Propulsion

Once the main technological obstacles to be overcome to make space exploration a reality (in the early days of the space program few were confident that man would ever develop a booster capable of propelling a human being into Earth orbit, much less to get him to the Moon), the propulsion system to be utilized becomes once more a major determinant in a manned mission to Mars.

The enormous distances involved, the need to reduce the mission duration as much as possible for medical reasons, the weight constraints imposed by the existence of a manned crew and its life support system all make this choice a crucial one, a "go-no go" decision in terms of design.

 Defining the problem : Mars Direct vs. Earth Orbit
 Propulsion efficiency of an engine
 Different types of rocket engines 
 Nuclear Propulsion 
          Pay-Offs of nuclear propulsion systems
          Nuclear engines 
 Electric Propulsion
          Ion Engine
          The Workings of an Electrical Engine 
 Choosing a propulsion system 
 Possible Mission Architectures 
 Examples using different propellants 
 Mass determination        

Initial approach to Mission Design

Based on the different existing possibilities and available technology, we have created an interactive page that allows our members to combine theses mission variations and calculates masses based on the mass estimations of the above missions.

Interactive Preliminary Mission Design Page