In the future we should discuss this on the MarsLivingNow yahoo group. There
are more people who have the desire to know and ideas to consider. I would
also like to have their input.

In a message dated 4/4/2007 8:33:01 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
tmayes1999@... writes:


> Trying to assemble a giant Mars vehicle with 40 - 250,000 kg modules in
> orbit is not the best approach to this.

There will not be 40 modules. It will take 40 launches to get the necessary
equipment into orbit.
Tim, in our studies we had to take into consideration several thousand plan
killers and tried to eliminate the factors that would insure short or long term
failure.
While weight and money are real factors there is no future in sending people
out to a certain death. More than 500 people have spent more than 20 years on
deciding which items to use and are always on the look out for new ways to do
a job that are less costly and will do a better job.

There is not one ounce of unnecessary equipment in our plans. Every piece of
equipment is designed to do at least three different functions. Part of the
ship will never land on any planet. It will be used to further explore the
neighborhood.

Again every thing that has ever been brought up has been addressed so that
people can actually live a real life on Mars and in space. Anything else would
be to condemn people to short lives and sure deaths without being able to
achieve the goals for which they went there.

If there are any real shortcomings in our plan we will be happy to know what
they are. If you have any suggestions to make our plan really more realistic
we will listen to your concerns.
Because we have looked over several hundred proposals we will not make any
wholesale changes but will make such changes as will insure complete success.


> Also be aware of the fact that Mars escape velocity is just 11,000 miles
> per hour, and Mars orbital velocity is about 7700 miles per hour. This means
> that on Mars an H2 + O2 burning 1 stage chemical propelled rocket can go
> anywhere in the solar system to the classical 9 planets given enough time: if
it is
> launched from Mars instead of Earth.

Our Plan is never to have to land most ships on Mars or any other major solid
body. The ships will never have to be resupplied with most materials.
The only things it will have to be resupplied with is fuel and people.

> So what you actually want to do is to extract the natural briny water ice
> from the Mars environment: and then you want to electrolyze it and break it
> into H2 + O2 on site. Then you use compressors to liquefy it and store it. So
> then you can refuel on site the terminal rocket stage of an interplanetary
> space craft.

There are many different ways to refuel and what you say above can easily be
a part of the ways the ships are fueled.

> Solar cells can provide the electric power source to do that on site on
> Mars. So can small nuclear reactors.

We plan on using at least 7 different methods to provide the fuel necessary
to provide the necessary power to do all of the different things. These two
items will be part of those ways.

> Let each individual Mars ship only mass only 100,000 kg maximum.
>
A waste of time and energy. Most of which will be getting into earth orbit.

> Let some Mars ships be automated freighters that carry cargo and equipment
> to Mars surface on one way trip. Let others carry 2-3 persons there on 1 way
> trips. One you start producing rocket fuel on site all the terminal stages
> landed on Mars have potential earth return capability if you want it. But if
> their colonists-pioneers they should not return. They should stay on Mars and
> be pioneers-settlers there.

All of this is standard plan for 98 of every 100 plans we have read and
researched.

> Energia is currently available to launch the 100,000 kg Mars ships if you
> can figure out how to pay for it.

While we may use the Energia the super Ariane V will lift more. The Russians
recently used the Ariane V to lift one of its heaver payloads because they did
not think that the Energia would lift it.
By the time we get ready to launch we will have several choices as to which
vehicle and launch site to use.

> Tim
>
John Wayne


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