The Mars Project! Von Braun's Ideas for a Mars Mission. Collaboration with Vintage Space

TL;DR

Von Braun’s Mars Project proposed sending 70 people to Mars aboard 10 giant spaceships assembled in orbit using an estimated 950 three-stage rocket launches. The eight-month journey would use seven orbiters and three glider landers, with the first crew landing at a polar cap before traveling 6,400 kilometers to build a base camp and landing strip. Read on to see how one mistaken assumption about Mars undermined this extraordinarily ambitious plan.

Transcript

Did you know that it’s been almost 45 years since humans walked on the surface of the Moon? Of course you do. Anyone who loves space exploration obsesses about the last Apollo landings, and counts the passing years of sadness. Sure, SpaceX, Blue Origins and the new NASA Space Launch Systems rocket offer a tantalizing future in space. But 45 years. ... Read More

Key Insights

• 🇲🇭 Von Braun's Mars Project from the 1940s outlined a grand vision of a Mars expedition with detailed spacecraft designs and mission parameters.
• 🇲🇭 The Mars Project included assembling 10 massive spaceships in orbit, using multiple orbiters and glider landers to explore Mars.
• 🥺 Von Braun's assumptions about Mars' atmosphere led to flawed glider landing strategies, highlighting the importance of accuracy in mission planning.
• 🎟️ Despite inaccuracies, Von Braun's Mars mission ideas inspired future human Mars mission plans, emphasizing long-duration missions and innovative spacecraft designs.
• 🇲🇭 The Mars Project proposed studying Martian geology, biology, and potentially encountering ancient civilizations, reflecting 1940s scientific understanding.
• 👾 Von Braun's Mars mission plan showcased ambitious space exploration goals, aiming to leverage orbital assembly and efficient orbital transfer trajectories.
• 🎟️ Modern Mars mission plans have evolved from Von Braun's concepts, incorporating new technologies and scientific knowledge to enhance mission success.

Questions & Answers

Q: What was Werner Von Braun’s Mars Project?

The Mars Project was Von Braun’s detailed plan for a human expedition to Mars. Its calculations, mission parameters, and hardware designs began as an appendix to a science-fiction novel he wrote in 1947 and 1948, and the appendix was published in Germany as “Das Marsproject” in 1952.

Q: How many spacecraft and crew members did the Mars Project propose sending?

Von Braun proposed an armada of 10 giant spaceships carrying 70 crew members. Each ship would weigh about 4,000 tonnes, and all of them would be assembled in orbit.

Q: How would the Mars Project spacecraft be launched and assembled?

Von Braun estimated that 950 three-stage rockets could place all the required components into orbit. For comparison, the transcript says a fully loaded Saturn V could carry about 140 tonnes into low Earth orbit, while each proposed Mars ship would weigh about 4,000 tonnes.

Q: How long would Von Braun’s journey from Earth to Mars take?

The fleet would follow a Mars Hohmann transfer trajectory. Von Braun estimated that the trip from Earth to Mars would take eight months.

Q: What spacecraft made up Von Braun’s Mars fleet?

The fleet consisted of seven orbiters and three glider landers. The spherical orbiters would travel to Mars, enter orbit, and later return to Earth, while the gliders would descend through the Martian atmosphere and remain on Mars.

Q: Why did Von Braun plan the first Mars landing at a polar cap?

The crew would first use powerful telescopes from orbit to search for safe and scientifically interesting landing sites. Von Braun selected a polar cap for the initial landing because he believed it offered the only guaranteed flat surface.

Q: Why would the Mars glider landings not have worked?

Von Braun assumed that Mars had an atmosphere about as thick as Earth’s, so he planned to use large winged gliders for atmospheric braking and landing. The transcript states that Mars’s atmosphere is only 1% as thick as Earth’s, making those gliders unworkable.

Q: What would the first crew do after landing on Mars?

After landing at a polar cap, the first expedition would travel 6,400 kilometers across Mars to the planned base-camp location. They would build a landing strip there, allowing two more gliders to deliver most of the explorers while a skeleton crew remained in orbit.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Discusses Von Braun's visionary Mars mission plans from the 1940s, detailing complex logistics and scientific aspects.

• Explains the assembly of a vast armada of spaceships in orbit and the challenges of landing on Mars.

• Highlights Von Braun's innovative ideas that influenced future human Mars mission plans.