Martian Settlement, 2090

Perhaps the answer would be to establish a series of space stations at million-km intervals on the path to Mars; thereby, at any point in the journey the spacecraft could get help sent to them from one or other of the stations if the need arose.

 

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what for? Those space stations need to be serviced constantly...why would they need to be there in first place? what purpose will they serve?

 

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Dude, the Earth, and Mars ORBIT the Sun. They MOVE, as would any space station, so what use would they be? How many would you need to be within a million KM on both the outward and return journeys?

At each different distance from the Sun, they would Orbit at different speeds, like the planets do, so would not be in step when you came back, ....

 

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yeah a bunch of pit stops on the way... each one could have a jukebox and a pool table

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It wouldnt work. The only reason why mars an earth orbit the sun as any other planets too, is because the suns gravity pulls them in like an invisible string. But that string has a weight limit, not a maximum but a minimum weight limit. Unless you were to make space stations a few continents long it would not work.

If these space stations have too little mass they will not orbit the sun, the reason why satelites and the moon orbit earth is because they are close enough that size doesn't matter. But when it comes to the sun, they are so far away they would need to be massive to orbit the sun.

And remember that earth and mars orbit at two very different speeds so unless your space stations could adjust themselves which would require loads of energy we have a serious problem.

What would make the most sense is just creating very large space craft that can act as a bus between mars and earth. Using space stations is just too impractical.

 

least we forget we have that debris field going on since the collision of the space junk the russians left up there... might cause some problems getting out of the hood.

There are certainly better programs than going to Mars that need funding... realistic ones

 

That is not correct. The orbital speed is dictated by the combined mass of both objects; the Sun plus the orbiting body. The Sun is so massive that in most cases the mass of the smaller body is irrelevant.

However, the idea of setting up way-stations on the way to Mars is absurd- they would all orbit at different speeds, so would be spread out around the Sun in different locations at different times.

 

Space stations could be set up at the Lagrangian Points around both Earth and Mars. At the leading L4 point of Mars, at least one asteroid has been found (1999 UJ7); at the trailing L5 point there are at least three asteroids; these bodies can be used as bases, 60 degrees ahead and behind Mars in its orbit. A space station could also be set up at the L2, 3, 4 and 5 points in Earth's orbit. The leading Terran L4 point station could render assistance in the event of trouble on the outward journey to Mars; the trailing L5 Terran station could help if there's any trouble on the return journey from Mars.

The other alternative is to set up a series of stations in a deeper mutual orbit, say halfway between Earth and Mars, in the form of a Klemperer Rosette. With alternating large-mass and small-mass stations, they would balance each other and remain in stable orbits.

 

Fedr808 knows very little actual science. I mean, who would make such a statement about the mass of an orbiting body? It would take complete ignorance of the individual objects that form the asteroid belt and the kuiper belt.

 

So instead of settling one rock, we now have to settle how many? We can't contribute enough resource to complete the ISS in orbit around Earth, let alone elsewhere.

Your plan is too grandiose, complex, and expensive. A Mars mission will be a one shot deal, because it's cheaper.

 

Hello? Mir. Mir. Mir. Heard of Mir? Without it, the ISS would not exist. The air and water recycling plant in the ISS is Mir technology. The US does not have their own version, flight certified.

Who declared the Moon the finishing post in the 'Space Race'? The former Soviet Union were first to;

Launch an artificial Satellite (Sputnik)
First Animal in space.
First object to land on the Moon.
First object to photograph the 'dark side' of the Moon.
First Lunar Rover.
First Man in space
First Woman in Space.
First probe to Venus.
First probe to Mars.
First spacewalk
First space station


So they cancelled their Moon shot, because it had little PR value once the USA got there. Even the US public got bored of Moon missions, so the Soviet Union wisely spent it's money instead on;

First permanently manned spacestation, Mir, ...

...and set various space endurance records. Mir has contributed far more to the possibility of exploring space than any other program, because it dealt with maintaining a space habitat for sustained periods.

I also think you forget how long the Shuttle has spent grounded, and that old, reliable technology, in the form of Soyuz rockets has facilitated access to the ISS. The problem with new whizz bang technology, is that after the whizz, you sometimes get the bang.

I don't know who talks more rot, you or Dragon.

 

B-29.
And which types are still in service?
The Bear or those pumped-out US jets?
The Russians design something to do a job, not just because it's gee-whiz new technology.

 

The things you hate most in others is the one you most admire in yourself. Considering you just posted 3 posts in rapid succession you win the award.

 

Er, noob, did you read the list of Soviet firsts? They had the first space station, 'Salyut' before 'Skylab'. You need to do your research before running off at the mouth.

You conveniently ignore the fact that it's Mir technology in the ISS that recycles the air and water, and that the USA does not have a flight approved unit. Doesn't matter what you say about Apollo missions having co2 scrubbers, that's a red herring.

And YOU DIDN'T manage the to do all the things listed, and more, first. The Soviet Union had the USA beat hands down. The USA needed the Moon shot badly, to reclaim national pride. END OF STORY.

This is tangential bullshit at it's best. Oh, but the USSR? They had the first working ICBM.

What, you going to bullshit me and tell me the USA has a space station that employs simulated gravity now? Or was this just more tangential bullshit?

You really need to learn to comprehend. I said 'access to the ISS' while the shuttle was grounded. I didn't say 'assembled by', so your post was nothing more than tangential bullshit yet again.

Wise up, you need to lift up your chops, if you want to shred with the big boys.

 

Indeed, I own one of these;

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It's a poljot sturmanskie watch, as used by Russian Astronauts. NASA astronauts wear Omegas, nice watches, but 30 times more expensive!

Plus the old story about NASA developing 'The Space Pen', and the USSR just using pencils. Not all applications require whizz bang new tech!

 

Nobody is impressed with you insulting anyone else. People like you are a disgrace to science, they cannot accept other people's opinions and hold grudges for months.

Dude you still hold a grudge for me from pseudoscience since like november ish. Get over it, I dont even know what caused you to get a grudge.

 

no, but it does limit the maximum speed of the station, too fast and the station would fly away on a tangent to its orbit. Too slow, and its orbit would degrade. But that's better than the other option.

The problem is that the maximum orbit velocity would probably be too slow to keep up with earth let alone mars. But maybe we could have 4 stations, a northern, eastern, western, and souther station (relative to the sun), and we can use station alpha when it is most practical, when the orbits change too much, switch to station beta, and so on.

The station names were just an example.

 

you been gooped my dear friend cause thats not what Russian Astronauts wear as watches.

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I loved that story of the pen vs. the pencil. So damn funny. Although why not just use laptops, everyones poured billions of dollars into this, lets just buy 400 dollar dells.

 

Because the 'Space Pen' was developed in the late 60's, before the microchip?

And the Space Shuttle has been retrofitted with laptops. Looks for recent photographs of the cockpit, and you'll see them mounted in brackets.