Mars is a planet that Scientist are developing for people to
live in the next generations. Any human journey to Mars would involve a round trip
of at least two-and-a-half years, six months to fly there, six months to come
home again, and a year-and-a-half on the Martian surface while Mars and Earth
move back into the right orbital positions for the return flight.
The Technology
Permanent settlement allows Mars One to use technology that
is not substantially different from existing systems. The hardware specifically
needed for this mission still needs to be designed, built, and tested
extensively but the technology already exists. Mars One is not an aerospace
company and will not design or manufacture mission hardware. All equipment will
be developed by third party suppliers and integrated in their established
facilities.
Mars One has visited major aerospace companies around the world
to discuss the requirements, budget, and timelines with their engineers and
business developers. The current mission plan was composed on the basis of the
feedback received in these meetings. These are preliminary results that need to
be improved by conceptual design studies, which Mars One will contract a
supplier for. The first studies have already been awarded to a supplier.
The mission is comprised of the following primary hardware
components.
Mars Landing Module: Mars One will secure the landing
modules from one of the experienced suppliers in the world, for example
Lockheed Martin. Similar landers will be equipped to perform different
functions.
Carrying Life Support Unit that
generate energy, water and breathable air for the settlement.
Carrying Supply Unit with food, solar panels, spare parts
and other components.
Carrying Living Units that
are outfitted with deployable inflatable habitats.
Carrying Humans to the surface of Mars
Carrying Rovers to the
surface of Mars
Rovers: Two
rovers will be sent to Mars to set up the outpost before the humans arrive. One
of them will explore the surface of Mars in search of the most suitable
location for the settlement, transport of large hardware components, and the
general assembly. Mars One’s rover supplier will determine the exact rover
strategy; it is possible that instead of one large rover, multiple smaller
rovers will be sent. For example, a main rover accompanied by a trailer system
used for transporting the landing capsules.
Mars Suit:- All astronauts must wear their Mars suits
when exposed to the Mars atmosphere. Like those used by the Apollo astronauts
on the Moon, Mars suits protect astronauts from extreme temperatures and the
very thin, non-breathable atmosphere.
Communication System:- The communications system will
consist of two communications satellites and Earth ground stations. It will
transmit data from Mars to Earth and back.
Mars
Transit Vehicle: The transit vehicle will consist of two propellant
stages, a landing module, and a transit habitat. The landing module will be similar
to the ones used for the unmanned Mars missions. The crew will travel through
space for approximately seven or eight months, depending on the year of
departure, which is much shorter than many MIR Station missions and even
shorter than the new one year shifts in the ISS. The transit habitat will be a
small space station when compared to the large ISS module. The water tanks and
other storage will be used to create a radiation shelter that will also
function as crew sleeping quarters. When the crew arrives on Mars, they will
descend to the Mars surface in their Mars suits in the landing module. They
will then leave the transit habitat behind because it is too large and too
heavy to land. This means that the transit habitat needs a lifetime of only the
duration of the journey to Mars, which is much shorter than ISS modules.
The Cheriot
