What I'd like to do is this -
That actually simulates an orbital mission to Mars, so you are in permanent orbit around it - but very easy to return. But an Inspiration Mars type trip would be like that for the one fly by.
The video is speeded up 100 times - the complete video would take about 12 hours in real time.
Better is the double Athena - that's a bit longer than your 500 days, it's a 700 day trip with a double fly by. But - means you have two fly bys like this - and also - for a long time after the first and before the second you are still pretty close to Mars so a much more interesting and also better science mission than Inspiration Mars. It's also safer for the return journey - the Inspiration Mars mission because of its flyby of Venus has a greatly increased velocity when it hits the Earth atmosphere and has major problems slowing down quickly enough - it's not clear it can be done safely.
With both, the whole point is to control robots on the surface of Mars, via telepresence. Or rather - that's the stated intention for the double Athena. For inspiration Mars, they haven't said - but it would be a crazy waste of resources to send humans all that way - and not do anything when they get there, when they could e.g. take over Curiosity or whatever - hopefully some later faster rover - in real time and do really good science for some hours when they get to Mars.
So as well as that spectacular view from orbit, first to see it with your own eyes - you'd also be on the surface, with haptic feedback and binocular vision - seeing and feeling things - more directly than you ever could in a spacesuit. With enhanced vision also because to human eyes the colours on the surface would be dull and hard to pick out anything.
That's what I'd like to do. But - sadly I find small confined spaces claustrophobic. And especially so if shared with other people and with no windows or only tiny windows.
So probably not a good candidate for an early mission to Mars orbit :). But later on - if it gets to the point where you can do luxury trips with spaciousness of an ocean liner... Though it would also be way cool to watch the streaming video from the astronauts who do this.
That actually simulates an orbital mission to Mars, so you are in permanent orbit around it - but very easy to return. But an Inspiration Mars type trip would be like that for the one fly by.
The video is speeded up 100 times - the complete video would take about 12 hours in real time.
Better is the double Athena - that's a bit longer than your 500 days, it's a 700 day trip with a double fly by. But - means you have two fly bys like this - and also - for a long time after the first and before the second you are still pretty close to Mars so a much more interesting and also better science mission than Inspiration Mars. It's also safer for the return journey - the Inspiration Mars mission because of its flyby of Venus has a greatly increased velocity when it hits the Earth atmosphere and has major problems slowing down quickly enough - it's not clear it can be done safely.
With both, the whole point is to control robots on the surface of Mars, via telepresence. Or rather - that's the stated intention for the double Athena. For inspiration Mars, they haven't said - but it would be a crazy waste of resources to send humans all that way - and not do anything when they get there, when they could e.g. take over Curiosity or whatever - hopefully some later faster rover - in real time and do really good science for some hours when they get to Mars.
So as well as that spectacular view from orbit, first to see it with your own eyes - you'd also be on the surface, with haptic feedback and binocular vision - seeing and feeling things - more directly than you ever could in a spacesuit. With enhanced vision also because to human eyes the colours on the surface would be dull and hard to pick out anything.
That's what I'd like to do. But - sadly I find small confined spaces claustrophobic. And especially so if shared with other people and with no windows or only tiny windows.
So probably not a good candidate for an early mission to Mars orbit :). But later on - if it gets to the point where you can do luxury trips with spaciousness of an ocean liner... Though it would also be way cool to watch the streaming video from the astronauts who do this.
About the Author
Robert Walker
Writer of articles on Mars and Space issues - Software Developer of Tune Smithy, Bounce Metronome etc.Studied at Wolfson College, Oxford
Lives in Isle of Mull
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