Just this time, let's not go on about its a waste of money, spend the 0.3% of the federal budget it costs on the poor, Elon should pay more tax, Elon is showing off, etc... let's just keep it to the engineering, the technical achievement, if it works as planned.

We know all the negative opinions and the positive ones. Let's put our space engineering hats on. Cat points will be awarded for compliance, perhaps even gold ones.

 

 

OK, so this is in the far future after a Mars Base has been established?  Wonder what was the purpose of the Earth orbit docking with another craft?

My kid will witness something spectacular, I don't think I will. 😞

I'm an avid supporter of SpaceX, and heartily support Musk's mission to Mars.

However, his Starship, at least from what I can see here, doesn't provide artificial gravity.

If this craft travels at 100,000 miles per hour, it will take about 2 months to reach Mars.  Then there's the return trip.  That's a long time for a crew to be without any gravity.  I know that people have stayed in space much longer without gravity, but they were professional astronauts, and Musk's intention is that this thing be able to carry up to 100 passengers who I'm assuming would not be professional astronauts. 

I was also concerned about the size.  It would be difficult for passengers to be crammed into a small craft for several months.  However, it will supposedly be large enough to have "private cabins, large common areas, centralized storage, solar storm shelters, and a viewing gallery". 

Anyway, it's an ambitious and laudable goal.  I hope he achieves it as it would be another great leap forward for all of us, really.

In the meantime, is NASA ever going to get around to sending people back to the moon, or will Elon have to do that as well?

Dave

1 hour ago, charliearon said:

OK, so this is in the far future after a Mars Base has been established?  Wonder what was the purpose of the Earth orbit docking with another craft?

 

Refuelling sir.

Starship needs to refuel after getting all that mass into orbit. Currently there will be a number of refuels in orbit before blasting off to Mars. Unless something remarkable happens between now and the future depicted in the video, regarding fuel, Raptor efficiency, nuclear thermal propulsion or some other technical improvement, there will still need to be a number of tanking operations in orbit.

Edited February 17, 20224 yr by martin-w

42 minutes ago, dave2013 said:

However, his Starship, at least from what I can see here, doesn't provide artificial gravity.

If this craft travels at 100,000 miles per hour, it will take about 2 months to reach Mars.  Then there's the return trip.  That's a long time for a crew to be without any gravity.  I know that people have stayed in space much longer without gravity, but they were professional astronauts, and Musk's intention is that this thing be able to carry up to 100 passengers who I'm assuming would not be professional astronauts. 

 

6 months the trip. There has been suggestion of two Starships tethered together and rotating to simulate a gravitational filed. We will be okay without gravity for 6 months. And then of course we have gravity on the Mars. We've talked before about the effects of lower gravity on Mars and what is being done to address it and the unknowns, so I don't need to elaborate on that. 

Astronauts, scientists, engineers first and then when the tech is perfected and Mars dome comfortable, others.

 

Quote

I was also concerned about the size.  It would be difficult for passengers to be crammed into a small craft for several months.  However, it will supposedly be large enough to have "private cabins, large common areas, centralized storage, solar storm shelters, and a viewing gallery". 

 

Its very big inside, but yes 100 people does sound "interesting" for a six month trip. My guess is we will have nuclear thermal or nuclear electric propulsion by then, in which case the trip there will be pretty speedy.

1 hour ago, Rob_Ainscough said:

I'd rather see Elon spend more money/time focusing on 100% self-sustainable spaceship (food, water, energy, air) ... that's what we're really going to need.

Cheers, Rob.

 

The spaceship itself needs to provide life support for 6 months. SpaceX do seem a bit slow in regard to the development of the life support technology for Spaceship. Unless they have tech in development that we don't know about.

Regarding a Mars base, everything we need can be obtained from mars, including Oxygen. 

 

100 people??  "Beans, beans, the musical fruit!  The more you eat, the more you toot!"  Flatulence must be outlawed in space! 🤔  Maybe it can be harnessed for propulsion??

8 minutes ago, martin-w said:

 

Regarding a Mars base, everything we need can be obtained from mars, including Oxygen. 

 

OH, boy!  Does that mean 💩potatoes??

 

In the name of Elon the Father, Elon the son, and Elon the Holy Spaceman.  Sorry, but I don't see a reason for going to Mars and existing under a dome.  Human problems will exist on the spaceship and under the dome just as they exist right here on earth.  Why spend billions to send a few people to Mars to replicate what we already have here?  Unless it's an authoritarian government there the same conflicts we have here they will have there.

It's a nice, slick video though.  A lot like what you see on Star Trek NG.  And what you see on Star Trek is what you are going to have to have on the starship going to Mars and on Mars itself.  An authority figure and a militaristic hierarchy to maintain order.

There's an old saying that I think describes humans perfectly.

Mother Theresa, ***** Christ, and Mahatma Gandhi were marooned on a desert island.  Six months later they were rescued.  One of them would be an *hole and the other two would tell you why.  

Noel

 

15 minutes ago, birdguy said:

In the name of Elon the Father, Elon the son, and Elon the Holy Spaceman.  Sorry, but I don't see a reason for going to Mars and existing under a dome.  Human problems will exist on the spaceship and under the dome just as they exist right here on earth.  Why spend billions to send a few people to Mars to replicate what we already have here? 

 

Garghhhhhhhhh!!!!!! I don't believe it!   😬  Just once, that was all I asked. Do we really have to do all that stuff again for the 50th time? 🥵

Same stuff, word for word, all over again. I thought it might be possible, I was wrong. 

 

4 hours ago, martin-w said:

Just this time, let's not go on about its a waste of money, spend the 0.3% of the federal budget it costs on the poor, Elon should pay more tax, Elon is showing off, etc... let's just keep it to the engineering, the technical achievement, if it works as planned.

We know all the negative opinions and the positive ones. Let's put our space engineering hats on. Cat points will be awarded for compliance, perhaps even gold ones.

 

What's a matter with you man, don't you want a gold cat point?

 

 

 

 

Edited February 17, 20224 yr by martin-w
Added additional expressions of incredulity and disgust.

I thought cat points were for cat stuff.  Do you get points for being catty about Elon?

BTW...human fertilizer isn't new.  Anyone who served in the Far East knows all about the honey buckets and NOT TO EAT anything grown with human fertilizer.  Especially melons.

Noel

Edited February 17, 20224 yr by birdguy

2 hours ago, birdguy said:

Why spend billions to send a few people to Mars to replicate what we already have here?

Because one day, this will happen (yet again!):

Biggest Asteroid Impacts on Earth

Crater	Location	Radius (in km)	Estimated Impact Date
Vredefort	Free State, South Africa	190	2 billion years ago
Sudbury Basin	Ontario, Canada	130	1.8 billion years ago
Acraman	South Australia, Australia	90	580 million years ago
Woodleigh	Western Australia, Australia	40-120	360 million years ago
Manicouagan	Quebec, Canada	100	215 million years ago
Morokweng	North West, South Africa	70	145 million years ago
Kara Crater	Nenetsia, Russia	65	70.3 million years ago
Chicxulub	Yucatan, Mexico	170-300	65 million years ago
Popigai	Siberia, Russia	100	35.7 million years ago
Chesapeake Bay	Virginia, United States	85	35 million years ago

The dinosaurs were cool and all, but I don't see many Velociraptors, Pterodactyls, or T-Rexes running around lately.

It might only be six people to start, then 100 and so on, but eventually, for humanity to survive long-term, we need to be a multi-planetary species.
 

Won't that happen one day on Mars too?  Or any planet in our solar system?  All planets are subject to random meteorites, large and small, colliding with them at any time.  Who's to say Mars won't get hit by the big one before Earth?  All planets are bombarded with meteorites almost every day. It's a word not allowed shoot.  Betting on a roulette wheel with 8 numbers.

According to www.space.com Mars is hit with an average of 200 space rocks or meteorites a year.  It just takes one to penetrate the dome and devastate the Mars colony.  It wouldn't take a very large one to do that.  All that manufactured life sustaining atmosphere would disappear.

Now in my cynical way I would ask if we deserve to survive more than your Velociraptors, Pterodactyls, or T-Rexes?

Noel

3 hours ago, birdguy said:

Unless it's an authoritarian government there the same conflicts we have here they will have there.

Say what???