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Mars trips may involve less radiation exposure than previously thought:
There's no question that the first human mission to Mars will be extremely dangerous. Some studies have suggested that the radiation levels would exceed the maximum career dose for a given astronaut, greatly increasing the risk of cancer and other illnesses. It might not be quite so bad as it sounds, though. Newly presented ESA ExoMars orbiter data indicates that astronauts would receive "at least" 60 percent of their maximum recommended career radiation exposure on a round trip to Mars that takes six months both ways. That's still several times what ISS crew members receive, but it's relatively gentle compared to what some had feared.
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Mars Trips May Involve Less Radiation Exposure Than Previously Thought
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Everything is worth precisely as much as a belch, the difference being
that a belch is more satisfying.
-- Ingmar Bergman
(Score: 1) by sea on Friday September 21 2018, @04:13AM
You put a gun in space, and use that gun to launch the spaceship, without fuel onboard.
Then, you use the gun to fire (at a slightly greater speed) packets of fuel towards the spaceship. They'll eventually catch up to it and can be attached, accelerating the ship a bit each time.
Provided you've done your calculations correctly, the spaceship can then use that fuel for braking and landing.
The fuel for the return trip is aimed carefully and shot in multiple packets at a low velocity. It takes ages to get there, giving the team loads of time to do their jobs on the surface, and when it finally does arrive it's moving slowly enough that the receivers don't need to use much fuel to intercept and slow it down to their speed. You can spend months slowly catching fuel packets that come in once per day, and when you finally have enough, strap them together onto your rocket and point yourself back at earth.
Since the space gun has all the time in the world to leisurely charge up for its next shot, you can make it solar powered. Make it a railgun. You don't have to supply any extra fuel to it. Just enough time to charge up from the sun.
That's how I'd do it, anyway. I'd be tempted to think that some mathematical quirk would prevent it from working out, but then when thinking about it, the whole thing is powered by the sun on the railgun end, so you can always just wait long enough and balance the equation if there's ever an energy deficit. It should work out.
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Daniel McChlery