Major announcement by NASA about Mars (in 5 1/2 hours time)

Originally posted by sonhouse
See my post about the Vasimr engine, above.

You don't need [although it would help] to move beyond conventional rocket engines to get
there fast enough.

Obviously faster is better and nuclear rockets would solve a lot of problems, but they are
not actually necessary.


EDIT: one problem with living underground, as you suggest, which is detailed in the links
I gave for the above ground Martian Ice house is that the Martian soil contains significant
concentrations of Perchlorate's... Which are deadly toxic.

One of the design imperatives of the ice house was avoiding contamination of the habitat from
external threats such as the perchlorate's so far found at every landing site on Mars.

Originally posted by googlefudge
You don't need [although it would help] to move beyond conventional rocket engines to get
there fast enough.

Obviously faster is better and nuclear rockets would solve a lot of problems, but they are
not actually necessary.


EDIT: one problem with living underground, as you suggest, which is detailed in the links
I gave for the above ground ...[text shortened]... at from
external threats such as the perchlorate's so far found at every landing site on Mars.

So much for going to Mars.

I hear the moon is nice this time of year.......

Originally posted by whodey
So much for going to Mars.

I hear the moon is nice this time of year.......

Nothing I said makes going to Mars non-viable.