Category Archives: Mars Colonization

Sol 0 - Mars Colonization - Part 3 - Colonist Failure!
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Sol 0 - Mars Colonization - Part 3 - Colonist Failure! - Video

Sol 0 - Mars Colonization - Part 2 - Big Bad Rocket!
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Sol 0 - Mars Colonization - Part 2 - Big Bad Rocket! - Video

Let #39;s Play Sol 0-Mars Colonization #002 - Wir bauen weiter
In dieser Folge bauen wir weiter auf dem Mars. Wir stellen einen Methantank auf damit wir unsere Raumschiffe wieder zurck zur Erde schieen knnen und erlei...

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Let's Play Sol 0-Mars Colonization #002 - Wir bauen weiter - Video

20 hours ago by Bob Yirka Structure of the ballistic capture transfers to Mars. Credit: arXiv:1410.8856 [astro-ph.EP]

(Phys.org)Space scientists Francesco Topputo and Edward Belbruno are proposing in a paper they have written and uploaded to the preprint server arXiv, the idea of using ballistic capture as a means of getting to Mars, rather than the traditional Hohmann transfer approach. They suggest such an approach would be much cheaper and would allow for sidestepping the need for scheduling launch windows.

The traditional way to get to Mars is to calculate where the planet is going to be at a certain point in time and then launching a rocket to get there at the same timethis is known as the Hohmann transfer approach and it involves using retrorockets upon arrival to slow down as the rocket is sent as quickly as possible during its trip. Those retrorockets use up a lot of fuel which makes travel to the Red planet bulky and expensive. The Hohmann transfer approach also involves scheduling during optimal launch windowswhen the Earth and Mars are closet together, which can also cause problems if there is a delay for any reasonhaving to wait for another launch window can mean waiting up to two years. In their paper, Topputo and Belbruno suggest taking another approach altogetherinstead of aiming for the planet directly, they suggest aiming for a spot ahead of the planet in its orbit around the sun and waiting for the planet to catch upan approach known as ballistic capture.

Ballistic capture would eliminate the need for retrorockets, making a mission to Mars much cheaperbut it would also add months to the trip, which could be a problem for manned missions. For that reason, the researchers suggest it might best be used to send unmanned vehicles to the planet, some for observation and scientific purposes, others to send gear for use by humans once they arrive. Because such missions would not be time critical, they could be launched anytime, avoiding the necessity of launching during launch windows.

One drawback of the ballistic capture approach is that it does not lead to low orbit around the target planetsome sort of propulsion would still be needed to move into an orbit low enough for scientific study, or to get down to the surface itself. Such vehicles could carry some fuel for that purpose, the researchers suggest but it wouldn't take nearly as much as retrorockets used in the Hohmann transfer. The two are working with NASA contractor Boeing Corporation to further develop the idea to see if it might be feasible.

Explore further: The technological path to Mars

More information: EarthMars Transfers with Ballistic Capture, arXiv:1410.8856 [astro-ph.EP] arxiv.org/abs/1410.8856

Abstract We construct a new type of transfer from the Earth to Mars, which ends in ballistic capture. This results in a substantial savings in capture v from that of a classical Hohmann transfer under certain conditions. This is accomplished by first becoming captured at Mars, very distant from the planet, and then from there, following a ballistic capture transfer to a desired altitude within a ballistic capture set. This is achieved by manipulating the stable sets, or sets of initial conditions whose orbits satisfy a simple definition of stability. This transfer type may be of interest for Mars missions because of lower capture v, moderate flight time, and flexibility of launch period from the Earth.

via SciAm

2014 Phys.org

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Researchers propose ballistic capture as cheaper path to Mars

Lets Play Sol 0 Blind 3
Sol 0 is a Mars Colonization Game that is in very early development at time of this recording. Check out the game here: http://www.solzerogame.com/ This is a blind playthrough. I have done...

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Sol 0 - Mars Colonization - Part 1 - The Beginning!
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Sol 0 - Mars Colonization - Part 1 - The Beginning! - Video

Let #39;s Play Sol 0-Mars Colonization #001 - Auf geht #39;s zum Mars
Sol 0 ist ein neues Strategiespiel das momentan noch in einer Beta Phase ist und um den Einzug bei Steam kmpft. Ich finde es ist ein absolut geniales Spiel ...

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Let's Play Sol 0-Mars Colonization #001 - Auf geht's zum Mars - Video

Venus exploration has been deemed off-limits due to its inhospitable climate -- but NASA believes Cloud City may be the answer.

Artistic concept of the permanent city. NASA Langley Research Center

A number of agencies, including, of course, NASA, are focusing solar system exploration efforts on Mars. At first glance, though, Mars doesn't really seem like the best candidate. Venus is much closer -- at a distance that ranges between 38 million kilometres and 261 million kilometres, compared to Mars' 56 million to 401 million kilometres, it's Earth's closest neighbour.

It's also comparable in size to Earth -- a radius of 6,052km to Earth's 6,371 -- and has similar density and chemical composition.

But everything else about it makes it almost utterly unvisitable. While probes have been sent to the planet's surface, they lasted, at most, just two hours before surface conditions on Venus destroyed them. These conditions include an atmospheric pressure up to 92 times greater than Earth's; a mean temperature of 462 degrees Celsius (863 degrees Fahrenheit); extreme volcanic activity; an extremely dense atmosphere consisting mostly of carbon dioxide, with a small amount of nitrogen; and a cloud layer made up of sulphuric acid.

In short, Venus? Not a top holiday destination, really.

NASA thinks it might have a solution that will allow sending humans up to check it out, though: Cloud City.

The High Altitude Venus Operational Concept -- HAVOC -- is a conceptual spacecraft designed by a team at the Systems Analysis and Concepts Directorate at NASA Langley Research Center for the purposes of Venusian exploration. This lighter-than-air rocket would be designed to sit above the acidic clouds for a period of around 30 days, allowing a team of astronauts to collect data about the planet's atmosphere.

While the surface of Venus would destroy a human, hovering above its clouds at an altitude of around 50 kilometres (30 miles) is a set of conditions similar to Earth. Its atmospheric pressure is comparable, and gravity is only slightly lower -- which would allow longer-term stays, effectively eliminating the ailments that occur during long-term stays in zero G. Temperature is about 75 degrees Celsius, which is hotter than is strictly comfortable, but would still be manageable. Finally, the atmosphere at that altitude offers protection from solar radiation comparable to living in Canada.

Artist's concept of the cockpit of the crewed zeppelin. NASA Langley Research Center

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NASA wants to build a floating city above the clouds of Venus

Washington Its been done in Star Wars living at a planet by floating above it. Now NASA researchers have proposed the concept in real life.

And the planet they have in mind is not so far, far away.

Its actually Earths closest neighbor, Venus.

Some scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration propose sending people there to help study the atmosphere while flying among the clouds in a dirigible.

Although Venus isnt a hospitable place to land, the scientists make a case that the planet should be part of humanitys future in space.

"The atmosphere of Venus is an exciting destination for both further scientific study and future human exploration, says Christopher Jones of NASAs Systems Analysis and Concepts Directorate, in a summary document shared by the space agency. The environment at 50 km [about 31 miles above the surface] is relatively benign, with similar pressure, density, gravity, and radiation protection to the surface of Earth.

Mr. Jones describes the mission as rich in atmospheric research, but also as part of a multi-phase campaign to explore and potentially settle Venus.

Settle Venus? Where ground temperatures are currently in excess of 800 degrees Fahrenheit?

OK, this is where the analogy to Cloud City in the Star Wars movies comes in.

In "The Empire Strikes Back," Cloud City was suspended above the planet Bespin, and film audiences suspended their disbelief as city leader Lando Calrissian (Billie Dee Williams) gave a hard time to interstellar jet jockey Han Solo (Harrison Ford).

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NASA mulls plan to explore Venus with 'Cloud City'

The Mars Homestead Project, the main project of the Mars Foundation, is developing a unified plan for building the first habitat on Mars by exploiting local materials.

The ultimate goal of the project is to build a growing, permanent settlement beyond the Earth, thus allowing civilization to spread beyond the limits of our small planet.

Support the Mars Foundation with a Donation

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011

You can help 4 students working on Mars Settlement technology and concepts, PLUS get the word out that we CAN and SHOULD settle the Red Planet.

Four students will be performing a full academic year "Interdisciplinary Qualifying Project" at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), sponsored by the Mars Foundation. This is a research project equivalent to a full year course.

Their project is to:

Their goal is to show children, the general public, and decision makers, that a very small amount of equipment on Mars, can be used to build habitats, furnishings, greenhouses, and more manufacturing equipment, thus bootstrapping the settlement of space.

YOUR financial support is needed so that their efforts can be more effective. They are committing more that 1000 hours. Will YOU commit the financial support?

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The Mars Homestead Project - Arrive, Survive, & Thrive!