TomKerbal

The new HAB landing on Mars - video is online (see initial post) .

I placed my current paper version (very very early) to my new MEGA account: See initial post. The whole thing should be a completely voluntary activity for the common good without any selfish interests. Everyone is invited to take part and of course we will mention everyone in the acknowledgements. Per Aspera Ad Astra

@magnemoe I see it similarly. My first HAB also has four wheels and carries two harvesters, one for water and one for regolith. The landing site is at the colony, and it is abundantly filled with near-surface water ice (see NASA report). Deuteronilus Mensae. However, the first ERV is independent of water ice and brings its own liquid hydrogen for fuel production (based on Dr. Zubrin's book). This would even make it possible to land anywhere on Mars. Elon wants to move a million people there, so there will soon be a lot going on. Who knows if someone will need a ride back to Earth if they get lost. Oh, but we (or NASA) know exactly where there is a lot of near-surface water ice on Mars. @darthgently In any case, water is life. If there is enough will on the part of the people on earth, this will no longer be a problem, as the technical problems are likely to be solved. I am still looking for publications in this direction.

check this : https://marspapers.org/paper/Gurrea_2021.pdf

Super interesting, thank you! Dr. Zubrin has also been presenting his “Mars Direct version 3” with the “Mini-Starship” for some time now. But I was already busy with his version 2 ;-)

I will publish a video soon showing the current version 20A1 of the ERV on Mars. Here it comes: https://dai.ly/krTRUthEoYcjgVCjtAs

Glad you are back !

Currently I try to do the artificial gravity rotation with a HW-80 winch from the KAS mod. Problematic (but fascinating effects) since this is not a rigid connection.

I also have it in my CKAN mod list. I use it carefully, had some bad experience with it in the past (I think with wheels, or landing legs, which leads to KSP crash), now it seems to be working nicely. I don't know if this mod gives me the fantastic procedural tanks, or RO Tanks, but rescaling the tanks is my daily work.

I replaced the Heat Radiatiors of the ERV outside because I think it is a good idea to have this 450kW heat radiation in a good distance to the liquid hydrogen tank. Not neccessary due to KSP simulation but more realistic in my opinion. https://i.ibb.co/znd8BX2/ERV-New-Heat-Radiator-Place-small.jpg During Mars airobraking and Earth re-entry tests I again saw how important it is to have the center of gravity as near as possible to the craft roll axis. So I rearranged masses again, now having crucial systems like the water recycler, air pressure controller, MOXIE etc. doubled, which is important for redundance anyway.

Artificial gravity 2 years after ERV1, the habitat ship HAB1 flies to Mars with 4 astronauts on board, accompanied by another ERV, the ERV2. During the flight, the TMI (Trans Mars Injection) stage is detached and connected to the habitation unit of the HAB by a long steel cable. The habitation unit and the TMI stage then orbit around each other and generate an artificial gravity that corresponds to that of Mars. Course corrections must still be possible with the RCS. HAB1 and ERV2 land at the colony landing site on Mars after a 9-month flight. Artificial gravity is generated on the return flight in the same way as on the outward flight to Mars. Once on Earth, the steel cable is cut, the habitation unit enters the Earth's atmosphere with its heat shield and then lands on parachutes in an Earth ocean.

So what is this all about ? The aim of this is to show that a Mars colonization by humans can be represented with a KSP that has been trimmed for realism. Based on the book “The CASE for MARS” by Dr. Robert Zubrin we have developed a mission with the realism modification mod ‘Realism Overhaul’ (RO). RO turns the game into a serious real-time simulation that allows you to explore many fundamental problems of space travel. We tried to be very close to the description of the “Direct Mars” mission in the book. We were able to show in advance that the entire mission can be represented with this simulator, although this requires higher masses than described by Dr. Zubrin. However, these masses can be brought into the Earth orbit with the announced “Version 3” technology from SpaceX and flown from there to Mars. With the Starship v3 booster with the Raptor v3 engine, masses >250 tons can be brought into low earth orbit (LEO) in the near future, whereby the booster remains reusable and flies back to the launch tower. The landing site on Mars This is chosen so that there is water ice near the surface and, if possible, nitrogen in the sedimentary rock near the surface. In addition, the climate should be as temperate as possible. The choice fell on: Deuteronilus Mensae, 45 degrees north, 18 degrees east. This is located in one of the two landing zones recommended by NASA https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-020-01290-z

My first KerbalX post today, since the LaunchSystem is ready now I think: https://kerbalx.com/TomKerbal/EXP-STARSHIP-ZIIX

Next Video ready: The re-entry of the LEO injection stage. https://dai.ly/k1LyoiK79UWKRSCba3K

Yes, you are right, I will correct this. Thank you !

Launch and LEO injection of the HAB carrier rocket system : https://dai.ly/k3r5IQAuqPF3ptCaMDq

My first explanation video (more to follow) : https://dai.ly/k5yDWxlFPzunneCaGbs

The HAB with its greenhouses is also very complex:

The ERV has a lot of functions, which have to be explained in detail.

You can see here the ERV ready to launch at Starbase. Launch Mass: 5495t , Height: 138m

Testing Video Hosting ( hosted by "Dailymotion". You can see the 2nd Rover tests for the HAB) https://dai.ly/k7aZVkfB6MUmTzC4jFQ

A friend and I have been working on the implementation of Dr. Robert Zubrin's Mars Direct 2.0 mission (described in his book “The Case for Mars”) for quite some time. For this we use KSP with the most realistic mods possible (RO, RP-1 etc.), some of which I try to make even more realistic, although this is not normally necessary as they are already excellent! But for the mission, for example, the new Raptor v3 engine is necessary, things like that. At the end there is the execution of the mission. We are also planning and working on a small publication to show things. Hopefully Dr. Zubrin's Mars Society, for example, will be interested. I would also like to reflect that here in the forum, I think that's important. We live in turbulent times! And we may not even have realized what is currently happening at SpaceX and what significance it could have for the whole of humanity. I will report here from time to time. Models will be published by me on KerbalX, videos etc. I will host and share here. Per Aspera Ad Astra. Tom. Brief description of the main mission components The aim is to establish a Mars colony. First of all, an Earth Return Vehicle (ERV1) is sent to Mars, where it lands at the planned site of the colony. ERV1 now begins to convert the CO2 from the Martian atmosphere into methane and oxygen with the help of the hydrogen it has brought with it. The ERV uses this to replenish its fuel reserves. After 2 years, the habitat ship HAB1 flies to Mars with 4 astronauts on board, accompanied by another ERV, the ERV2. During the flight, the TMI (Trans Mars Injection) stage is detached and connected to the habitation unit of the HAB by a long steel cable. The habitation unit and the TMI stage then orbit around each other and generate an artificial gravity that corresponds to that of Mars. Course corrections must still be possible with the RCS. HAB1 and ERV2 land at the colony landing site on Mars after a 9-month flight. The astronauts can leave Mars at any time with ERV1. Otherwise, the 4 astronauts stay for 2 years, then board the ERV1 and fly back to Earth in it, leaving the HAB1 behind. Artificial gravity is generated on the return flight in the same way as on the outward flight to Mars. Once on Earth, the steel cable is cut, the habitation unit enters the Earth's atmosphere with its heat shield and then lands on parachutes in an Earth ocean. At the same time as the first crew begins its return flight with ERV1, the third ERV (ERV3) and the second HAB (HAB2), again with four astronauts on board, fly from Earth to the Mars colony. Once there, HAB2 is docked to HAB1. The 4 astronauts stay for another 2 years and now have twice as much living space as the first pioneers. After 2 years, they also fly back with an ERV (the ERV2), while at the same time ERV4 and HAB3 fly to the colony. And so on. This is how a colony gradually develops. If the colony is to grow faster, any number of ERVs and HABs can of course be sent out at the same time. An immediate evacuation to orbit must be possible at any time with a sufficiently high number of refueled ERVs. Additionally the ERVs are additional escape rooms in case something goes wrong elsewhere. Link to Paper (WORK IN PROGRESS!!!) : https://mega.nz/file/wpJ0TYSL#NqpkDSdtCwBG5kWPGAC-yzH-sNGCzFtaclPswpiWc5k Link to CKAN mod list : https://mega.nz/file/N5QDAKiZ#pgWkEDf-7hsid8DCuXUaCR_H3aoNPRbpf4PL3Os3vhc Link to Re-Mods : https://mega.nz/file/MxAFHJya#oseMwogaS5ws1GvBHtfKVZbIyFbRaMRHqbu3V2HrJ9I KerbalX : Launch System: https://kerbalx.com/TomKerbal/EXP-STARSHIP-ZIIX List of videos (chronological order) : 2nd Rover tests of HAB : https://dai.ly/k7aZVkfB6MUmTzC4jFQ ERV ONE Start Cape Canaveral: https://dai.ly/k2djaIebhj5krzC7KV0 Description of Launch system : https://dai.ly/k5yDWxlFPzunneCaGbs Start of the Carrier Rocket: https://dai.ly/k3r5IQAuqPF3ptCaMDq Re-entry of the LEO injection stage : https://dai.ly/k1LyoiK79UWKRSCba3K ERV Landing : https://dai.ly/k5O1Ovcazj671RCjtAs HAB Landing : https://dai.ly/k2E4pXdaNtMvqsCkQ9K

I am very concerned about the forum. There are constant problems, now 2 weeks of total failure !!! There are many years of valuable contributions and information here that must not be lost. What happens if T2 pulls the plug? Is there a contingency plan ? Guys, this is important!

Are you underchallenged, bored? Are you looking for the ultimate challenge? Then install RP-1 and try to fly my Mars mission :-D Good luck and strong nerves ! Tom https://kerbalx.com/TomKerbal/MM2035v66

You can try my Mars Mission for the RP-1 mod here : https://kerbalx.com/TomKerbal/MM2035v66 It took me about 1000 hours to create it.