Power requirements and candidate electrical power sources were examined for the supporting space infrastructure for an early (2004) manned Mars mission. This two-year mission (60-day stay time) assumed a single six crew piloted vehicle with a Mars lander for four of the crew. The transportation vehicle was assumed to be a hydrogen/oxygen propulsion design with or without large aerobrakes and assembled and checked out on the LEO Space Station. The long transit time necessitated artificial gravity of the crew by rotating the crew compartments. This rotation complicates power source selection. Candidate power sources were examined for the Lander, Mars Orbiter, supporting Space Station, co-orbiting Propellant Storage Depot, and alternatively, a co-orbiting Propellant Generation (water electrolysis) Depot. Candidates considered were photovoltaics with regenerative fuel cells or batteries, solar dynamics, isotope dynamics, and nuclear power.
Power Considerations for an Early Manned Mars Mission Utilizing the Space Station
1987
15 pages
Report
Keine Angabe
Englisch
Manned Spacecraft , Extraterrestrial Exploration , Solar Energy , Miscellaneous Energy Conversion & Storage , Nuclear Auxiliary Power Systems , Manned Mars missions , Spacecraft power supplies , Orbital assembly , Space stations , Isotopes , Mars landing , Photovoltaic cells , Solar dynamic power systems , Space power unit reactors
NTIS | 1990