Pipcard

Reposting here for posterity (as to why I'm using nuclear thermal propulsion instead of electric, which would make more sense considering Japan's usage of it in the Hayabusa missions)

The JAXA Digital Archives has a few pieces of concept art (from the 1980s and more recently), but there have never been any substantial plans for crewed Mars missions that I know of. (Category: General - Future Concept) (Category: Human Space Activities - Others) I did a fictional Japanese Mars mission set in a universe where JAXA isn't restricted by budgets and economies, and launches hundreds of tonnes into orbit at a time. I was thinking of the same thing, too. But Japan has started to come back to nuclear power in spite of the Fukushima disaster. I know that in reality, Japan would be more likely to use (low-thrust) electric propulsion over nuclear thermal, and was considering it for my Ceres mission, but from what I've read elsewhere, the Persistent Thrust mod isn't always reliable.

"Rosalina" Comet Observer and "Luma" Comet Lander

I said I would like a game like DSP but more focused on space infrastructure management and less like Factorio.

I tried out Dyson Sphere Program in 2021 for about 30 hours (might return to it one day). I don’t hate it, but I wish there was a game like it but with more emphasis on launch and orbital infrastructure, instead of conveyor belt spaghetti and producing energon cubes for research. Like launching components of O’Neill cylinders with mass drivers on the Moon or asteroids, or disassembling Mercury to make a Dyson swarm.

Comparison of interplanetary ships (Mars, Venus, Vesta and Ceres)

Japanese Crewed Ceres Mission "Inari" (2043-2048)

2047-08-16 - The Inari crew transport leaves Ceres 2048-12-20 - Returning to Earth

2047-08-10 - The crew of the Inari mission only stayed six months on Ceres, due to the different launch windows from Vesta. The next launch windows were 4 months from now (requiring an additional 1000 m/s in Delta-v for the Ceres-Earth transfer), or waiting another one-and-a-half years. After docking with the transport, they began their return trip on August 16. 2047-08-16 - Leaving Ceres 2048-12-20 - After over another year in space, Kei Nagase, Takahide Ishikawa, and Hikari Tsuchiyama undocked in the Earth Arrival Vehicle, slowing down by 4900 m/s before entering Earth's atmosphere and splashing down in the Caribbean Sea.

2047-08-06 - The Koujin Vesta crew transport returned to Earth after a journey of over 3 years. The Earth Arrival Vehicle undocked and decelerated by over 4000 m/s using its LE-N engine. After the capsule separated, the nuclear stage boosted out of the way to avoid entering Earth's atmosphere. Heisuke Koishi, Takeshi Kakoi, and Rena Minase splashed down off the western coast of Borneo in Indonesia.

2047-02-07 - Arrival of the Inari crew transport at Ceres 2047-02-10 - Landing in Occator Crater (right to left: Kei Nagase, Takahide Ishikawa, and Hikari Tsuchiyama)

2047-02-07 - After 1 year and 2 months, the Inari crew transport finally arrived at Ceres, slowing down by over 5000 m/s to meet up with the landing module in a 90 km orbit on February 9. On February 10, the powered descent and landing commenced. Kei Nagase, Takahide Ishikawa, and Hikari Tsuchiyama became the first Japanese astronauts to set foot on the largest object in the asteroid belt. Over the next 6 months (a shorter stay due to transfer windows), they would live in the surface base on Occator Crater. On February 15, they explored the crater in the Ceres Cruiser, driving 20 km south and up the central hill. Occator was known for its bright spots, which were made of salt deposits (mostly sodium carbonate) left behind when briny underground water rose to the surface through cryovolcanism. The water had already sublimated into the vacuum of space, and the process could still be happening today.

2045-12-24 - The crew of the Koujin Vesta mission explore Marcia Crater 2046-09-20 - Leaving Vesta 2046-09-26

2045-12-24 - Heisuke Koishi, Rena Minase, and Takeshi Kakoi boarded the Vesta Cruiser and drove over 10 km to the east in Marcia Crater, which was the largest and youngest of the three "snowman craters," the others being Calpurnia and Minucia. The surface of the crater is mostly made of basaltic rock (known as eucrite) and is rich in iron. Due to the low gravity, wheel traction was also lower, and the motor was set to 5% of normal power to avoid excess torque. Cybernetic implants (developed in the 2030s) also assisted the crew physiologically while staying in 2% of Earth's gravity.* *inspired by The Orbital Children 2046-09-20 - After nine months, the three crew members left the surface habitat, using the small landing module to easily launch back into orbit and dock with the interplanetary transport. On September 26, the transport ignited its single LE-N2 engine to return to Earth (~4800 m/s). 2046-09-26 - Departure from Vesta

Not the real-life Mitsubishi.