03-29-2018, 08:08 PM
I'm pretty sure NASA could've made it to Mars as early as the 80's.
Some of the best plans I've seen so far make use of landing robotic Sabatier reactors on the surface months ahead of the manned landing. By the time you arrive, you've got water, oxygen, and rocket fuel for the trip back into orbit (Mars orbit - your lander can take off again, but the mothership needs to carry it's own delta-v for the trip back to Earth.) Solar will still work fine as a power source, but you'll probably carry some RTG's too.
As for recycling technologies, I remember an article that covered a new water recycling station that utilized algae to cleanse the water of wastes/toxins, and had an efficiency of 90%. Seems like NASA already has the tools it needs for long trips, they just don't have the funding.
Found a newer article covering further development of their water recycling tech - apparently NASA got it up to 93% efficiency. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/stati...ycler.html
Some of the best plans I've seen so far make use of landing robotic Sabatier reactors on the surface months ahead of the manned landing. By the time you arrive, you've got water, oxygen, and rocket fuel for the trip back into orbit (Mars orbit - your lander can take off again, but the mothership needs to carry it's own delta-v for the trip back to Earth.) Solar will still work fine as a power source, but you'll probably carry some RTG's too.
As for recycling technologies, I remember an article that covered a new water recycling station that utilized algae to cleanse the water of wastes/toxins, and had an efficiency of 90%. Seems like NASA already has the tools it needs for long trips, they just don't have the funding.
Found a newer article covering further development of their water recycling tech - apparently NASA got it up to 93% efficiency. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/stati...ycler.html