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Advanced propulsion options for the Mars cargo missionSeveral advanced propulsion options for a split-mission piloted Mars exploration scenario are presented. The primary study focus is on identifying concepts that can reduce total initial mass in low earth orbit (IMLEO) for the cargo delivery portion of the mission; in addition, concepts that can reduce the trip time of the piloted option are assessed. The propulsion options considered are nuclear thermal propulsion, solar sails, multimegawatt-class nuclear electric propulsion, solar electric propulsion, magnetic sails, mass drivers, rail guns, solar thermal rockets, beamed-energy propulsion systems, and tethers. For the cargo mission, solar sails are found to provide the greatest mass savings over the baseline chemical system, although they suffer from having very long trip times; a good performance compromise between a low IMLEO and a short trip time can be obtained using multimegawatt-class nuclear electric propulsion systems.
Document ID
19900055661
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Frisbee, Robert H.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Blandino, John J.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Sercel, Joel C.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Sargent, Mark S.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Gowda, Nandini
(JPL Pasadena, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 14, 2013
Publication Date
July 1, 1990
Subject Category
Spacecraft Propulsion And Power
Report/Patent Number
AIAA PAPER 90-1997
Accession Number
90A42716
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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