My Mars Project: How I would get us to Mars
Jaime Cross
Exploration can be defined as the act of traveling to a new land, mapping, and settling in a place we have never been to. Not to mention some of our top scientists today predict the fall of the human race within our very lifetimes. Scientists such as Stephen Hawking, say that we won't last much longer on our home planet, Earth. Earth is our only home at the moment, yet with the growing ambitions to get humanity to Mars has been growing, stemming from past aspirations during the space race in the sixties. Though now today, people like Elon Musk, have lit the flame once again to get humans to the red planet. Though even with all the plans to get us there, they won't be executed until the 2030s, this is due to the lack of interest within major governments like the USA with NASA and the European Union with ESA. Yet, companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin have ambitious plans to get mankind to Mars, but they still suffer from financial and technological restrictions to actually commit to anything drastic. Therefore, If I, Jaime Cross, was tasked with the objective to get boots on Mars while avoiding major obstacles in the process like Solar Flares and Radiation, here is how I would do it.
When planning a mission, one should first consider the objective, in this case: A mission of a one-way scientific settlement, mainly focused on finding life on Mars, due to the high potential of biological life dwelling on the red speck. Though recent studies show that Mars' atmosphere was stripped away from solar winds, due to the lack of a decent magnetosphere. First would be the Launch Vehicle, while it is a cheap option to choose a rocket such as the Falcon heavy or any sort of a reusable launch vehicle, It would be better to use an expendable one, due to the thrust limitations the reusable vehicles. For example, the Falcon 9 would have a harder time for this specific mission due to the fact that it would need to save delta-v for its landing, therefore putting more strain on the second stage. That's why SpaceX has been dominating LEO for the past couple of years. So, for this mission, It would be ideal to have a rocket such as the Delta IV Heavy for unmanned missions and for manned launched, a Saturn V or SLS type of launch vehicle. Second, would be the Command Module (CM), This would be something stemming from the originals back during the Apollo era, those held three astronauts, for this mission it would be ideal to have seven, for which we are all fortunate, that all the major corporations are developing a CM that would hold this amount of people. The Command Service Module (CSM) would be launched into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to meet with the Transfer Hab for the travel to Mars, this orbital hab would come equipped with Nuclear Engines, nuclear engines being much more efficient compared to chemical engines, due to is high Initial Specific Impulse (ISP). While chemically propelled rockets have higher trust, nuclear rockets have much higher efficiency. Jeff Sheehy, the chief engineer of NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, says (2017) "A chemical system has tremendous thrust force, but low miles per gallon, and you can only carry enough propellant to thrust for minutes, A solar electric system has very low thrust force, but very high miles per gallon, and you can carry enough fuel to thrust for years. NTP kind of marries the high thrust of the chemical system with a higher... miles per gallon or specific impulse." Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) is in reference to his nuclear engines that were cut due to congresses' misalignment. But I digress, the Transfer Hab would be as big as three of the Columbia modules of the ISS. This would provide various living spaces and science labs dedicated to “keeping the astronauts busy” during their trip to the red planet. The CM would consist of a singular fin, much like the design of the Big Falcon Rocket (BFR) that SpaceX is developing. This would mean that the CM would be permanently linked to the Service Module (SM). It would help for aerobraking and help with aerodynamics on its descent onto Mars, it would be helpful for pitch and YAW so you wouldn't need cold gas thrusters for atmospheric use. As the Transfer Hab rotates around Mars, the CSM would descend down onto the planet awaiting the journey home, and for future missions. This would also conclude the fact that it would propulsively land on to Mars. Of course, not the way SpaceX would consider, the CM and the linked SM would have radial drogue and main chutes that would deploy in the upper atmosphere and stay until properly set into the Martian soil. The CSM and the Transfer hab will both be reusable considering they will not be disposed of in entry and will be available for future use. After landing and dispensing all of its payloads, the CSM would, by computer, launch back up from the atmosphere to dock with the Transfer Hab and go back home for future use.
Space may be the new frontier, yet like all others, it has many problems that keep the conspiracy theories flowing. For example, a popular conspiracy theory that has recently come to the surface is the argument of which, Astronauts did not get to the moon, because of the Van Allen Belts in our upper atmosphere and beyond. These belts are rings of “captured solar wind” held by the Earth's magnetosphere. “The Van Allen belts are a collection of charged particles, gathered in place by Earth’s magnetic field. They can wax and wane in response to incoming energy from the sun, sometimes swelling up enough to expose satellites in low-Earth orbit to damaging radiation.” (Karen C. Foxm, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. NASA's Van Allen Probes Spot an Impenetrable Barrier in Space). Though these belts are a key player in juggling satellites and many other orbiting objects without protection, it could be swiftly avoided with some simple tricks to avoid exposing the astronauts to harmful radiation. Though in deep space, it's a different story. In deep space, such as, a transfer to Mars, astronauts will undergo many things, such as solar storms and winds that carry highly charged particles that could harm the astronauts in their travels. A solar storm originates from a disturbance on the sun's surface, which would be a solar flare. This would expel the mass of amounts of highly charged particles that would harm the astronauts, it could cause a risk of cancer and other various radiation caused anomalies.
The mission to Mars will be perilous, due to many things such as life support, the mental health of the astronauts leaving earth, and finally the effects of radiation on the body. “Highly energetic solar events can significantly increase the radiation that penetrates through the atmosphere to the Mars surface. The increased radiation also interacts with the atmosphere to produce additional, secondary particles, which need to be understood and shielded against to ensure the safety of future human explorers.” (Guy Webster, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Large Solar Storm Sparks Global Aurora and Doubles Radiation Levels on the Martian Surface) This shows that radiation is a big player in the effects of human performance in flight and on the surface of Mars. It is shown that radiation can harm both the human and the technology that is brought along with it. As stated above, the Van Allen Belts are able to scramble telemetry and communications data when the satellite is not properly protected. Therefore during flight, there would need to be certain protocols for such events of which the settlement or the CSM and Transfer Hab go under intense degrees of harmful radioactive particles from the sun or various belts around planets. Creating a “Storm Shelter” for Solar storms which would house the astronauts from the radiation, or just line the walls of the habs with tungsten (W) and Tin (Sn), which are cheap and light radiation shields for the spacecraft and habitats. Though for a more efficient material that would cost more and would have more weight, therefore limiting cargo due to weight restrictions, would be Lead (Pb) which would work beautifully for shielding the astronauts from radiation. “Historically, the attenuating qualities of lead made it “the element of choice” for radiation protection. However, advances in radiation shielding material technology have produced two alternative materials, lead composite” (3 Different Types of Radiation Shielding Materials (Part 1) MAY 1, 2014 BY KEVIN JAQUITH). As told above you can see that due to recent scientific discovery and research there has been a push forward to more logical choices for radiation shielding. Though another alternative for radiation shielding on the surface of Mars would be just building the habitats underground, for example in a lava tube, which would also house water ice that would be helpful for hydration and greenhouse needs. A reason to build the settlement underground would be the fact that the radiation from solar storms and winds wouldn't be able to penetrate the several feet of dirt and rock on the surface to where the settlers would be underground. Though the actual effects of radiation would be a slow development on the human body, for example, cancer could develop from high exposure to any kind of lethal radiation. This, or radiation poisoning that would end any life much quicker than cancer. “Radiation dosage can be measured in various ways. Some of the units used are Grays, Sieverts, rems, and rads. They are used in a similar way, but 0.1 rad is equivalent to 100 Gray. Below 30 rads: Mild symptoms will occur in the blood. From 30 to 200 rads: The person may become ill. From 200 to 1,000 rads: The person may become seriously ill. Over 1,000 rads: This will be fatal.” (Last updated Tue 15 August 2017 By Christian Nordqvist, What's to know about radiation sickness?) Symptoms of which would be a headache, malaise, loss of white blood cells, and finally vomiting. Therefore it is important to consider radiation shields for the crew, so they can operate at peak performance levels during their time in space and on Mars. The average amount of radiation on Mars would be around 100 rads, equivalent to twenty-four CAT scans.
My Mars Project would consist of various experiments on and off Mars to help in the discovery of off-planet life and the survivability of the human race off of Earth. Not only would it be a great triumph of humanity to land on another planet, not just our very own moon, but Mars. My plan, of course, is one of many ways to execute the passage to Mars, and it will serve to organize the many ways this mission will be done. For all of humanity. To quote JFK, “ Many years ago the great British explorer George Mallory, who was to die on Mount Everest, was asked why did he want to climb it. He said, "Because it is there." Well, space is there, and we're going to climb it, and the moon and the planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there. And, therefore, as we set sail we ask God's blessing on the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure on which man has ever embarked. Thank you.” (September 12, 1962)
(p.s: For any intuitive minds out there, the title of this post is the title of Von Brauns's plan for a mission to Mars. Way back in the 1970's when he planned this, yet due to lack of funding and public interest, it was never achieved.)
Bibliography
Greicius, T. (2017, September 29). NASA Missions See Effects at Mars From Large Solar Storm. Retrieved March 21, 2018, from https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/large-solar-storm-sparks-global-aurora-and-doubles-radiation-levels-on-the-martian-surface
Nordqvist, C. (2017, August 15). Radiation sickness: Sources, effects, and protection. Retrieved March 21, 2018, from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/219615.php
3 Different Types of Radiation Shielding Materials. (2015, March 05). Retrieved March 21, 2018, from https://blog.universalmedicalinc.com/3-different-types-radiation-shielding-materials/
Zell, H. (2015, February 12). Van Allen Probes Spot an Impenetrable Barrier in Space. Retrieved March 21, 2018, from https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/van-allen-probes-spot-impenetrable-barrier-in-space
Exploration can be defined as the act of traveling to a new land, mapping, and settling in a place we have never been to. Not to mention some of our top scientists today predict the fall of the human race within our very lifetimes. Scientists such as Stephen Hawking, say that we won't last much longer on our home planet, Earth. Earth is our only home at the moment, yet with the growing ambitions to get humanity to Mars has been growing, stemming from past aspirations during the space race in the sixties. Though now today, people like Elon Musk, have lit the flame once again to get humans to the red planet. Though even with all the plans to get us there, they won't be executed until the 2030s, this is due to the lack of interest within major governments like the USA with NASA and the European Union with ESA. Yet, companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin have ambitious plans to get mankind to Mars, but they still suffer from financial and technological restrictions to actually commit to anything drastic. Therefore, If I, Jaime Cross, was tasked with the objective to get boots on Mars while avoiding major obstacles in the process like Solar Flares and Radiation, here is how I would do it.
When planning a mission, one should first consider the objective, in this case: A mission of a one-way scientific settlement, mainly focused on finding life on Mars, due to the high potential of biological life dwelling on the red speck. Though recent studies show that Mars' atmosphere was stripped away from solar winds, due to the lack of a decent magnetosphere. First would be the Launch Vehicle, while it is a cheap option to choose a rocket such as the Falcon heavy or any sort of a reusable launch vehicle, It would be better to use an expendable one, due to the thrust limitations the reusable vehicles. For example, the Falcon 9 would have a harder time for this specific mission due to the fact that it would need to save delta-v for its landing, therefore putting more strain on the second stage. That's why SpaceX has been dominating LEO for the past couple of years. So, for this mission, It would be ideal to have a rocket such as the Delta IV Heavy for unmanned missions and for manned launched, a Saturn V or SLS type of launch vehicle. Second, would be the Command Module (CM), This would be something stemming from the originals back during the Apollo era, those held three astronauts, for this mission it would be ideal to have seven, for which we are all fortunate, that all the major corporations are developing a CM that would hold this amount of people. The Command Service Module (CSM) would be launched into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to meet with the Transfer Hab for the travel to Mars, this orbital hab would come equipped with Nuclear Engines, nuclear engines being much more efficient compared to chemical engines, due to is high Initial Specific Impulse (ISP). While chemically propelled rockets have higher trust, nuclear rockets have much higher efficiency. Jeff Sheehy, the chief engineer of NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, says (2017) "A chemical system has tremendous thrust force, but low miles per gallon, and you can only carry enough propellant to thrust for minutes, A solar electric system has very low thrust force, but very high miles per gallon, and you can carry enough fuel to thrust for years. NTP kind of marries the high thrust of the chemical system with a higher... miles per gallon or specific impulse." Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) is in reference to his nuclear engines that were cut due to congresses' misalignment. But I digress, the Transfer Hab would be as big as three of the Columbia modules of the ISS. This would provide various living spaces and science labs dedicated to “keeping the astronauts busy” during their trip to the red planet. The CM would consist of a singular fin, much like the design of the Big Falcon Rocket (BFR) that SpaceX is developing. This would mean that the CM would be permanently linked to the Service Module (SM). It would help for aerobraking and help with aerodynamics on its descent onto Mars, it would be helpful for pitch and YAW so you wouldn't need cold gas thrusters for atmospheric use. As the Transfer Hab rotates around Mars, the CSM would descend down onto the planet awaiting the journey home, and for future missions. This would also conclude the fact that it would propulsively land on to Mars. Of course, not the way SpaceX would consider, the CM and the linked SM would have radial drogue and main chutes that would deploy in the upper atmosphere and stay until properly set into the Martian soil. The CSM and the Transfer hab will both be reusable considering they will not be disposed of in entry and will be available for future use. After landing and dispensing all of its payloads, the CSM would, by computer, launch back up from the atmosphere to dock with the Transfer Hab and go back home for future use.
Space may be the new frontier, yet like all others, it has many problems that keep the conspiracy theories flowing. For example, a popular conspiracy theory that has recently come to the surface is the argument of which, Astronauts did not get to the moon, because of the Van Allen Belts in our upper atmosphere and beyond. These belts are rings of “captured solar wind” held by the Earth's magnetosphere. “The Van Allen belts are a collection of charged particles, gathered in place by Earth’s magnetic field. They can wax and wane in response to incoming energy from the sun, sometimes swelling up enough to expose satellites in low-Earth orbit to damaging radiation.” (Karen C. Foxm, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. NASA's Van Allen Probes Spot an Impenetrable Barrier in Space). Though these belts are a key player in juggling satellites and many other orbiting objects without protection, it could be swiftly avoided with some simple tricks to avoid exposing the astronauts to harmful radiation. Though in deep space, it's a different story. In deep space, such as, a transfer to Mars, astronauts will undergo many things, such as solar storms and winds that carry highly charged particles that could harm the astronauts in their travels. A solar storm originates from a disturbance on the sun's surface, which would be a solar flare. This would expel the mass of amounts of highly charged particles that would harm the astronauts, it could cause a risk of cancer and other various radiation caused anomalies.
The mission to Mars will be perilous, due to many things such as life support, the mental health of the astronauts leaving earth, and finally the effects of radiation on the body. “Highly energetic solar events can significantly increase the radiation that penetrates through the atmosphere to the Mars surface. The increased radiation also interacts with the atmosphere to produce additional, secondary particles, which need to be understood and shielded against to ensure the safety of future human explorers.” (Guy Webster, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Large Solar Storm Sparks Global Aurora and Doubles Radiation Levels on the Martian Surface) This shows that radiation is a big player in the effects of human performance in flight and on the surface of Mars. It is shown that radiation can harm both the human and the technology that is brought along with it. As stated above, the Van Allen Belts are able to scramble telemetry and communications data when the satellite is not properly protected. Therefore during flight, there would need to be certain protocols for such events of which the settlement or the CSM and Transfer Hab go under intense degrees of harmful radioactive particles from the sun or various belts around planets. Creating a “Storm Shelter” for Solar storms which would house the astronauts from the radiation, or just line the walls of the habs with tungsten (W) and Tin (Sn), which are cheap and light radiation shields for the spacecraft and habitats. Though for a more efficient material that would cost more and would have more weight, therefore limiting cargo due to weight restrictions, would be Lead (Pb) which would work beautifully for shielding the astronauts from radiation. “Historically, the attenuating qualities of lead made it “the element of choice” for radiation protection. However, advances in radiation shielding material technology have produced two alternative materials, lead composite” (3 Different Types of Radiation Shielding Materials (Part 1) MAY 1, 2014 BY KEVIN JAQUITH). As told above you can see that due to recent scientific discovery and research there has been a push forward to more logical choices for radiation shielding. Though another alternative for radiation shielding on the surface of Mars would be just building the habitats underground, for example in a lava tube, which would also house water ice that would be helpful for hydration and greenhouse needs. A reason to build the settlement underground would be the fact that the radiation from solar storms and winds wouldn't be able to penetrate the several feet of dirt and rock on the surface to where the settlers would be underground. Though the actual effects of radiation would be a slow development on the human body, for example, cancer could develop from high exposure to any kind of lethal radiation. This, or radiation poisoning that would end any life much quicker than cancer. “Radiation dosage can be measured in various ways. Some of the units used are Grays, Sieverts, rems, and rads. They are used in a similar way, but 0.1 rad is equivalent to 100 Gray. Below 30 rads: Mild symptoms will occur in the blood. From 30 to 200 rads: The person may become ill. From 200 to 1,000 rads: The person may become seriously ill. Over 1,000 rads: This will be fatal.” (Last updated Tue 15 August 2017 By Christian Nordqvist, What's to know about radiation sickness?) Symptoms of which would be a headache, malaise, loss of white blood cells, and finally vomiting. Therefore it is important to consider radiation shields for the crew, so they can operate at peak performance levels during their time in space and on Mars. The average amount of radiation on Mars would be around 100 rads, equivalent to twenty-four CAT scans.
My Mars Project would consist of various experiments on and off Mars to help in the discovery of off-planet life and the survivability of the human race off of Earth. Not only would it be a great triumph of humanity to land on another planet, not just our very own moon, but Mars. My plan, of course, is one of many ways to execute the passage to Mars, and it will serve to organize the many ways this mission will be done. For all of humanity. To quote JFK, “ Many years ago the great British explorer George Mallory, who was to die on Mount Everest, was asked why did he want to climb it. He said, "Because it is there." Well, space is there, and we're going to climb it, and the moon and the planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there. And, therefore, as we set sail we ask God's blessing on the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure on which man has ever embarked. Thank you.” (September 12, 1962)
(p.s: For any intuitive minds out there, the title of this post is the title of Von Brauns's plan for a mission to Mars. Way back in the 1970's when he planned this, yet due to lack of funding and public interest, it was never achieved.)
Bibliography
Greicius, T. (2017, September 29). NASA Missions See Effects at Mars From Large Solar Storm. Retrieved March 21, 2018, from https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/large-solar-storm-sparks-global-aurora-and-doubles-radiation-levels-on-the-martian-surface
Nordqvist, C. (2017, August 15). Radiation sickness: Sources, effects, and protection. Retrieved March 21, 2018, from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/219615.php
3 Different Types of Radiation Shielding Materials. (2015, March 05). Retrieved March 21, 2018, from https://blog.universalmedicalinc.com/3-different-types-radiation-shielding-materials/
Zell, H. (2015, February 12). Van Allen Probes Spot an Impenetrable Barrier in Space. Retrieved March 21, 2018, from https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/van-allen-probes-spot-impenetrable-barrier-in-space
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