Since it came out, I’ve been saying that the decadal needs to be completely redone, as it assumes business as usual. But there’s a new report out from academics on how to use Starship for Mars exploration, so people are finally starting to get it. Bob Zimmerman summarizes.
15 thoughts on “Anticipating Starship”
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The report also notes a major political obstacle to this ambitious human Mars exploration, the limitations placed on human activity on other planets due to the planetary protection rules imposed by international interpretations of the Outer Space Treaty.
I sense a new movie in the Roger Corman style:
Dirty, Filthy, Meatbags on Mars…
“International interpretations” is the operative phrase. UD interpretations are the only ones that matter. After Democrats denaturalize and deport Musk, maybe Chinese interpretations?
Do we care what the National Acedemy of Science has to say about Mars Exploration?
Does Musk care?
err…”Academy”
Would I put “Discovery of Life on Mars” as my top science priority? No. “Sustaining human life on Mars” would be my top science priority. If I find native life on Mars that would be a bonus, but not my top priority.
Well said!
But I am a moon-firster.
I’m a Moon-at-the-same-time-er.
Back in 1989 I published an article called “Harvesting the Near-Earthers,” pointing out a third alternative.
Not an alternative, an additional realm of activity. I deplore this modern one-thing-and-only-one-thing-at-a-time-ism.
It is called an affordance trap. Reject the very premise.
My premise is that the Moon and Mars are going to be almost entirely done by SpaceX on SpaceX’s dime and I don’t see any “affordance trap” there. If your premise is that there’s an “affordance trap” because the Moon and Mars are going to be done by NASA on NASA’s budget, then we aren’t even playing in the same stadium.
“Discovery of Life on Mars” would be the lever that would be used to stop any attempt at “Sustaining human life on Mars”. That’s why it’s their highest priority.
They could try, I suppose. But if it’s only unicellular life two klicks down, I don’t fancy their chances.
How would the 30 day missions work, given that Starship needs to be refueled before it can take off from Mars?
Good question. I think the practicality of 30-day Mars missions is quite problematical. I suspect SpaceX will think so too.
But, to treat the question seriously, I suppose one potential approach would be to send enough full tankers along to refill the crew-carrying Starships for Mars-to-Earth returns and then leave the tankers on Mars for future use as prop storage infrastructure once prop manufacture is ginned up.