A Viable chemical/aerobrake architecture for human exploration of mars

摘要

A unique architecture is presented for the human exploration of Mars, utilizing chemical propulsion and aerobraking for Mars orbit capture. The propulsion technology utilized in our architecture is a non-nuclear approach that makes use of a two-stage LO_2/LH_2 Trans-mars-Injection (TMI), aerocapture for Mars Orbit Capture, LO_2/LH_2 descent and ascent, 60 KW nuclear surface power units, in-situ propellant production, LO_2/LH_2Trans Earth Injection, and direct Earth entry at return from mars. Engines are off-the-shelf RL10's with an ISp of 466 sec. A 1