Human Exploration of the Solar System

[darkdreamer75]

An interesting article here about the parameters of a manned space mission to the outer part of the solar system. The authors do a good job of deriving their requirements from answering questions like 'How much space do we need for Astronauts inside the space ship, what kind of propulsion do we need to get astronauts there and back before we run into issues of supplies or radiation, what kind of shielding do we need to protect them from cosmic rays and what does that mean for the weight of our spacecraft.

From the requirements they derive a mission cost: 10% of the worlds current GDP for a 5 year mission. And like all estimates involving space its probably on the low side....

Comments

[jameshroberts.livejournal.com]

Dang, why am I first hearing about this from you? I work in the same building as the lead author.