Mars transfer vehicle using regolith as propellant

Details Mars transfer vehicle using regolith as propellant Mars transfer vehicle using regolith as propellant

Jul 1992

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1992jpnt.confx....t&link_type=abstract

AIAA, SAE, ASME, and ASEE, Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit, 28th, Nashville, TN, July 6-8, 1992. 10 p.

Other

Manned Mars Missions, Mass Drivers, Regolith, Rocket Propellants, Spacecraft Configurations, Extraterrestrial Resources, Radiation Protection, Spacecraft Shielding

Scientific paper

This paper describes a Mars mission architecture which uses planetary regolith from the moon and from Deimos as propellant and as radiation shielding. It presents a point design which uses a mass driver as a rocket engine to eject regolith propellant at high speed, a solar array as a power source for the mass driver, and equipment to acquire and transport regolith to the Mars vehicle. A mission for the 2015 earth-Mars conjunction is analyzed to assess vehicle mass and crew radiation exposure. The required mass from earth, including lunar infrastructure, is shown to be less than the mass of an advanced ion propulsion vehicle which uses earth-launched propellant. The crew radiation dose due to galactic cosmic rays is shown to be less than half the dose for the same mission in a conventional vehicle. Discussion includes the state of mass driver technology, issues of orbital debris, several advantages of regolith propellant systems over other propulsion schemes, and areas for future refinement of the concept. Appendices describe the mass driver rocket concept and show that high mass driver reliability is easy to achieve.

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