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posted by chromas on Monday April 22 2019, @09:23PM   Printer-friendly

The Science and Technology Policy Institute (STPI) has found that NASA is unlikely to send humans on a mission near Mars (not including a landing on the surface of Mars) any sooner than 2037:

An independent report concluded that NASA has no chance of sending humans to Mars by 2033, with the earliest such a mission could be flown being the late 2030s.

[...] STPI, at NASA's direction, used the strategy the agency had laid out in its "Exploration Campaign" report, which projects the continued use of the Space Launch System and Orion and development of the lunar Gateway in the 2020s. That would be followed by the Deep Space Transport (DST), a crewed spacecraft that would travel from cislunar space to Mars and back. NASA would also develop lunar landers are related system to support crewed missions to the lunar surface, while also working on systems for later missions to the surface of Mars.

That work, the STPI report concluded, will take too long to complete in time to support a 2033 mission. "We find that even without budget constraints, a Mars 2033 orbital mission cannot be realistically scheduled under NASA's current and notional plans," the report states. "Our analysis suggests that a Mars orbital mission could be carried out no earlier than the 2037 orbital window without accepting large technology development, schedule delay, cost overrun, and budget shortfall risks."

That schedule is driven by the technology risks associated in particular with the Deep Space Transport, including life support systems and propulsion, that require long lead times. A mission to Mars launching in 2033, the report concluded, would need to have critical technologies tested by 2022, which is unlikely. Moving ahead without completing those technologies first, the report stated, will "dramatically increase technology and schedule risks for the DST and could force the DST design to be revised if any one of these technology testing programs reveals problems."


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  • (Score: 4, Funny) by c0lo on Tuesday April 23 2019, @12:44AM (16 children)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday April 23 2019, @12:44AM (#833619) Journal

    It might take a few launches to get the whole Senate, but it's clearly achievable.

    One can think a number of ways to reduce the cost, e.g. mince them first then dry the resulting pulp.

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
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  • (Score: 5, Funny) by bob_super on Tuesday April 23 2019, @12:48AM (6 children)

    by bob_super (1357) on Tuesday April 23 2019, @12:48AM (#833622)

    Most of them look like you can skip the drying step.

    • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday April 23 2019, @01:29AM (5 children)

      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday April 23 2019, @01:29AM (#833644) Journal

      For engineering purposes, "look like" != "are"

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
      • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Tuesday April 23 2019, @08:15AM (4 children)

        by bob_super (1357) on Tuesday April 23 2019, @08:15AM (#833764)

        Look, we have already spent decades fruitlessly dreaming of Mars, so you should more open-minded and see the possibilities.

        • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday April 23 2019, @08:36AM (2 children)

          by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday April 23 2019, @08:36AM (#833769) Journal

          I'll see possibilities when I hear someone managed to land a functional nuclear powered excavator on Mars.
          So far, we have a luxury car in space and one functional rover [wikipedia.org] that was able to drill to the impressive depth of 5cm (that's 2 inches) but now the drilling function is disabled.

          --
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
          • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Tuesday April 23 2019, @09:08AM (1 child)

            by bob_super (1357) on Tuesday April 23 2019, @09:08AM (#833774)

            5 cm ? We have already done better than that [wikipedia.org].
            A full Senate Ship would definitely break that record, considering how dense they are.

            • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday April 23 2019, @09:41AM

              by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday April 23 2019, @09:41AM (#833780) Journal

              Problem is the US constitution guarantees a continuous supply of senators.
              Without the sustained capability to cover the deliveries in soil, those senators will dissipate in a fine dust - a complete waste of organic matter.

              --
              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
        • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday April 23 2019, @01:41PM

          by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday April 23 2019, @01:41PM (#833836) Journal

          Look, we have already spent decades fruitlessly dreaming of Mars, so you should more open-minded and see the possibilities.

          I'll see your possibilities, and I'll raise you practicalities.

          --
          People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
  • (Score: 2, Flamebait) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday April 23 2019, @12:49AM (5 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday April 23 2019, @12:49AM (#833623) Journal

    You could just freeze dry them, so they all look like Pelosi.

    • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 23 2019, @01:25AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 23 2019, @01:25AM (#833641)

      Volume and the form factor need to be considered as well - compact them first, make them into a pile of shit, closer to how the current US president looks like.
      Then you can dry them by whatever method is appropriate. Just try to use an energy efficient method to minimize the cost.

    • (Score: 2) by jelizondo on Tuesday April 23 2019, @03:51AM (2 children)

      by jelizondo (653) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday April 23 2019, @03:51AM (#833698) Journal

      Or Mitch McConnell [wikipedia.org]...

      • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday April 23 2019, @01:18PM (1 child)

        by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday April 23 2019, @01:18PM (#833819) Journal

        The thing about Mitch - he looked like that when he was 20. Depending on your taste, Pelosi at 20 wasn't hard to look at.

        • (Score: 2) by cmdrklarg on Tuesday April 23 2019, @04:50PM

          by cmdrklarg (5048) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday April 23 2019, @04:50PM (#833913)

          I'll admit to looking up photos of Nancy Pelosi at a younger age, and I will say she was easy on the eyes.

          She's remarkably well-preserved for 79.

          --
          The world is full of kings and queens who blind your eyes and steal your dreams.
    • (Score: 4, Interesting) by DannyB on Tuesday April 23 2019, @01:42PM

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday April 23 2019, @01:42PM (#833837) Journal

      I hereby propose that all politicians must henceforth wear face masks created by their opposing party.

      --
      People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday April 23 2019, @12:51AM (1 child)

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Tuesday April 23 2019, @12:51AM (#833624) Journal

    You guys are going to contaminate Mars at this rate.

    --
    [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
    • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday April 23 2019, @01:20AM

      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday April 23 2019, @01:20AM (#833635) Journal

      You guys are going to contaminate Mars at this rate.

      Nitrogen source - especially if using bodies full of shit. Also, hot air would be a plus, but one can substitute that with nuclear thermoelectric cells - higher energy density/weight.

      Mars is highly deficient in nitrogen [reddit.com], especially the fixed one [newatlas.com] (0.11% in Mars soil, in comparison with Earth (could reach around 5% [unl.edu]). Using hydrazine on Mars is a plus for terraforming.

      On the plus side, Mars is richer in phosphorus and potassium [wikipedia.org]

      Third, the Martian mantle is richer in potassium and phosphorus than Earth's

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
  • (Score: 2) by Muad'Dave on Tuesday April 23 2019, @11:39AM

    by Muad'Dave (1413) on Tuesday April 23 2019, @11:39AM (#833797)

    Jerky.