Mars Now phase I

Mars Now phase I

About phase I

Phase I is the version of the Mars Now plan submitted to the 2013 Google Science Fair. In order to fit it is greatly condensed, also, due to limited time some subjects were left out entirely.

Short Project Description

 

All current manned Mars mission proposals are set sometime after 2018 or 2020.

The last time humans so much as left low Earth orbit was the last moon mission in 1972...

41 years ago.

Must we wait until 2020 to return to space?

Perhaps not.

Using local Martian resources not only for fuel and oxygen but for food and water, combined with a very short flight can allow a lightweight habitation module that can be flown to and from Mars using existing launch vehicles. Using existing launch vehicles would allow a mission to Mars possibly as soon as next year.

Summary

January, 2014.
Two Delta IV Heavys lift off and throw their payloads on a trans-Mars injection.
Every two years, including 2014, Earth and Mars reach the closest point to each other, allowing a 6 month flight without any additional rockets (just the launch vehicle). Or a 3 month flight with ion engines.

One of the payloads consists of a manned 4 tonne capsule with a crew of 4, with an attached inflatable habitation module (HAB). On board is the equipment the crew will need on the Martian surface and provisions for the 3-month flight there. Also brought on this payload is 6 tonnes of argon gas as fuel for ion engines.

The other payload consists of an unmanned and unfuelled Ascent and Return Vehicle (ARV) based off the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle, but shorter and with only 5 engines, and modified to run on liquid methane instead of kerosene.

Ion engines mounted on the crew capsule are used to fly to Mars in 3 months.

The ARV arrives at Mars 6 months after launch, 3 months after the crew arrives.

While on the surface the crew extracts water from the Martian soil by heating it in a pressure vessel and pumping off the steam. The now-dry soil is UV sterilized and the water electrolyzed and recombined. Some of the water is used for drinking and some as water is mixed with the sterilized soil for an algae bioreactor, which outputs dry algae powder cakes as food for the crew.

About Me

Hi, my name is Nathan Patterson. And I want to colonize Mars.

Although I have been interested in space and technology since I was little, I never really did anything toward that until relatively recently.

It started when I came across the program The Mars Underground, which detailed Dr. Robert Zubrin's Mars Direct plan and his struggles with NASA over whether or not we should head for Mars. I wanted to start a mission.

But how could some teenager ever hope of starting a mission to Mars?

And what about Earth? We have many environmental problems here on Earth.

Then it dawned on me. Mars could be the answer to the problems here on Earth. Terraforming Mars would require building an entire ecosystem from scratch; imagine what we could learn from that!

Also, after watching The Mars Underground again I heard something in the program that got me thinking. Dr. Zubrin talked about how the discovery, exploration and colonization of the Americas caused a wave of innovation and change for not just America but the world. Columbus left in 1492, the Renaissance began in the early 1500s, around 10 years later. Coincidence? I think not.

The same could happen with the exploration and colonization of Mars.

Of course I still had the problem of actually starting a mission.

That's when I found the Google Science Fair. I realized this could provide me the opportunity to get my idea out there.

So here I am.

Question / Proposal

 

As stated previously, all current manned Mars mission proposals are set sometime after 2018 or 2020.

Must we wait until 2020 to return to space?

Perhaps not.

I propose that it is possible to have humans on Mars as soon as next year by using existing rockets.

Existing rockets can be used only if the habitation module is lightweight. In current proposals the habitation module is one of the heaviest components, mostly because of the needed food and water. However, if local Mars resources are used for food and water as in the Mars Now plan, then only provisions for the journey there need to be brought; food and water for the surface stay and journey back can be acquired on Mars. When combined with the 3 month trip allowed by ion engines with a conjunction launch this allows for a very minimal and lightweight habitation module. A lightweight habitation module would allow existing launch vehicles to be used. And thus a launch as soon as next year.

Research

Mankind has been interested in space since before the dawn of civilization. More recently, technological advances have opened the possibility that the wonders of space may be attainable. Notably during the Space Race era of the late 20th century. With interest continuing into the 21st century.

Some notable manned Mars mission proposals include.

The first US President Bush’s Space Exploration Initiative (SEI), which resulted in the disasterly 90-day study by NASA. The 90-day study proposed a mission plan using a massive nuclear-powered spacecraft with long transit times and very short stay times. And requiring massive amounts of orbital and lunar infrastructure¹.

Dr. Robert Zubrin’s Mars Direct plan. Dr. Zubrin proposed using existing technology to reduce cost and practically remove the need for any additional infrastructure, and to use in-situ Martian resources to make the fuel for the return trip in order to reduce the mass of the return vehicle².

Neither of these plans came to fruition.

In 2010 US President Barack Obama canceled plans for a manned mission to the Moon, and instead authorized a mission to an asteroid by 2025 and to Mars by the 2030s³.

In 2012, Mars One, a private project, was announced, aiming to establish a settlement on Mars in 2023⁴.

Neither of these propose sending humans to Mars before 2020.

Mars Now could change that.

Much of the ideas proposed in Mars Now were inspired by Mars Direct.

In fact, although none of the ideas proposed in the Mars Now plan are really new and unique in their own right, the combination of ideas within Mars Now is unique.

Another inspiration in encouraging me to put this project together was the Discovery Channel docufiction Alien Planet about a hypothetical unmanned mission to an alien world 4 light years away in the far near-ish future⁵.

Method / Testing and Redesign

Sources:

Referenced sources

Wolfram|Alpha calculation engine⁶

Can existing launch vehicles be used, for both there and back?

Table 1.0 : List of launch vehicles

Launch vehicle           Payload to Mars          Price in USD          Available by

Falcon 9                    7 tonnes⁷                    54 million⁷              Now⁷

Falcon Heavy            12 tonnes⁸                  125 million⁸            Late 2015⁸

Ariane 5 ECA            10.5 tonnes⁹                220 million¹¹          Now⁹

Delta IV Heavy           13 tonnes¹⁰                300 million¹¹          Now¹⁰

Can water be found in significant quantities on the Martian surface, and can food be grown there?

The Viking 2 lander showed images of frost covering the ground, and the Phoenix lander found ice mere inches beneath the surface²⁴.

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter photographed what NASA believes is possibly liquid water during the warm season on Mars²⁵.

Findings by the Phoenix lander in 2008 indicates that Martian soil could support Earthly plant life²⁶.

Is a super-fast transit using ion engines possible?

Table 2.0 : Super-fast transit analysis final speed variables

Exhaust velocity  Final speed  Initial speed  Initial mass Final mass

15 km/s              18.4 km/s     8 km/s        12 tonnes    6 tonnes

20 km/s              22 km/s

30 km/s              29 km/s

Table 2.1 : Super-fast transit analysis travel time variables

Final Speed   Travel time for a dist. of 1 au (avg. conjunction dist.)

18.4 km/s      94 days (0.3 yr)

22 km/s         79 days (0.2 yr)

29 km/s         60 days (0.1 yr)

Results

If a minimal number of launches is desired, a minimal price also desired, and a later launch date is acceptable, then the ideal vehicle is the Falcon Heavy. If however a launch date sometime next year is desired, then the Delta IV Heavy would be required as the Ariane 5 ECA cannot carry the 12-tonne payloads to Mars used in the Mars Now plan.

My conclusion to this problem is that the either the Falcon Heavy or the Delta IV Heavy should be used as the launch vehicle depending on whether a next year-launch is desired or not, respectively.

As for the return vehicle... Mars has 38% of Earth's gravity, so any launch vehicle on Mars will have a greater payload due to the lower gravity. The Falcon 9 will have an 18 tonne payload to Earth from Mars, and that is not counting the lower weight of the launch vehicle.

Due to the greater payload from Mars the launch vehicle's size and propellant capacity could be scaled down to 38% of its original, reducing its payload to the same as its unmodified payload on Earth. This would reduce the launch vehicle's mass by 38%, thus reducing the normally 33 tonne¹⁴ Falcon 9 to 12 tonnes, and leaving the launch vehicle with a from-Mars-to-Earth payload of 7 tonnes. A launch vehicle with a 7-tonne to Earth payload is not needed, so the thrust and propellant capacity could be halved. Giving an end payload of 3.5 tonnes and end mass of 6 tonnes.

In the previous section I mentioned that the Martian soil has been found to be capable of supporting Earthly life. Additionally, I mentioned that water seems to be actually quite common on Mars, at least just below the ground as permafrost.

As such, the soil could be UV sterilized and dehydrated and then used as a nutrient source for algae in an algaculture (a form of aquaculture involving the farming of species of algae)²⁸. The algae could be grown in an almost-closed-loop photobioreactor with Martian soil being the only ‘open’ section. A bioreactor is a device or system that supports a biologically active environment³⁰. A photobioreactor simply is a bioreactor with a light source³¹.

Algae grow without soil naturally, are nutrient dense and contain a complete protien²⁹. Combined, combined this makes algae an ideal choice as food for a Mars mission. Thus it is possible to grow food using Martian resources.

Can ion engines combined with launching at conjunction really get a crew to Mars in 3 months?

In the previous section I gave a table giving different final speeds for different exhaust speeds. To put the exhaust speeds in perspective, the majority of ion engines have an exhaust speed of 15 to 30 km/s³².

As shown in the previous section the final speed achievable by a 15 km/s exhaust velocity ion engine can fly to Mars in 94 days. So a 3 month trip is possible.

Conclusion / Report

The analysis validates the Mars Now plan, so it is just a matter of time and finding interested people willing to fund such a mission.

To describe the Mars Now plan in a nutshell: Mars Now is a bare-bones mission that could see humans on Mars as soon as next year.

So now the question regarding a manned mission to the Red World is no longer "Can we?" but "Will we?”

I think the answer lies in whether or not there are enough people interested to get such a mission off the ground... Literally.

The Mars Now plan opens to doors to a mission in the very, very near future.

The launch vehicles for there and back already exist.

The resources needed to sustain human life are already are found on Mars.

Ion engines can allow a quick trip and thus a small habitation module. In turn allowing use of existing launch vehicles.

But does the interest exist?

I think so. But those with interest need to actually know about a plan to make it happen.

That is why I submitted this plan to the Google Science Fair, to let those with interest in and the means to, make a Mars mission happen.

Thank you.

Bibliography, References and Acknowledgements

 

References

_{a small raised number like this} ⁰_{, after a statement or other information indicates the reference number here}

1: Wikipedia article on the Space Exploration Initiative
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Exploration_Initiative

2: Wikipedia article on Mars Direct
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Direct

3: Space.com article on President Obama's change of NASA's direction
http://www.space.com/9233-nasa-transition-congress-oks-direction.html

4: Article on the Mars One project
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/12/reality-tv-humans-on-mars-earth

5: Wikipedia article on the docufiction Alien Planet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_Planet

6: Wolfram|Alpha main page
http://www.wolframalpha.com/

7: Wikipedia article on the SpaceX Falcon 9
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcon_9

8: Wikipedia article on the SpaceX Falcon Heavy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcon_Heavy

9: Wikipedia article on the ESA Ariane 5
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariane_5

10: Wikipedia article on the ULA Delta IV
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_IV

11: Wikipedia article on Comparison of orbital launch systems
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_orbital_launch_systems

12: Wikipedia article on the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_(spacecraft)

13: Wikipedia article on the SpaceX Falcon 5
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcon_5

14: Components subsection of the Space Launch Report article on the SpaceX Falcon launch vehicles
http://www.spacelaunchreport.com/falcon9.html#components

15: Toyota site for the Hilux
http://www.toyota.co.uk/cgi-bin/toyota/bv/generic_editorial.jsp?navRoot=toyota_1024_root&fullwidth=true&noLeftMenu=true&forceText=%3Cnone%3E&edname=CC2-Hilux-specification&zone=Zone+NG+Hilux&id=CC2-Hilux-specification

16: Wikipedia article on the Hummer H1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummer_H1

17: Wikipedia article on the Bowler Wildcat
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowler_Wildcat

18: Reputation subsection of the Wikipedia article on the Toyota Hilux
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Hilux#Reputation

19: Wikipedia article on the Toyota Tacoma
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Tacoma

20: Wikipedia article on the company Arctic Trucks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_Trucks

21: Arctic Trucks page for a modification model
http://www.arctictrucks.com/pages/4699

22: Wikipedia article on the Sabatier reaction
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabatier_reaction

23: Wikipedia article on Martian soil
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martian_soil

24: Wikipedia article on Water on Mars
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_on_Mars

25: Wikipedia article on Seasonal flows on warm Martian slopes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_flows_on_warm_Martian_slopes

26: Article on habitability of Martian soil to lifeforms, titled: Phoenix: Mars Soil Can Support Life
http://www.universetoday.com/15279/phoenix-mars-soil-can-support-life/

27: Article on Skymania.com about lichen surviving the Martian environment
http://www.skymania.com/wp/2012/04/lichen-survives-harsh-martian-setting.html/

28: Wikipedia article on Algaculture (essentially farming algae)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algaculture

29: Wikipedia article on Edible seaweed
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edible_seaweed

30: Wikipedia article on Bioreactors
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioreactor

31: Wikipedia article on Photobioreactors
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photobioreactor

32: Wikipedia article on Hall effect thrusters
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hall_effect_thruster

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my family, especially my dad for having such great patience and helping me when I had difficulties.

I would like to thank the creators, staff and editors of Wikipedia, without which I have no clue where I would have gotten information.

I would like to thank the creators and programmers of the Wolfram|Alpha calculation engine, it has proven invaluable.

I would like to acknowledge Dr. Robert Zubrin, for both inspiring me with his Mars Direct plan and for the research he has done in the field of Mars exploration. The research he has done, whether accessed through a Wikipedia article, TV program or Google search has been of great help.

And I thank Google and the sponsors of the Science Fair for giving me and countless other kids the chance to get their ideas out to the world.