The optimal fuel route for Mars includes arrival when two planets are roughly switched on opposite sides of the sun. This starting window is repeated every 18 months, and the travel time nine months means that every problems on board will have to be repaired by the crew, without the rescue option. Faster routes can be achieved (about six months), but it becomes very energy -consuming.
That is why the lunar gate could be useful, allowing astronauts to be removed from the moon, away from the huge gravity of the earth and go to Mars from there. Of course, the material to the gate should be first sent to the lunar gate. But the separation of energy requirements means slower but more efficient drive methods It can be used in a part of Mars’s journey.
There is no doubt that in some works SpaceX will be able to do Landing on Mars. But will they be able to safely take people there and recover them? As a company, the idea of profit will be a forceful factor with the security of astronauts. We just need to look at some of the latest problems of Boeing (Astronauts got stuck at an international space station for seven months at the time of writing) to see that private companies may want to ponderous down a bit when it comes to transporting people.
However, this is unlikely to be Significant influence of musk On the White House administration and the suggestion of colleague Jared Isaacman (private astronaut) As a new boss of NASA.
Critical decisions
So there are two options to choose NASA: either go with the Artemis program and the moon gate, or strive for Mars and be primarily dependent on musk.
Financing both options would probably mean that none of them will never happen. Of course, Mars’ mission would be easier if Gateway was already present on the moon.
Schedules are significant here. Spacex states that he will send five unrestricted ships of the ships to Mars next year Try to send people to Mars in 2028. This seems ambitious, especially since it includes refueling in orbit, but if additional funds and materials are allocated to the project, it may be potentially earlier.
Because the lunar gate will be built at the earliest in 2027, it will not work in 2028. Thus, the priority resolution of Mars’s exploration at the Lunar gate can actually lead us to Mars quickly – but it will be risky.
If the US is withdrawing from plans to discover the moon, other nations can easier escalate their presence in these areas – with potential to have an easier way to start Mars. They are probably in much longer time scales, but if Musk does not lead people to Mars in the next few years, these countries may have the advantage.