After a six month trip, the ERV reaches Mars at an average
speed of 27 km/s. Using its parabolic
aeroshell the vehicle slows itself in the atmosphere,
allowing it to break into orbit. A few days
are spent in orbit to allow for final system checks. Afterwhich, the craft is
targeted back into the atmosphere for final entry. As the aeroshell slows its
descent, the parachutes deploy and rockets fire to land safely.
Once settled, the ERV starts the long fuel making process. It releases the truck
with the nuclear reactor and using a small tv camera, mission controllers drive the truck
a few hundred miles from the site; although still connected to the ERV by a power cable.
Once the truck has found a suitable site, the reactor is off-loaded and begins
making power for the chemical processing unit. The processing unit sucks in martian
air, high in carbon dioxide, and reacts it with the on-board liquid hydrogen producing
methane, the rocketfuel, and water. This process continues, splitting the water into
its constituents to make more fuel. The oxygen is stored as fuel while the hydrogen is put
back into the reaction. At the end of six months of operation, the ERV has made 108
tons of methane and oxygen from the initial 6 tons. As space missions go, this
process is very basic with very few possible errors occuring. In addition, the
process far outweighes the cost of transporting all the fuel needed to Mars.