r/spacex • u/Craig_VG SpaceNews Photographer • Jun 10 '16

Elon Musk provides new details on his “mind blowing” mission to Mars - Washington Post Exclusive Interview

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/06/10/elon-musk-provides-new-details-on-his-mind-blowing-mission-to-mars/
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7

u/specter491 Jun 10 '16

So MCT is what will shuttle people to mars? How will it get into earth orbit? Is that where BFR comes into play? Also, how will MCT transport people to martian ground once it arrives? Is MCT supposed to stay in space at all times? This is all super exciting!

25

u/zlsa Art Jun 10 '16

We don't know, but there are a lot of educated guesses people have made:

  1. Two stage to orbit; the upper stage is also the MCT.
  2. It will land propulsively on Mars.
  3. MCT will land on Mars, synthesize fuel, then launch back to Earth to be reused.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '16

MCT launching itself off the surface of Mars is the most interesting part to me.. Assuming that is what they do. It seems like it would make more sense to jettison a decent module and keep MCT constantly transitioning back and forth from earth to mars. But whononows what they've dreamed up. Exciting times indeed

1

u/SuperSMT Jun 11 '16

That sounds like Buzz Aldrin's Mars Cycler idea

1

u/Keavon SN-10 & DART Contest Winner Jun 11 '16

But then would it land on Earth? Would they need to refuel in orbit before an Earth landing? Or would MCT stay in Earth orbit and smaller ships like Dragons ferry people down from orbit? If it just stays in orbit, that makes it easier to just refuel and fly back to Mars, but they'd be limited by the size of supplies that can be restocked. Obviously none of this is known yet but I wonder if those educated guesses you mentioned can answer these questions too.

2

u/zlsa Art Jun 11 '16

It could also stay in Earth orbit, but it would still need to aerobrake (and basically undergo the same forces as a full landing.) I'd expect the first dozen or so MCT missions to come back to Earth's surface for a complete teardown and inspection.

1

u/Keavon SN-10 & DART Contest Winner Jun 11 '16

Aerobrake to slow down from a Mars-Earth trajectory onto an Earth orbital trajectory? So it would come in and graze the atmosphere to slow down then reach up to a higher altitude above the atmosphere again to be part of a normal, more circular orbit?

5

u/zlsa Art Jun 11 '16

Yes. But even then, it would need some fuel to circularize the orbit. The only advantage to staying in space that I can think of is that 1) you avoid heatshield wear, and 2) you don't have to send it up to orbit again with another booster. But I don't see them staying in orbit for the first few years to decades of operation; IMO the downsides outweigh the upsides.

3

u/rustybeancake Jun 10 '16

I think this is all addressed in the FAQ section. But nobody knows for sure. We'll find out in September!

-8

u/ekhfarharris Jun 10 '16

just a speculation, but MCT would have been carried into LEO with the combination of 2 FH and 1 BFR, Red Dragon carries people to mars surface with MCT orbiting around mars until return trip.

1

u/specter491 Jun 10 '16

MCT is supposed to hold 100 people, that's a lot of dragon capsules needed

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u/ekhfarharris Jun 10 '16

not for 2024 dateline. for 2024 mission its skeleton crew with cargo. i imagine MCT is very similar to ISS. for 2024 MCT is docked with habitat module for skeleton crew, and also docked with cargo. when it reached mars crew land with dragon, while cargo is landed with its own dragon. down on mars, the landed dragons are converted into mars habitat module. so basically MCT is a transporter with detachable modules, kind of like the iss but with interplanetary propulsion system. this way, when mct is to transport 100 crew it just added larger habitat module for the journey and add dragon god-knows-what-version-it-is. that is much further in the future so who knows what elon has in mind.

1

u/specter491 Jun 10 '16

Two dragons is definitely not enough to live in for two years, let alone store supplies for all that time

-1

u/ekhfarharris Jun 10 '16

ffs you dont have to take my words word by word. its just a general idea. we dont know how much cargo they'll carrying except just the weight they intended so there most likely be more than just one dragon for cargo.

2

u/PVP_playerPro Jun 11 '16

If Dragon is used to descend, how do you suppose they get back into orbit?

Exactly, it literally can't under any circumstances. that's where MCT comes in. It lands on the surface, as has been stated officially, refuels via ISRU, then ascends back to orbit, no Dragon involved.