What about using something like that to minimise the main vehicle launch payload - i.e. to send a number of rockets up and then assemble them in space.
For those who voted for Donald Trump to be the 100th passenger - what would the other 99 have done to deserve that?
"Gaming is really going to suck :("
Is it really so hard to imagine a way of playing a computer game that doesn't require an internet connection or a remote server? Are single player games or LAN parties so far in the past that no one remembers them any more? Pah! Kids today! Git of ma (dusty red) lawn!
It ain't like in the movies.
The mean atmospheric pressure on Mars is only 0.6% of that of Earth. (Equivalent on Earth of being at an altitude of 22 miles, or about 35 km.) Which is why "violent dust storms" is a joke. At full force, the most "violent" dust storm with 130mpg winds on Mars can barely move one of those thin a plastic shopping bags.
I suspect that the 80 day journey time relies on the extra fuel that will be loaded in orbit. If you're relying on the fuel you've boosted out of the gravity well in the initial launch, there's a bunch less thrust available.
Bottom line, I can't see them getting something as fundamental as the journey time wrong.
Oh, and sign me up, would you? Sounds like a lot of fun.
GJC
"Oh, and sign me up, would you? Sounds like a lot of fun."
I'd offer a similar sentiment, but I'd almost certainly fail any health checks that are carried out.
However, as to others going - I don't care who does it first, but I want someone to do it so that I can see a human setting foot on Mars before I croak.
Despite my dislike of reality shows, I'll even watch that version (the important bits, at least), if it actually happens and it's the one that gets there first.
"I fear, if rushed it's more likely to be "I can see a human croaking after setting foot on Mars""
Yes, well, while I want to see someone set foot on Mars, I'd also prefer them to have done all the necessary homework first to minimise the risks as much as possible - I didn't suggest they should rush it.
It's not as if I'm expecting to kick the bucket in 2029 or whenever. I'm hoping to make it until at least 2030. :p
If anyone actually looked at the Musk presentation data, they'd see that the 80-day transit time is the "best case" scenario with one particular Earth-Mars alignment. Worst case was 150 days, or nearly twice as long.
And all of that was in support of determining thrust and fuel requirements for the desired payload mass to Mars, which determines the size of the booster, not for the purposes of scheduling how long you need to board your cat for.
While I'm at it, he also didn't promise 100 passengers to Mars in 2022. The 2022 date is for a completely different mission to Mars (Red Dragon), and he specifically stated in the Q&A that the first test flights of his "spaceship" would have many fewer than 100 people on-board. I would expect that the first flight(s) would have 0 humans on board.
For some strange reason Mrs Clinton's name is actually spelt "Hillary". But definitely a candidate for the B-Ark, along with most of the Senate, House of Representatives and the House of Commons, all the hereditary peers, bishops (of all persuasions).
Elon: the ship just isn't going to be big enough!
Given that there won't be a lot to do when you get there, and asking myself again if NASA actually flew to the moon the first time, etc. left me wondering if there is a cheaper alternative and a money making scheme at the same time.
I think that for 50% of Musk's price, I cam come up with a scheme where people go to "space" and get all the positives of nobody to talk to, a completely different way to live, etc.
I plan to buy up an unused piece of land - somewhere, make a large enclosed dome, painted with the correct stars and black background etc.
The big benefit of my scheme is that I will also provide simulated gravity; simulated atmosphere; electricity; Internet and pizza deliveries once a week.
Space suits will be required if you venture outside, but they will only have a 20 minute oxygen supply to stop people wandering too far and finding the truth.
..."Given that there won't be a lot to do when you get there ........
There will be on hell of a lot to do once up there; building a habitat, mining, engineering, prospecting etc. I should imagine that there would be enough to do to occupy 100 colonists 24/7/365 for 10's of years ....
"The big benefit of my scheme is that I will also provide simulated gravity;"
If you've managed to simulate 1/3rd gravity while on Earth for the whole dome and the surrounding outside land, then you might as well just take them to Mars anyway, You already invented anti-gravity.
All they have to do is step outside at night...
Or if they have a clock, they can easily check the gravity. (a one meter pendulum takes one second or the next approach)
A long enough pendulum would reveal that they were on earth. (A Foucoult pendulum rotates once a day - on earth that would be 23 hours 56 minutes and some odd seconds. On Mars that should take about 24 hours 37 minutes and some seconds.)
"Or if they have a clock, they can easily check the gravity. (a one meter pendulum takes one second or the next approach)"
I suspect jumping up and down on the spot would be a dead giveaway to roughly test if the gravity was 3 times higher than expected for Mars. KISS :-)
Being on the wrong side of the pond, I had to look up this person who seems to be more reviled than Trump and May (at least in this thread). I saw an article of hers in the Daily Mail; while bad, that doesn't completely explain the vitriol. Then I read the article (well, maybe 1/2-2/3 of it).
Ye Tap-dancing Gods! That woman is a psychopath.
Oh, her!!!! There was me thinking of her who sang Those were the days and wondering what all the fuss was about.
That would be irrelevant both for single player gaming and systematic browsing (ie. a handful of sites you visit/read regularly, kept in sync automatically for you - it could even include your Youtube subscriptions if the bandwidth allows). It's only a problem if you're trying to browse randomly...
For your next pic of a man sitting on Mars, choose an image where the outline of the mountains is not blurred by a haze in an atmosphere.
Getting a good pic, however, might push the price of the image up a bit. Maybe one thing that Mr Musk's adventurers could export back here ?
I think sending people to live on Mars is a totally stupid idea. The moon is only about 3 days away - 3 DAYS! Set up a permanent base there, then have commercial flights. (Next thing you know, you'll have a Starbucks.)
But I know, Mars is sexier. Instead of having to wear a space suit all of the time you're walking about on gray powder, you can be excited walking around in a space suit on red powder.
you got a downvote. So have an upvote. Honestly, if this was done for say the moon first (just to prove the launch capability) then it would make a lot more sense.
Prove you can get a habitat of some form, and please have people at least partially within distance for a rescue (I'd assume you'd have more than one craft, as your running a business right? It won't make much on low volume, so the more the better in the long run, as with the Falcon9 and beyond etc).
I didn't vote for Trump in the poll, but only because by 2022 it'll be far too late, the damage will have been done, either by him or Clinton. I have no faith that either will make a fit President of the USA.
Unfortunately, I could happily fill all 100 places with people who I feel the Earth would be better without, and probably a few more ship's worth besides...
I can see that DJT's publicity stunt is paying off.
Personally.
I'd want to put someone like the the jerk MY on there in a locked room with the crazy fellow from Rwanda that the ICJ (has/had) put on trial. They'd make for *great* entertainment.
You *will* note that I don't use names for the nutbar media attention seekers, even that Klutch of K folks that seem to be so popular on this side of the pond.
Take those 98 off and fill the bugger with the z-listers and celebrity mouth-breathers from the Daily Mail sidebar of shame.
This flight can be done considerably cheaper since there is no need to bother with retrobraking when the get there. Or indeed an reason to point them at Mars or any other planet we might actually like. Just give the fucker enough velocity to exit the solar system.
I'd rather take the trip myself so as to get away from them for at least a little while. Send enough resources for a couple people to live indefinitely and they wouldn't need to send a return ship.
//Mine's the one with the "Hermits United Club" membership card in the pocket.
Bear Grylls - Celebrity Survival Special - The Mars Adventure
We could start with.....
<1> Paris Hilton
Because she likes flying a lot!
I Patient this idea in the name of The Register for a nominal 40% of the royalties!
(c) 2016 ME
and please make sure the smug git is also sent there!
Considering the increasing list of people to send off to Mars, the grim truth is obvious. They couldn't even put them on the ship even in powdered form. Nay,.. the only way to get rid of all those pesky buggers is to sign on for the trip and hope for the best of it. Considering the mass insanity that seems to plague this world, Brexit, Trump for president with a chance to actually win it, pope in Azerbaijan, Microsoft doing Linux support.
I'll take the 6000 chest X-rays! I'll be your fertilizer, soylent-green or whatever! Just get me off this rock!!!
Have a few ideas here, not least a modification of simple now-redundant MRI LHe cooled magnets which are being replaced with MgB2 cryogen free ones.
The advantage here of using NbTi (old) technology is that any tendency of the magnets to quench which is a real annoyance and could be a serious risk en route, is mitigated with a used magnet.
They do not "wear out" and if they fail the initial QA test power-up once in orbit then they get used for counterweight/etc.
Also don't forget that technology has moved on a lot since Apollo, 25 tons can be launched with SLS or Dragon capsule for a lot less than people think.
Refurbished external tanks filled with uhm, "organic waste" can provide a convenient meteor-proof casing for the actual flight hardware as discussed by Zubrin et al.
I was heartened by the fact that Trump won the sweepstakes. Hopefully, his departure is compulsory. It would have been nice if they could leave NOW or, at least, sometime before November 8 (US elections). No, I am not a Hillary fan-boy; I just cannot imagine having to put up with Reality TV addresses from a supposed worldly leader (Hint: he's not!).
Second place honors should have gone to Ted Cruz, senator from my home state who truly believes that obstruction of congressional productivity is his primary function.
Hi, in fact it turns out humans can survive *much* higher levels than is currently accepted.
In fact certain people (screened by using blood samples) can tolerate 2-3* the "lethal" level for most and this was proved recently by folks at Tchernobyl who risked their lives to save others.
The brave scientists that took samples of the "Elephant's Foot" seem to have suffered few if any ill effects because the dose was fractionated, maybe what we need to be doing is finding out why this makes a difference in some but not others.
Sure there are limits but between anti-radiation drugs that are not yet FDA approved and other advances such as MgB2 based shielding on the "safe room" most of the problems can be mitigated.
We should be considering testing this on volunteers as folks undergoing routine radiotherapy would gladly take a chance of fewer unwanted side effects if it helps us advance scientific knowledge.
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