Category Archives: Mars

Baseline mission scenario

The baseline scenario for the mission as intended by SpaceX is given in Fig.1, which is based on7. For our purpose we assume two uncrewed missions carrying equipment, e.g. for power generation and ISRU, will launch from Earth in 2027 and two uncrewed and two crewed Starships will travel to Mars in 202932,33, similar to the initial concept7, but with a postponed time frame. Starship will launch (1) from Earth and stay in LEO (2), while the main stage returns to Earth (3) and is reused for launching a cargo version of Starship, which subsequently refuels (5) the crewed vessel. This is repeated until sufficient propellant is on board. Starship transfers to Mars (6), where it uses aerobraking in Mars atmosphere (7) to reduce its velocity for landing (8). During the stay, ISRU technology produces propellant (9) until Starship launches again (10) into a Mars orbit (11). A transfer orbit injection burn sends Starship on its way to Earth (12), where again aerobraking is used (13) to accomplish landing (14).

The current baseline scenario for a Mars mission using SpaceX Starship. 1 Starship launches from Earth. 2 It reaches LEO, waiting for refueling. 3 the main stage returns to Earth to be equipped with a cargo version of Starship. 4 the cargo Starship launches into LEO. 5 the main stage returns to Earth, while the crewed Starship is refueled. This is repeated until the propellant is sufficient for a Mars mission. 6 Transfer to Mars. 7 Aerobraking in Mars atmosphere and 8 Landing. 9 During stay on Mars, ISRU is used for propellant generation. 10 launch from Mars 11 into a circular orbit and subsequent 12return to Earth. 13 Aerobraking is used for 14 landing on Earth. [Source: Mars and Earth images: NASA, public domain, overall image: own, with information based on7].

SpaceX does not provide information about e.g. orbit altitudes; therefore, we assume a 500km (altitude) circular orbit for (2). This way, there is sufficient time for refueling, even in case of some launch failure for the subsequent launches, without risking decay of orbit into a realm where Starship can no longer stay on orbit. Also, this is above the ISS, i.e. the risk of collision is reduced. Overall, this orbit altitude has almost no effect on e.g. v and therefore can be set arbitrarily. The altitude at Mars at arrival is not fixed, but determined by the maximum possible velocity at closest approach, which is 7.5km/s according to SpaceX7. For the return flight, an initial orbit altitude at Mars (11) is assumed to be 200km. The approach at Earth (13) occurs at 12.5km/s maximum [12, p. 38], but may not go below 500km orbit altitude to avoid collision with ISS. As a baseline, the crewed version is assumed to carry 12 persons, but it will also be reviewed for the effect of carrying 100 persons [8, p. 5].

For further calculations regarding the mass budget, the following nominal mission values are assumed, based on this given mission scenario. These assumptions are are: ToF of 180 d for flight to Mars and back to Earth, as well as 500 d of surface time. Actual times might differ in the trajectory analysis, but these are assumed as baseline. The ascent to Earth orbit is not regarded as refueling means that the actual mission from a budget point of view starts in LEO.

In the following, the mass budget of Starship as derived within this work is explained. It is based on existing information where available and extrapolated for the remaining values. The goal is to determine a plausible mass budget for the Starship system and subsequently compare it to the proposed values by SpaceX, resp. determine its fit for the mission scenario given by SpaceX.

Starship can carry a payload mass of 100 MT into LEO34. A detailed mass budget for Starship itself has not been published by SpaceX. Based on public statements, SpaceX targets at a system dry mass of 100 MT, which includes all subsystems11. Assuming a 20% system margin according to ESA standards13, this means there are 83.333 MT of mass available for actual subsystems. Of these 4.167 MT are harness, when setting that mass as 5% of the system dry mass without margin, following the same standard13. While other numbers have been published in the past, SpaceX gives the propellant mass as 1200 MT on its website31. Being the most recent number, this is taken as baseline. Of these, 2% are assumed to be residuals, i.e. not available for actual maneuvers, as stated by ESA standard13. Therefore, 1176.47 MT of propellant are available for orbit maneuvers. A summary of these values is given in Table 5 for reference.

In the following an estimate for the subsystems is set up, based on information given by SpaceX where possible or extrapolated from other information, mostly about Orion (see following paragraphs for details), and calculations where necessary. Subsequently, a mass budget is determined and compared to the budget in Table 5.

To minimize the radiation and risk exposure of the crew on a long duration mission to Mars, different protection measures have to be included in the spacecraft. Materials protective against cosmic and solar radiation are e.g. water, polyethylene and aluminium, whereby elements with hydrogen, such as the first two, have a particularly protective effect for both types of radiation35. The importance of crew sleeping compartments and control centre leads to the assumption of a polyethylene cover. Furthermore, it is assumed that water pipes (e.g. for water supply and waste water transport) cover as much habitable volume as possible. To minimize the necessary mass, on-board equipment and cargo, e.g. food, are used for radiation protection as well. In the event of a solar flare, similarly to Orion36, cargo and food can be used for shelter. Further it was mentioned by SpaceX too that a central solar storm shelter17 would be provided for the crew. Details were not given.

The habitable volume of the Orion capsule is 9 m3 and the total pressurized volume is 20 m337. For Starships first missions with a crew of twelve, 16% reduction for elements not scaling linearly (e.g. 4 people need one toilet, 12 need not 3 toilets) are assumed, i.e. ten times the volume of Orion for larger cabins and rooms are assumed. Thus, for the model approximately 90 m3 habitable and 200m3 total pressurized volume are assumed. The pressurized volume of ISS is 1005m3 for comparison38. With a usable diameter of the payload section of 8m [8, p. 2] and thus a base area of about 50 m2, the pressurised area is 4m high, which corresponds to about two habitable floors. The surface area of this cylinder is consequently calculated to:

$${S}_{pressurized ,volume}=2cdot pi cdot rcdot h+1cdot pi cdot {r}^{2}=left(100+1cdot 50right) {{text{m}}}^{2}=150 {{text{m}}}^{2}$$

(11)

It is assumed that the area specific mass of the polyethylene layer is 20g/cm2 (200kg/m2) with a thickness of 0.217m [39, p. 28]. The mass of this shielding is therefore 30 MT. Note only one top side is assumed to be needed to be covered, as the lower side is covered by spacecraft systems and thus is already shielded.

Woolford & Bond report on the habitable volume necessary for human spaceflight missions, which is a function of mission duration, but reaches a plateau at about six to seven months40. They provide a so-called performance limit, which is needed if the crew is supposed to conduct tasks and activities, which go beyond survival and also an optimal range. For mission durations of 3months, the optimum is about 15.5 m3, the performance limit is about 7 m340. For six months, the values are 20m3 resp. 11.3 m340. For 12 crew members, this means, the minimum volume for a 90-day mission is 84 m3, the optimal is 186m3. For 180-day missions, which is a realistic flight time at least for some missions, see Section "Trajectory analysis", the values are 135.6m3 resp. 240m3. The assumed 90 m3 of this paper thus on the lower range and from a mass budget point of view on the optimistic side. In turn, SpaceX reported previously that they expect a pressurized volume of 825 m3 for 40 cabins17. A crew size was not given, but with 40 cabins would exceed the here assumed 12 person crew, i.e. the 825 m3 are not regarded.

For micro-meteoroid protection, Starship, similar to the Columbus module of the ISS, is assumed to have a protective layer reinforced with Kevlar and Nextel, a so-called Stuffed Whipple Shield (SWS), which bursts incoming objects with three layers of protective material and thus prevents them from penetrating41.

The three layers consist of two bumper shields (BS) and the back wall (BW). Since Starship, unlike the Columbus module, will only be in space and on Mars for approximately 2.5years, the values are oriented to those of the module but have been reduced. For example, the outer layer of the SWS should consist of a 2mm thick Al 6061-T6 aluminium layer with an areal density of 0.6g/cm2 and the intermediate stuffing of two layers of Nextel 312 AF-62 with 0.2g/cm2 as well as eight layers of Kevlar 129 Style 812 with 0.4g/cm241. On the outer walls of the crewed Sect.(100 m2, see Eq.(7), the back wall should not consist of an aluminium layer, but instead of the polyethylene layer of the radiation shielding. In this way, mass can be saved. This results in 1.2g/cm2 (12kg/m2) and therefore 1.2 MT for the SWS around the crewed section of Starship. For the remaining part of Starship, 3mm thick Al 2219-T851 aluminium with 0.8g/cm2 is to be used as the back wall41. For simplification, a height of 40m is assumed without protection of the engine area, which results in an outer skin of 1005 m2 with the same base area of 50 m2 according to Eq.(7). With an areal density for this protection of 2g/cm2 (20kg/m2), it results in a mass of 20.1 MT, adding 10% margin, this leads to 22.1 MT. Figure2 shows the described structure of the SWS for Starship. The dimensions refer to the aluminium and not the polyethylene layer with a thickness of 0.217m of the crewed section, as this is considerably thicker. However, the distances between the individual layers should be identical.

Stuffed Whipple Shield for Starship with two bumper shields (BS) and one back wall (BW), after41.

Furthermore, Starship must be designed and built in such a way that its structure can carry the payload of up to 100 MT with empty tanks, because they will be almost empty by the time it arrives on Mars. To estimate the mass of the remaining structure, the simplification is made that Starship is a 50m high cylinder with a diameter of 9m and thus, similarly to Eq.(10c), a surface area of 1541 m2. Since this shape is larger than the one of Starship, additional structural elements within the fuselage are compensated for. As with the current prototypes, 3mm thick 304L stainless steel is used for Starships outer skin42, which has a density of 8000kg/m343. For the calculation of the outer skin, the areal density is needed, which is the density multiplied by the thickness of the material and thus amounts to 24kg/m2 for the stainless steel used. This results in a mass of 37 MT. With a 10% margin, e.g. for internal structure elements, the structural mass is estimated at 40.7 MT.

For the thermal protection Pica-X is used44. It has a density of 0.27g/cm3 and typically has a thickness of 6cm in a heat shield44. Assuming a cylinder of 9m diameter and 48m height17, as Starships size (not regarding the conic nature of its upper part, due to lack of measurement data for that), this yields a surface area of 1357.2 m2. Covering that with 6cm of PICA-X heat shield would mean a volume of 81.43 million cm3. With the given density, this would result in a mass for the thermal protection of 22 MT. Assuming not every part needs to be covered with the full 6cm, but on average 3cm, would result in 11MT for the heat shield.

The life-support system, accommodation and thermal control is not provided for Starship by official sources. For Orion, a mass of 1.2 MT is given as mass for these subsystems18. It is assumed that these scale with the crew size, e.g. as the amount of CO2 produced by the crew is one driver for the ECLSS and that scales with the crew size. Thus, for this calculation this leads to a mass of 3.6 MT (12-person crew, instead of 4-person crew). This is a rough estimate as certain mission parameters are different, e.g. mission duration. Since the value given in18 is an estimate as well, no further margin is added here. The Orion ECLSS is also the basis for the ECLSS system of the Lunar Gateways Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) module45. Mera et al.45 state that the operation of the ECLSS for longer mission durations than 30days concern e.g. the exercise mode and removal of trace contaminants, but indicate that no substantial system change is needed for that. Indications for scaling the system to larger crews and volume are not provided in the paper, so that we remain with the conservative estimate given above.

For thermal insulation, Multi-Layer Insulation (MLI foil) is assumed, which provides additional low radiation shielding. The MLI foil encloses the entire Starship except for the engine bay and the entire crew area. The 40m high cylinder with a surface area of 1005 m2 already mentioned is therefore used as an assumption for the volume to be enclosed, to which the floor and ceiling of the crewed area with 50 m2 each are added. The surface area to be covered is thus 1105 m2. Good insulation is to be provided by 40 layers of MLI with a surface density of 0.2g/cm2 (2kg/m2)41. The mass of the required MLI is thus 2.21MT.

For additional protection against strong solar storms, special vests are to be available on-board Starship, which should be worn when a solar flare occurs. One such vest is the AstroRad vest, which will be tested on the Artemis missions. The mass of a vest depends on the size of the person wearing it. On average, it weighs 27kg46, which corresponds to a mass of 324kg for a crew of twelve. Furthermore, the ECLSS is to be expanded to include a radiation warning system that will warn the crew when solar storms occur and they have to seek shelter. The HERA (Hybrid Electronic Radiation Assessor) radiation warning system, which is used on board the Orion capsule, will be used for this purpose36.

For communication and avionics, a similar system as for Orion is assumed, lacking further references and information. The mission profile is similar, although not identical, therefore, the system is not scaled up. For instance, an increased crew size would not necessarily lead to an increase in communication data to be sent or commands to be handled by the system. Therefore, the value for Orion is selected, i.e. 0.6 MT18. Again, as this is already an estimated value, no further margin is added.

It has to be noted that the currently intended mission profiles for Orion (lunar environment) and this analysed Mars mission, differs in solar distance, which affects the link budget of the communication system. Considering Mars distance of about 1.5AU and that of Earth of about 1 AU, this means maximum distance would be about 2.5 AU, i.e. resulting in a signal strength of about 1/6 (~1/d2). This change can be compensated by directiveness of antenna, antenna size, increase in transmitter power or accepting a reduced amount of transmitted data. Especially during transfer, where no significant scientific activities are to be assumed, this change in the link budget does not warrant a larger system. In a Mars environment, communication satellites could also be used as relays for Earth communication, allowing a similar system without further losses. More detailed information about Orions communication system is not available, but NASA press releases explain that the current Orion communication system is intended for use beyond the lunar environment47.

Solar arrays, which are stowed in the engine area during launch and landing and are deployed during the flight, are responsible for the power generation during the flight. Therefore, they must not only be deployable but also retractable. Similar to the Orion capsule, the solar arrays are supposed to have a mechanism that allows them to constantly align themselves with the sun so that they can deliver full power.

Orions four 7m long and 2m wide solar arrays, each consisting of three foldable panels, provide 11.2kW of power for a crew of four people48. Therefore, Starships solar arrays should have about ten times the power, 100kW. In addition, the radiation intensity decreases by about half during the flight to Mars. In order for the solar arrays to deliver the required power near Mars, they need to deliver at least twice as much power near Earth. With some margin for failing solar cells, for example, an output of around 250kW is required near the Earth. One solar panel that should be able to deliver this amount of power is the MegaFlex from Northrop Grumman, which is foldable and unfolds into a round panel by rotating 360. The MegaFlex is a scalable system that is currently still being tested, but its smaller versionthe UltraFlexis already being used on, for example, the Cygnus spacecraft and the InSight lander on Mars49. So, the technology is already proven and has a flight heritage. A system consisting of two MegaFlex arrays, each with a diameter of around 24m, should be able to deliver this power49,50. Together, the two arrays have a mass of about 2 MT49. To this a 5% margin is added, as the system is already developed.

As with Orion, lithium-ion batteries are to be used to store surplus energy. They have a high energy density and can power Starship in the absence of sunlight and as a back-up51. SpaceX could use batteries from Tesla here. It is assumed that the batteries have to provide power over a time span of 6h in case of a power loss which results with a power of 100kW in a required battery size of 600 kWh. The 6h are assumed as no public figure provides information about duration of assumed emergencies. For redundancy there should be second a battery pack with the same size. With the use of the 100-kWh battery from Tesla, which has a mass of 625kg52, and a factor of 1.2 for aging and recharging this results in a mass of 9 MT for the batteries in total. Here as well, a 5% margin is assumed.

The assumed total mass of the EPS, including the solar arrays and a margin of 10% for additional components (e.g. cables), is approximately 12 MT.

The propulsion system is based on 6 Raptor engines, each with a mass of 2 MT10. It is also using a cryogenic propellant tank, which has to house 1200 MT of propellant31. Super Heavy, i.e. the main stage for Starships ascent from Earth, has a tank for 3600MT of propellant with a mass of 80 MT10. As there are no further details on the tank system, it must be assumed that the masses given already include the systems for cryogenic propellant storage. Assuming SpaceX will use the same technology for the tank in Starship, the following estimate is made.

The tank mass ({m}_{T}) can be expressed as:

$${m}_{T}={S}_{T}cdot {d}_{T}cdot {rho }_{T}$$

(12)

where ({S}_{T}) is the tanks surface, ({d}_{T}) the tanks wall thickness and ({rho }_{T}) the material density. It is assumed that the material and thus density of both tanks (Super Heavy and Starship) are identical. Furthermore, it is assumed that the inside pressure and loads (e.g. during launch) to be withheld are similar as well, i.e. the wall thickness is also assumed to be identical for both tank types. Therefore, for our calculations is true, that:

$${m}_{T} sim {S}_{T}$$

(13)

Assuming a spherical tank and using formulas for sphere volume ((=4/3 cdot pi cdot {r}^{3})) and surface ((=4 cdot pi cdot {r}^{2})), one can write for the relations between the two:

$$frac{S}{V}=frac{3}{r}$$

(14)

$$S=frac{3}{r}cdot V$$

(15)

$$V=frac{Scdot r}{3}$$

(16)

Considering the propellant mass of 1/3 in comparison to Super Heavy, the Volume of the tanks is regarded as:

$${V}_{S}=frac{1}{3}cdot {V}_{SH}$$

(17)

where the index S denominates Starship and SH Super Heavy. From this relation one can derive that:

$$r_{S}^{3} = frac{1}{3} cdot r_{SH}^{3} Rightarrow r_{S} = sqrt[3]{1/3} cdot r_{SH}$$

(18)

Using Eqs.(14) and (15), this leads to:

$$S_{S} = frac{1}{{sqrt[3]{1/3} cdot r_{SH} }} V_{1} = frac{{S_{1} }}{{3 sqrt[3]{1/3}}} = 0.231 cdot S_{1}$$

(19)

With Eq.(12) follows:

$${m}_{T,S}=0.231cdot {m}_{T,SH}=18.49 {text{MT}}$$

(20)

Using the ESA margin for to be modified components, i.e. 10%13, this leads to a tank mass for Starship of 20.3MT. The Helium tanks for the cold gas reaction thrusters10 are assumed as 5 MT, this is an estimate as a suitable reference is not available. For the reaction control system (RCS) it is assumed, that 50 RCS thrusters are used for Starship, since the smaller Space Shuttle had 4453. There should be two pairs of five thrusters in the front and rear on each side of the flaps, five thrusters in the front in flight direction and five thrusters in the rear against flight direction (aligned like the main thrusters). As a rough estimate for the mass of a thruster, the 220 N RCS thruster of the Orion capsule is used, which has a mass of approximately 2kg54. This results in a mass of approximately 100kg for Starships RCS thrusters. With the 10% margin this results in 5.5 MT for the helium tanks and 0.11 MT for the thrusters respectively. As the raptor engines are mostly developed, only a 5% margin is assumed13. This subsystem also requires piping, which is included in the numbers for harness (see Table 5).

To support a crew of 12 astronauts on their long duration trip to mars, different crew and consumable elements need to be considered. The final crew and payload mass depend highly on the number of astronauts and the time of flight. Therefore, an overview of required masses per astronaut and per astronaut-day is established and shown in Table 6.

As no detailed information on crew and consumable masses are provided by SpaceX, the mass values for the listed elements are selected based on literature research18,55,56,57. The compared values often contain a large scale of deviations depending on the given assumptions. The selected values in Table 6 are assumed to be suitable to establish a first mass model of the described mars mission scenario but may be subject to change. The improvement of life support technologies towards a closed loop system is an important step in realizing long term interplanetary missions. As SpaceX has not yet published any detailed information about the type and quality of recovery systems, that will be used on their mission to mars, a best-case rate of 100% recovery for gases, fluids and solids is assumed to establish a reference mass.

The total consumable mass per person per day mconsumables can be calculated using the given recovery factor krec from Table 6 in formula (21).

$${m}_{consumables}={(1-k}_{rec, oxygen})*{m}_{oxygen}+{(1-k}_{rec,food})*{m}_{food}+(1-{k}_{rec,pot,water})*{m}_{pot.water}+{(1-k}_{rec hyg.water})*{m}_{hyg,water}+{(1-k}_{rec,hyg.items})*{m}_{hyg.items}+(1-{k}_{rec,clothing})*{m}_{clothing}$$

(21)

A recovery rate of 100% means, that in theory the systems are able to use an initial payload mass required for 12 astronauts for one day and completely recover it. Therefore, the system is by calculation able to supply the crew without any additional storage or resupply for the entire mission duration. The consumable mass mconsumables per person per day turns to zero.

The calculation of the crew and consumable mass on a mission with a closed loop ECLSS System can be derived using Eqs.(21) and (22) and are given in Table 7.

$${m}_{c&c,IB/OB}=left(1+{k}_{safety}right)*({n}_{astronaut}*{m}_{astronaut}+{m}_{science}+{m}_{consumables,initial}*{n}_{astronauts}+{n}_{astronaut}*TOF*{m}_{consumables})$$

(22)

$${m}_{c&c,surface}=left(1+{k}_{safety}right)*({m}_{consumables,initial}*{n}_{astronauts}+{n}_{astronaut}*TOF*{m}_{consumables})$$

(23)

While the astronaut masses and the mass of the scientific payload are relevant for the transfer trips, they can be neglected during the surface stay. Here, only the plain consumable masses are relevant to examine the necessary resupply capacities. In the given equations ksafety represents the safety factor, nastronauts represents the number of astronauts, mastronaut represents the mass assumed per astronaut (200kg according to Table 6), mscience represents the mass of the scientific payload (100kg according to Table 6), TOF represents the Time of Flight in days and mconsumables represents the mass of consumables required per person per day. As mconsumables turns to zero for a recovery rate of 100% the total required consumable mass is not dependent on the ToF anymore.

With the bottom up estimates as formulated in the previous sections a mass budget summary can be formulated. This is shown in Table 8. The total on orbit mass adds to 1510.5 MT, of which 1200 MT are propellant and 100 MT payload and the 12person crew and their consumables for an ToF of 180 d. This is assuming that 100% of consumables can be recovered by the ECLSS of Starship for the flight. Overall, the total mass on orbit is exceeding the proposed mass summary by SpaceX by more than 100 MT. This is summarized in Table 9 and input for the trajectory calculations in the following section.

The usable propellant mass is 1176.47 MT (see Section "Starship system mass") and the specific impulse is 378s11. The ratio of launch mass ({m}_{0}) (the sum of propellant mass, system mass and payload mass) to dry mass ({m}_{d}) (the launch mass minus the propellant available for orbit maneuvers) is:

$$frac{{m}_{0}}{{m}_{d}}=frac{1200+204.2+6.3+100}{left(1200-1176.47right)+204.2+6.3+100}=4.516$$

(24)

The maximum attainable v with one fully fueled Starship thus follows, using the rocket equation27, to:

$${Delta v}_{max}={I}_{mathit{sp}}cdot {g}_{0}cdot {text{ln}}left(frac{{m}_{0}}{{m}_{d}}right)=mathrm{5,588} {text{m}}/{text{s}}$$

(25)

Any trajectory requiring more v than that cannot be flown by Starship during its Mars mission with the baseline Starship design as given in Section "Starship system mass". Without the 2% of propellant left as residuals in the tanks, the mass ratio would actually be 4.865 and ({Delta v}_{max}) would become 5864m/s. Imperfect propellant use leads to losses of more than 275m/s in v.

Due to the varying alignment of the two planets, the needed v is changing over the course of a 15-year cycle. In general, a transfer becomes feasible every 22months, an event that is called launch opportunity. Such launch opportunities stay open for 45 to 160days in the case of Starship. Each launch opportunity was examined with respect to three performance parameters:

The local minimum v for which a transfer becomes possible with a maximum time of flight of 180days and a payload mass of 100 MT

The local minimum time of flight for which a transfer becomes possible without exceeding the maximum obtainable v value of 5588m/s and a payload mass of 100 MT

The maximum payload mass that can be brought to the Martian surface according to Eq.(6)

The first analyzed launch opportunity is the one in late 2028 and early 2029, hence the one chosen by SpaceX to have their first manned flight to Mars. We also analyzed the 2033 and 2035 launch opportunities as they show a good performance of the selected three parameters. The results for each launch opportunity are displayed using porkchop plots which show the value of ({Delta v}_{Eto M}) for a given tuple of departure date and time of flight. Figure3 shows the porkchop plot for a transfer from Earth to Mars in 2028 and 2029.

Porkchop plot for an Earth-Mars-transfer in 2028 and 2029. The blue dashed line indicates the minimum ToF trajectory, the red dashed line indicates the minimum v (and hence maximum payload mass) trajectory. Darker areas indicate lower v values, bright areas indicate higher v values and white areas indicate impractical trajectories.

For that launch opportunity, the minimum v value is 5435m/s, corresponding with a maximum payload mass that can be brought to Mars of 114.4MT. This performance can be achieved with a transfer on 13.01.2029. The minimum possible time of flight in this launch opportunity is 177 d, possible with a transfer on 27.01.2029. In Fig.4, the porkchop plot for a transfer in 2033 is displayed.

Porkchop plot for an Earth-Mars-transfer in 2033. The blue dashed line indicates the minimum ToF trajectory, the red dashed line indicates the minimum v (and hence maximum payload mass) trajectory. Darker areas indicate lower v values, bright areas indicate higher v values and white areas indicate impractical trajectories.

For that launch opportunity, the minimum v value is 4820m/s (11.3% compared to 2029), corresponding with a maximum payload mass that can be brought to Mars of 178.7 MT (+56.2% compared to 2029). Both values are the global minimum/maximum values in the observed time frame. The minimum possible time of flight in this launch opportunity is 122 d.

In Fig.5, the porkchop plot for a transfer in 2035 is displayed. For that launch opportunity, the minimum is v 4896m/s, corresponding with a maximum payload mass that can be brought to Mars of 170.2MT. The minimum possible time of flight in this launch opportunity is 112 d (36.7% compared to 2029).

Porkchop plot for an Earth-Mars-transfer in 2035. The blue dashed line indicates the minimum ToF trajectory, the red dashed line indicates the minimum v (and hence maximum payload mass) trajectory. Darker areas indicate lower v value, bright areas indicate higher v values and white areas indicate impractical trajectories.

Since the results of the previous analysis indicate that the system mass of Starship is likely to exceed 100 MT, it is evident that this is a limiting factor on the performance of the system. The system mass influences the left-hand side of Eq.(6) and therefore the capacity of the system. As a result, the maximum payload mass decreases for higher system masses and the minimum time of flight increases. In order to model the v required for landing correctly, the structural mass in excess of 100MT is modeled as additional payload mass. This allows to calculate the maximum payload mass in the same way as in the previous section. Since our analysis showed that the system mass of Starship could exceed the 100 MT as proposed by SpaceX, the following sensitivity analysis examines the advantages of a reduced system mass in terms of mission analysis. We analyzed a transfer in 2033. In Table 10, the v capacities for a system mass of 175 MT and 150 MT, respectively, are displayed.

In Table 11, the performance of Starship for the reduced system masses is shown. The performance is measured based on the maximum payload mass and the minimum time of flight. Also, the improvement of the two parameters when compared to our baseline scenario is displayed.

It is shown that a reduction of the system mass has only a small influence on the minimum time of flight, but a big impact on the maximum payload mass. These results show the large potential of Starship when reducing the system mass and explain the aims of SpaceX in terms of mission analysis.

According to the presented model in Section "Starship mass budget", return flights from Mars to Earth have been analyzed. The launch opportunities for the return flights were chosen to open 500days after the landing on Mars, according to the mission plans presented.

in previous sections. Under the assumption that no payload apart from the astronauts and consumables is returned to Earth, the maximum v for the return flight is 6651m/s. It has been shown that the ascent to LMO alone consumes 4782m/s, which are 72% of the v budget, including margins. Another 6% are used for the TCM, while the landing requires around 2% of the budget. This leaves only 1330m/s, or 20%, of the maximum v available for the two remaining maneuvers. In order to set the boundary conditions for the return flight, a maximum time of flight must be chosen. Due to the alignment of the two planets, flight times over 300 d result in a vast increase of required v. Therefore, we selected 300 d as the maximum allowable time of flight for the return. Before further evaluating the return flight in this configuration, an excursion is needed: If Starship would have a system mass of 100 MT, as proposed by SpaceX, the maximum v would be 8711m/s. In this configuration, the global minimum v for return would be 7771m/s.

Upon comparison of these two numbers, it becomes evident that a return from Mars to Earth is beyond the capacity of Starship in the presented configuration, since the global minimum for only 100 MT of system mass is already exceeding the actual maximum v available by more than 1100m/s.

Section "Trajectory analysis" gives an overview of the required propellant masses for different mass- and trajectory options. The results show, that Starship requires the maximum available amount of 1200 MT of propellant on the outbound as well as the inbound trip for the realization of a realistic mission scenario. Following this analysis, it becomes visible, that realizing the described mission to mars with the Starship vehicle is only possible by refilling the spacecraft during the mission.

With a mixture ratio of O/F=3.6:112 940 MT of liquid oxygen and 260 MT of liquid methane need to be resupplied as propellant for the inbound trip. In addition, following the calculation in Section "Crew and consumables", the mission requires the resupply of consumable items to support the crew during the surface stay and the inbound trip. The individual as well as total masses can be derived using Eqs.(25) and (26).

$${m}_{item, resupply}={m}_{item}*{n}_{astronauts}*ToF$$

(26)

$${m}_{consumables,resupply}=sum {m}_{item,resupply}$$

(27)

Thus, for a mission with a surface stay of 500days and an inbound trip of 180days, 1,263,158 MT of consumable items need to be resupplied for one Starship with a crew of 12 astronauts. In this analysis it is assumed, that two crewed Starship vehicles will return to Earth while the cargo vehicles remain on Mars.

If the amount of 2,526,316kg is to be resupplied via cargo missions, 26 Starship cargo vehicles with the currently planned payload capacity of 100 MT are required. A reasonable alternative is the production of selected items via ISRU technologies. A detailed overview of the required resupply masses is presented in Table 12.

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About feasibility of SpaceX's human exploration Mars mission scenario with Starship | Scientific Reports - Nature.com

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) Rocket City music fans get a chance to experience a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame artist and legendary producer this fall.

On October 5, Todd Rundgren will visit Huntsville as one of his bands 40 shows on the Me/We Tour. Rundgren will perform 7:30 p.m. at Mars Music Hall at the Von Bruan Center. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. on May 24.

Prices for the concert start at $54.50 on Ticketmaster.

Rundgren was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2021. He is known to have left his mark all over rock history with solo hits like Hello Its Me and I Saw the Light. And these are just examples of his artistry.

As a producer, he helped bring to life the New York Dolls 1973 album Selftitled Debut, Hall & Oats 1974 War Babies, Meat Loafs 1977 Bat Out of Hell, XTCs 1986 Skylarking and so much more.

You can find more dates for Rundgrens concert here.

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Rock & Roll Hall of Fame artist headed to Mars Music Hall - WHNT News 19

Before you can get into Memorial Day Weekend mood, we need another New Music Friday! This week's new music releases have something for everyone, but especially fans of K-pop and indie.

Kicking off the weekend celebrations, we have NewJeans, who are completing the rollout of their single album How Sweet, with a new track, as well as BTS member RM, who's unveiled his ruminative sophomore solo album Right Place, Wrong Person with a stunning video for the title track LOST!

On the indie front, we have long-waited comebacks from the likes of Wallows and Clairo ready to soundtrack all our mellifluous summer evenings. This week has also been a big one for bedroom pop enthusiasts, with PinkPantheress dropping a new track and nepo newcomer Romy Mars making her hard launch into the scene. And that's not all: We also have new stuff from XG, Rauw Alejandro, and Coi Leray.

If this piques your interest, check out the best new music released from this week below:

Following the release of Bubble Gum in April, NewJeans have finally completed their single EP with the bubbly How Sweet." Described as NewJeans' take on Miami Bass, How Sweet joins the list of mellow yet catchy songs from the K-pop quintet, and it won't be the last new track we get from them this summer. NewJeans are also gearing up for the release of a double single album called Supernatural on June 21, which will feature a collaboration with Pharrell Williams.

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NewJeans, RM, XG, Romy Mars, & More Best New Music This Week - Teen Vogue

NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) are joining forces to land an ESA rover on Mars as early as 2030.

NASA and ESA on Thursday signed a fresh memorandum of understanding (MOU) to launch the latters Rosalind Franklin rover to the Red Planet as early as 2028, bolstered by expanded U.S. contributions to the mission.

ESA said the mission, called ExoMars, will be its most ambitious search for signs of past and present life on Mars. The rover is named after British chemist Rosalind Franklin, whose work was invaluable to the modern understanding of the foundation of life: DNA structures.

According to NASA, ExoMars also complements Mars Sample Return, a NASA and ESA-led initiative to bring Martian rock and soil samples to Earth for further study.

This pivotal agreement strengthens our collaborative efforts for the ExoMars program and ensures that the Rosalind Franklin rover will set its wheels on Martian soil in 2030, said Daniel Neuenschwander, director of human and robotic exploration for ESA. Together, we are opening new frontiers in our quest to uncover the mysteries of Mars. We demonstrate our commitment to pioneering space exploration and expanding human knowledge.

ESA had initially hoped to launch ExoMars in April 2022 with a different space agency partner, Russias Roscosmos. But following Russias invasion of Ukraine in February of that year, it severed ties with Roscosmos and got to work on a new mission profile.

NASA will have a key role to play in the renewed effort, which is led by stakeholders in Italy and includes participation from most ESA member states. Neuenschwander and Nicola Fox, associate administrator for NASAs science mission directorate, signed an MOU on Thursday at ESA headquarters in Paris to get the U.S.s contributions in writing.

NASA had already agreed to secure a U.S. commercial launch services provider and some propulsion system elementssuch as a throttleable braking engine that decelerates the lander carrying Rosalind Franklin as it approaches Marsfor the rover.

Through a separate, existing partnership with German and French space agencies, it is also contributing a mass spectrometer to the Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer: the rovers key scientific tool that will sift through Martian soil samples for signs of ancient life.

Under the new agreement, NASA will work with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to provide the rovers lightweight radioisotope heater units (RHUs). Previously, the DOE helped develop radioisotope power sources for the agencys own missions.

Simultaneously, the U.K. will continue leading an effort to develop and certify a European EHU by the end of the decade through ESAs European Devices Using Radioisotope Energy (ENDURE) program.

According to the partners, the next program milestone will be a preliminary design review of Rosalind Franklins systems, expected to be completed in June.

ExoMars actually comprises two main vehicle components: Rosalind Franklin and a separate spacecraft, the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), which launched in March 2016.

The TGO is searching for evidence of methane and other trace gases in Mars atmosphere, which researchers believe could be signatures of active biological or geological processes. According to ESA, the orbiter will collect the most detailed inventory of Mars atmospheric gasses to date. It will also help the agency beam data and commands to and from the Martian surface when Rosalind Franklin arrives.

The TGO was joined by Schiaparelli, an entry, descent and landing demonstrator module used to test ESA technologies that may be deployed on subsequent missions.

Russian-built instruments continue to be operated on the TGO. But cutting ties with Roscosmos forced ESA to return flight hardware to former partners, begin new maintenance and refurbishments on existing mission components, and develop new technologies to replace the components originally provided by Russia.

The agency estimated it would take three to four years to build and qualify a new European lander. But Earth and Mars are only optimally aligned for a mission such as ExoMars every two years, ESA says. Consequently, the launch was pushed to October 2028 at the earliest.

The scientific validity of ExoMars remains intact, and the value and quality of the built flight hardware ensure a continuation of the program, ESA said. Five more years are now in front of the ESA and European industry teams to rebuild and re-qualify the spacecraft. ExoMars is being reshaped for this new enterprise, with new forces and energies joining the project team.

ESA expects Rosalind Franklins first scientific readings to be recorded in October 2030, shortly after the rover lands and begins snapping photos of the landscape. Deep drilling using the rovers specially designed drill, built by Leonardo, will commence about one month after landing.

Rosalind Franklin is designed to bore deeper into the Martian surface than any rover before. It will dig to a depth of 6.5 feet to collect ice samples, which researchers believe are shielded from the extreme radiation and temperature fluctuations on the planets surface. Samples will be analyzed on-site within the rovers onboard laboratory. The entire process is designed to be autonomous.

The Rosalind Franklin rovers unique drilling capabilities and onboard samples laboratory have outstanding scientific value for humanitys search for evidence of past life on Mars, said Fox.

The rover will also use autonomous navigation software and unique driving techniques such as wheel-walkingwhich mirrors leg movements to keep its wheels from getting buried in the soilto traverse difficult terrain. Each of the six wheels can be controlled individually.

A carrier module will ferry Rosalind Franklin to Mars, while an entry, descent, and landing module, which includes a landing platform, will enable deployment.

The decision to collaborate with NASA further entrenches ESAs existing relationship with the U.S. space agency.

For example, NASAs uncrewed Artemis I mission, which sent the agencys Orion capsule around the moon and back in 2022, deployed ESAs European Service Module. The module will power NASA spacecraft on crewed Artemis II and Artemis III missions, which are planned for September 2025 and 2026, respectively.

ESA is also contributing hardware to the space agencies joint Mars Sample Return initiative. An ESA-built sample transfer arm will load samples onto a rocket to be launched into Mars orbit, where an ESA-built orbiting sample container will catch it.

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NASA, ESA Join Forces to Land European Rover on Mars - FLYING

This image was taken by Left Navigation Camera onboard NASAs Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 4180 (2024-05-10 03:55:37 UTC). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The Curiosity team successfully navigated a complex terrain to position the rover on the south side of Pinnacle Ridge, facing a decision to either explore this area further or continue along the Gediz Vallis channel. After extensive discussion, the decision was made to proceed along the channel, conducting various scientific observations and environmental monitoring along the way.

We planned quite a drive on Wednesday, with lots of twists and turns over very bumpy terrain, so the team was delighted to learn everything completed as planned when we received our downlink at ~4 am Pacific Time on Friday morning! The successful drive means Curiosity is now parked on the south side of Pinnacle Ridge, the final area of upper Gediz Vallis ridge that we planned to investigate before we cross Gediz Vallis channel. We visited the north side of Pinnacle Ridge last week and collected all sorts of data that tell us a lot about the composition and textures of the rocks that form the ridge.

We had a big decision to make Friday morning: Now that we can see the south side of Pinnacle Ridge is traversable, should we drive onto it to get additional contact science data on the Gediz Vallis ridge rocks, or should we continue to drive along Gediz Vallis channel towards our planned channel crossing spot? Driving onto Pinnacle Ridge at this location could give us an opportunity to learn more about the materials that make up the ridge and the role of water in this area, but it could also take several sols and not tell us much more than what we already learned from our investigation on the north face of Pinnacle Ridge.

My role today was Long Term Planner, which meant I had to lead the teams discussion to talk through the pros and cons of this decision, and (ideally) help the group come to a consensus. We talked a lot about how the rocks we could see from our current location compared with the rocks we already investigated on the north side, and ultimately the ~25 scientists who were on the tactical operations planning group today came to a consensus decision that wed rather move on then spend more time here.

So today were going to collect lots of Mastcam observations and then continue to make our way up and along the channel, heading ~23 meters to the southwest. Before driving away well also take the opportunity to do some contact science on the rocks at our feet, doing a DRT followed by APXS and MAHLI observations on the target named Boyden Cave, APXS and MAHLI observations on a nearby (dusty) target named Royal Arches, and finally a MAHLI only target of a cool nearby rock named Quarry Peak. Well also collect two ChemCam LIBS observations of Otter Lake, a target very close to Royal Arches, and another nearby rock named Nevada Falls. A suite of environmental monitoring observations will round out the plan.

I really love operations days like today. We came in this morning with a completely new Martian vista to admire, and then we had to work together as a team to make a quick decision about what to do next. I think the pace of this decision making, the ability to talk through tough choices with a group of really smart, passionate people, and the realization that these decisions are guiding the course of a one-ton vehicle on an entirely different planet is one of the coolest ways to spend a morning.

Written by Abigail Fraeman, Planetary Geologist at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory

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NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover Reached the South Side of Pinnacle Ridge What's Next? - SciTechDaily

Pippa Funnell and MCS Maverick. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Its always remarkable just how many people pitch up to watch Sunday mornings early final horse inspection at the MARS Badminton Horse Trials. Unfazed by an unsociable waking hour, nor by the unique kind of fatigue that sets in after a long day of walking around a cross-country course and breathlessly following the action, they arrive in droves, packing the stands, sprawling across the grass, and, really, really unnervingly, spontaneously bursting into loud laughter.

Our best guess is that they were all equipped with Badminton Radio earpieces, which must have been broadcasting heretofore unheard levels of sass, but for those us without the radio on the go, it was a bit like this: a rider and their horse would appear, grim-faced with determination after a long evening of icing and maintenance and very little sleep, probably nursing a zesty little hangover from last nights lakeside party. They would square up to meet the ground jury, comprised of president Sandy Phillips, Christian Steiner, and JaneHamlin, and, once given the nod, theyd step forward to begin their presentation. And then, the laughter would begin, rippling through the crowd and swiftly gaining in decibels, while the person on show no doubt felt a shiver of panic that perhaps theyd tucked their skirt into the back of their knickers after a quick trip to the loo. In all, a weird sort of experience for everybody, frankly.

Harry Mutch and HD Bronze. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

But it wasnt all laughs at the front facade of Badminton House. Two horses were sent to the holding box throughout the course of proceedings, and neither will proceed to showjumping:Nicky Hill andMGH Bingo Boy, who delivered the best round of their partnership yesterday to climb from 53rd to 13th place, opted to withdraw from the box, whileHarry Mutch andHD Bronze, who were thrilled to log their first five-star clear round and sat 29th overnight, re-presented but were not accepted into the competition.

Nicky Hill and MGH Bingo Boy. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Our field is further thinned by two withdrawals ahead of the horse inspection. Those came from yesterdays pathfinders,Tom Jackson andFarndon, who were 14th overnight, andHelen Martin andAndreas, who were 37th. Tom will now ride just one horse today 2022 Burghley runner-upCapels Hollow Drift, with whom he sits eighth.

That gives us a final field of 37 horses and riders to tackle Phillip Kelvin Bywaters showjumping track. The first seventeen of these will jump from 11.30 a.m. (6.30 a.m. EST) in the main arena, while the top twenty will head to battle from 2.55 p.m. (9.55 a.m. EST), following a parade of competitors and a band display over lunch.

Its going to be a particularly exciting day in the office, because much of our top ten is peppered with horses with varying showjumping form. Overnight leadersTim Price andVitaliare on two-phase score of 31.7, giving them just a 1.3 penalty margin over second-placedWilliam Fox-Pitt andGrafennacht thats three seconds in hand, but nothing more. William, for his part, has a rail in hand over third-placed five-star debutant and one-horse riderLucy Lattaand herRCA PatronSaint, who became overnight superstars after producing the fastest round of the day yesterday. Fourth-placedEmily King andValmy Biatsare 6.3 penalties away from the lead, which translates in real-world terms to a rail and six seconds, but theyre the best-rated jumpers at the business end of the field, and our pals at EquiRatings tell us that William has the highest win chance today. That would certainly be a poignant finish: William has floated the idea that this may be his last Badminton, and finishing on a victory would be extraordinarily sweet. Hes previously won here twice, in 2004 and 2015, and hes the rider with the most five-star wins in eventing history, with fourteen to his credit so far.

William Fox-Pitt and Grafennacht. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

But will it be that simple? After all, Grafennacht had three rails down here last year, though the ground conditions were more testing and horses were certainly more tired on the final day than they can feasibly be expected to be today. Leaders Tim and Vitali are achingly familiar with the three-rail round, too theyve done just that in all four of their previous five-stars, and at the Tokyo Olympics, but have been hard at work jumping in Spain over the winter. Lucy Latta had three rails apiece in three of her five FEI runs last season; in the other two, she hadone rail. But her sole FEI run this season before Badminton saw her jump clear, and shes spent five weeks this spring based with her cousin and coach Esib Power, who has show jumped at the top level alongside her own five-star eventing career, so we could be about to see the result of that intensive boot camp in action. Emily and Valmy have had just one rail in an FEI class since Pau in 2022, but that rail did come at a five-star: they tipped it at Burghley last season.

The very best five-stars are the ones that throw up new stories and great leaps up the leaderboard on each day of competition. Yesterday was one of those days, and we suspect today may well be one of them, too. Keep it locked onto EN for live updates throughout todays competition, and a full report of everything that went down, with insights from the riders, once weve crowned our 2024 MARS Badminton Horse Trials champion. Until then: Go Eventing.

The top ten after cross-country at the 2024 MARS Badminton Horse Trials.

MARS Badminton Horse Trials [Website] [Entries] [Timetable] [Tickets] [Radio Badminton] [Timing & Scoring] [Livestream] [Cross Country Course] [ENs Coverage]

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One Horse Spun and Three Withdrawals at MARS Badminton Final Horse Inspection - Eventing Nation

Were headed toward a Jupiter and Mars conjunction in August. Start watching the 2 planets now. For an especially dramatic scene, look during the early morning hours of July 30 and 31. The crescent moon joins Mars, Jupiter, the Pleiades, Aldebaran and the Hyades. Chart by John Jardine Goss/ EarthSky. Heading toward a Jupiter and Mars conjunction

Mars will sideswipe Jupiter in a conjunction, culminating on August 14, 2024. You can start watching the two neighboring planets now, as they pull together in the morning sky. By mid-July, Mars will enter the constellation Taurus, where Jupiter is currently hanging out.

But a bonus planetary conjunction occurs on July 15, when Mars is about half a degree from Uranus. Use binoculars to zero in on reddish Mars, then spot Uranus right beside it. You may be able to make it out as a bluish-green disk. The two are not far from the misty Pleiades star cluster.

Then Mars will pull away from Uranus and get a bit closer to the Pleiades as it makes a beeline toward Jupiter. Just to make it even more interesting, the crescent moon enters the scene on July 30.

On that date, bright Jupiter, red Mars, the bright star Aldebaran, the pretty Pleiades and the V-shaped Hyades star cluster will create quite a scene. Theyll all be in the eastern sky two hours before sunrise. Then, the next morning, the moon as an even thinner crescent hangs a bit farther northeast of the celestial grouping.

The closest pairing of this planetary duo comes on the morning of August 14. The bright gas giant Jupiter will get a visit from rocky red Mars. Then, the little planet appears less than the width of a full moon from Jupiter. Of course, thats just where they appear on our skys dome. In reality, the two remain more than 300 million miles (500 million km) apart.

Using just your unaided eyes, the bright, white light of Jupiter will contrast nicely with the somewhat dimmer and distinctly redder shine of Mars. In binoculars, Jupiters moons will add to the view. And itll be a great event for telescope owners and astrophotographers to capture both planets in one view and thoroughly examine these remarkably different worlds.

For a precise view from your location, visit Stellarium.

The following charts all come from Guy Ottewell. Youll find charts like these for 2024 in his Astronomical Calendar.

Heres a heliocentric view of the solar system from above for July and August when Mars and Jupiter will appear close together in the morning sky.

Guy Ottewell explains heliocentric charts.

Bottom line: Start watching on July mornings for the upcoming Jupiter and Mars conjunction. The neighboring planets will get closer and closer in the constellation Taurus, culminating on August 14, 2024.

I can sometimes see the moon in the daytime was a cosmic revelation that John Jardine Goss first discovered through personal observations at age 6. It shook his young concept of the universe and launched his interest in astronomy and stargazing, a fascination he still holds today. John is past president of the Astronomical League, the largest U.S. federation of astronomical societies, with over 20,000 members. He's earned the title of Master Observer and has authored the celestial observing guides Exploring the Starry Realm and Carpe Lunam. John also writes a monthly stargazing column, Roanoke Skies, for the Roanoke Times, and a bimonthly column, Skywatch, for Blue Ridge Country magazine. He has contributed to Sky and Telescope magazine, the IDA Nightscape, the Astronomical Leagues Reflector magazine, and the RASC Observers Handbook.

Kelly Kizer Whitt has been a science writer specializing in astronomy for more than two decades. She began her career at Astronomy Magazine, and she has made regular contributions to AstronomyToday and the Sierra Club, among other outlets. Her childrens picture book, Solar System Forecast, was published in 2012. She has also written a young adult dystopian novel titled A Different Sky. When she is not reading or writing about astronomy and staring up at the stars, she enjoys traveling to the national parks, creating crossword puzzles, running, tennis, and paddleboarding. Kelly lives in Wisconsin.

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Get ready for the Jupiter and Mars conjunction before dawn - EarthSky

The annual Humans to Mars Summit is underway now, bringing together members of the international space community to discuss a common goal of establishing a sustainable and permanent human presence on the Red Planet, and you can watch it live online.

Attendees are gathering in Washington, D.C. for the 2024 Humans to Mars Summit (H2M), hosted by the nonprofit organization Explore Mars. The conference, which people can attend both in-person and online, begins on Tuesday (May 7), kicking off with a panel on the innovation that will make it possible to get people to the moon and Mars.Panel discussions will run through 5 p.m. ET each day.

"Over the past decade, H2M has been and remains the most successful conference focused on a sustainable human presence on Mars," Chris Carberry, Explore Mars' CEO, said in a statement for this year's registration, which can be found online here. "This year we are restructuring the event to maximize the in-person as well as the online experience of the week's events."

Related: How long does it take to get to Mars?

The H2M summit, taking place at the Jack Morton Auditorium at George Washington University, features a list of speakers talking about accomplishments in space exploration, plans to launch astronauts to the Red Planet by the mid-2030s, and the challenges that may be faced in achieving that goal.

"As we stand on the brink of a new era of interplanetary exploration, the 2024 Humans to Mars Summit is not merely an event," J.R. Edwards, Explore Mars' president, said in the statement. "We know that exploration and our instinctive curiosity for what lies beyond drives discovery, innovation [and] new technologies and improves life on Earth."

The summit agenda features speakers from various space industries, including NASA, the European Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Lockheed Martin, Collins Aerospace, the Planetary Society, Virgin Galactic and Raytheon Technologies. The summit will be attended by students, innovators, authors and other STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) professionals.

Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!

Registration for both days costs $495 plus a $30.09 booking fee, while registration for a single day costs $300 plus a $19.27 fee. Students can attend the two-day summit for $125.00 plus a $9.55 fee. There are additional events available for pre-registration at varying costs, including the Great Scotch Whisky Taste-Off, a coffee networking session, book signings, a visit to Capitol Hill and the closing ceremony. And those who are unable to attend can watch a recap of the events on ExploreMars' YouTube channel.

"It is imperative that we achieve a shared vision and consensus among all stakeholders, ensuring that our journey to Mars embodies the very tenets of equality, diversity, and sustainability that ExploreMars.Org holds dear," Edwards said. "This summit represents a commitment, a promise that, as we take these monumental steps, we do so responsibly, ensuring a brighter and more inclusive future for all of humanity."

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The 2024 Humans to Mars Summit is happening now. Here's how to watch live. - Space.com

We already know that water has existed on the surface of Mars but for how long? Curiosity has been searching for evidence for the long term presence of water on Mars and now, a team of researchers think they have found it. The rover has been exploring the Gale Crater and found it contains high concentrations of Manganese. The mineral doesnt form easily on Mars so the team think it may have formed as deposits in an ancient lake. It is interesting too that life on Earth helps the formation of Manganese so its presence on Mars is a mystery.

The Mars Curiosity Rover was launched in November 2011. It arrived on 6 August 2012 in the Gale Crater region of Mars. Its purpose was to explore the geology of the area, climatic conditions and the potential for habitability for future explorers. We have seen stunning images from the surface of Mars thanks to Curiosity and our understanding of Mars both past and present has been improved as a result of its work.

A paper published in the Journal of Geophysical Research : Planets has reported on findings using the ChemCam instrument on board Curiosity. The papers lead author Patrick Gasda from the Los Alamos National Laboratorys Space Science and Application group announced the findings of high levels of manganese in rocks from the base of the crater. It is thought that the Gale Crater is an ancient lake so this poses interesting questions as to its origin.

On Earth, biological processes are fundamental to the formation of materials like manganese oxide with photosynthesis producing atmospheric oxygen. There are also microbes that act as a catalyst to the oxidisation of manganese. The problem is that there is no such sign other life on Mars so the process that led to the formation of oxygen in the ancient Martian atmosphere is unclear. If we cannot understand the formation of oxygen, then we struggle to understand how manganese oxide might form. Perhaps something relating to large bodies of surface water could be responsible.

The ChemCam instrument on Curiosity uses a laser to generate small amounts of plasma on the surface of Martian rocks. Light is then collected to enable the composition of the rock to be identified. The team studied sand, silts and muds, the former being more porous than the latter. The majority of the manganese found in the sands is thought to have been the result of ground water percolation. On Earth the manganese is oxidised by atmospheric oxygen in a process that is accelerated by microbes.

We still dont have all the answers but but the study has revealed yet again, to an environment that was once suitable for life. That environment seems similar to many places on Earth that also display rich manganese deposits.

Source : New findings point to an Earth-like environment on ancient Marsh

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These Rocks Formed in an Ancient Lake on Mars - Universe Today

The conquest of other worlds is one of the most cherished dreams of mankind. The new invention will help bring us closer to our cosmic goal faster. Now NASA is cooperating with a company that is developing power engines capable of delivering people to Mars in a relatively short time two months instead of nine.

A potentially revolutionary propulsion system is being developed by Howe Industries, an Arizona-based company. To achieve high speeds in a shorter period of time, an pulsed plasma rocket will use nuclear fission the release of energy from atoms splitting apart to create plasma packets for thrust.

In fact, the engine creates a controlled plasma jet that will help accelerate the rocket in space to significantly faster speeds than those currently produced by traditional chemical engines. Using a plasma propulsion system, the spacecraft can potentially generate up to 10 tons of thrust with a specific impulse of 5,000 seconds, which ensures extremely high fuel efficiency.

It sounds pretty revolutionary. However, this is not an entirely new concept. NASA has already developed a similar concept, known as PuFF, in 2018. But the pulsed plasma rocket, according to NASA, has a simpler design and is quite affordable.

The Space Agency claims that the high efficiency of the power plant can make it possible to carry out a manned mission to Mars within two months. Today, with the help of conventional propulsion systems, the journey to Mars takes nine months. The less time people can spend on space travel, the better: shorter periods of exposure to cosmic radiation and microgravity can help mitigate their effects on the human body. The pulsed plasma rocket will also be capable of carrying much heavier spacecraft, which can then be equipped with protection from galactic cosmic radiation for the crew on board.

The new propulsion system has the potential to revolutionize manned spaceflight, helping people get to Mars much faster.

Earlier we talked about how an astrophysicist criticized Elon Musks idea to colonize Mars.

According to gizmodo.com

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A journey to Mars in just two months: a revolutionary rocket engine is invented - The Universe. Space. Tech