Re
Assuming this means there’s probably a manned mission in the not too distant future, what are the plans for getting down to surface and back up again with an astronaut crew. Same as the moon only with more powerful jets?
Why is there a big rush to get to Mars just because there’s ice there? Hasn’t it always been the consensus opinion that Mars has ice? I believe one (but not both) of its polar caps is ice.
But, assuming we want to go (and it WOULD be really cool) I believe NASA has already come up with some ideas. There’s nothing about it you couldn’t do with enough money; basically, you need to build a big ship carrying a large landing craft that has the juice to achieve escape velocity on Mars itself. The ship, obviously, would have to be very substantial in size and capability, since it would need to burn a lot of fuel to achieve a velocity that would get you to Mars AND back in a reasonable period of time (and even then we’re talking months and months.) It CAN be built - it’s a matter of coming up with the very substantial amount of money it would take to build it.
See Robert Zubrin’s book “The Case for Mars.” He’s got it all worked out. Now if he can only find somebody to listen to him.
His basic premise is to send a return vehicle to the surface unmanned, with its return trip fuel tanks empty. The craft sets down, and then begins manufacturing propellant from the local environment. When the fuel tanks are full, we send a second ship, this time manned. The crew lands the second ship, does various exploratory and/or pioneering things, then uses the fully-fueled first ship for the return leg of the journey.
I’m oversimplifying like mad here, but you get the general idea.
IMHO Zubrin’s ideas are fascinating on paper, but as for trying them out in the real world, well, you can find yourself another sucker.
To keep convenience stores stocked with bagged ice of course.
[APU] If you know of an easier way to get ice, I’d like to hear it. [/APU]
Paraphrasing from a nearly forgotten episode of “Mad About You”:
Convenience Store Clerk: “Ice is one of our biggest sellers. And it’s just water, cold, and time!”