Chapter
Apr 26, 2012
A Low-Thrust Transportation Architecture to Transfer Crews and Cargo between Earth and Mars Orbits
Publication: Earth & Space 2006: Engineering, Construction, and Operations in Challenging Environment
Abstract
The feasibility of conducting a human Mars mission is considered, assuming no heavy lift launch vehicle is available and minimal crew flight times are required. Propulsion options are evaluated and extrapolated, and an architecture is defined. A low-thrust cargo vehicle deploys Mars surface cargo, and also establishes propellant depots in orbit around Earth and Mars. Subsequently, a low-thrust crew vehicle departs, carrying insufficient propellant for the complete mission but obtaining additional propellant from the depots. Although the architecture enables one-way crew flight times of approximately 100 days, and does not require heavy lift, its complexity calls into question the practicality of such a mission.
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© 2006 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Published online: Apr 26, 2012
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Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture (SICSA), Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture, University of Houston, Houston, TX, 77204-4000. E-mail: [email protected]
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