Second, until people are comfortable with nuclear powered space vehicles, we will be limited to solar arrays for onboard power. Third, also for lack of nuclear power, we are limited to chemical rockets and their low Isp.
I'm just wondering if one of my old favorites, a manned Venus orbital flight (with telerobotic exploration) might also fit in there somewhere... Before or after Phobos?Manned Venus orbital mission:* first manned flight to Venus* exploring Earth's twin* telerobotic exploration of a hostile planet and exotic atmosphere* studying the causes and effects of catastrophic GHG-induced Climate Change in order to prevent their happening on Earth (included that one to appease / incite the Greenies)* and maybe: first all-solar-powered spacecraft! (would certainly work better at Venus than Mars... I'm not saying that Orion-Venus would have a solar-electric drive, but SOLAR could certainly be hyped in the media)
What would be good choices for NEOs to visot? Are these just targets of opportunity, that is, pick a time frame then pick an asteroid that you can reach with your delta v in that time frame? Or are there certain targets that are naturally high value, like say 433 Eros?
Nobody likes Venus?
Quote from: ChrisSpaceCH on 01/14/2010 07:30 pmNobody likes Venus? As a flyby add-on on a opposition class Mars orbital mission, yes. As a target of its own for a manned space mission, no, not worth it.
Anyone else have a problem with it being at least 15 years before we actually go anywhere?I like the idea of flexible path but with the understanding we go somewhere quick and often. My fear is empty points in space and just meandering around the solar system will not sustain any real support unless it happens much quicker and with more frequency than landing someplace.
Quote from: Lambda-4 on 01/14/2010 07:36 pmQuote from: ChrisSpaceCH on 01/14/2010 07:30 pmNobody likes Venus? As a flyby add-on on a opposition class Mars orbital mission, yes. As a target of its own for a manned space mission, no, not worth it.I beg to differ. Venus is much less well explored than Mars, which gives us potentially more knowledge gain from an equal-length telerobotic mission that would be possible at Mars.Plus, if we are seriously contemplating settling the Solar System with humans one day, we really should explore Venus' upper atmosphere (50 km above ground) in detail. The one place (other than Earth) where you could go outside in shirtsleeves without a thermally insulated pressure suit (you'd still need a breathing mask, ofc)
Gathering atmospheric & surface samples from teleoperated robots (to reduce mission risk), would be the limits for the most part. Add a communications relay satellite on top of that, and that would be a mission.
Quote from: robertross on 01/14/2010 08:08 pmGathering atmospheric & surface samples from teleoperated robots (to reduce mission risk), would be the limits for the most part. Add a communications relay satellite on top of that, and that would be a mission.Yes, this is what I meant. The astronauts stay in Venus orbit, controlling the teleoperated robots on the surface and the robotic blimps in the atmosphere.