The Major Elements and Other Modules

Abstract

This chapter describes those elements that are currently planned for a Mars mission but not those for the descent, landing, stay and ascent phases, nor conceptual design elements such as nuclear and solar electric propulsion systems and advanced aeroshells which aren’t needed for an orbital mission. Almost all of these elements make up a significant proportion of the overall cost of an “all up” Mars exploration mission, and aren’t necessary for the precursor mission to the moons. Furthermore, many of the elements are still in the research and study phases, and therefore have not been fully funded as yet and will take a significant amount of time to develop. The elements necessary for a Mars Orbital Mission to investigate the planet’s moons include all the vehicles to get a crew into orbit around Mars and then back to Earth. Also included are the ground elements to support the flight elements. Most of the launch and flight elements are fairly well known and are summarized to define what it will take to travel through interplanetary space, enter into Mars orbit, rendezvous with its moons, Deimos and Phobos, and return to Earth. In effect, most of the elements for an orbital mission are “sunk costs” and only a few more elements are needed, or at least desired, to execute such a mission; for example, the Space Exploration Vehicle (SEV) and those scientific experiments and deployment tools that would be left on the moons. Some of the relatively new technologies that will enable the advances in the state-of-the-art of such elements, systems and subsystems will be discussed in the next chapter.