Guest: John Strickland; Topics: HSF to Mars, setting up a Mars colony, reusability & retro-propulsion landing. Please direct all comments and questions regarding specific Space Show programs & guest(s) to the Space Show blog which is part of archived program on our website, www.thespaceshow.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm.
We welcomed John Strickland back to the show to discuss Mars colonization with transportation to and from Mars. During the first segment of this 1 hour 31 minute discussion, we started out by John responding to my question about our current TRL for getting humans on Mars. This opened the door for John to talk about our TRL today as well as in the near future, entry, descent, and landing on Mars which he said was solved by landing with retro-propulsion, plus he made many additional claims in support of getting humans to Mars fairly soon. I pointed out to John that the retro-propulsion landings for Mars were far from operational nor was the problem solved, then I suggested he listen to the upcoming show Rob Manning who is one of the architects of this type of potential landing on Mars. John based his conclusion on retro-propulsion landings on Mars on SpaceX first stage recovery and to some degree, the same for Blue Origin. Let us know what you think about this by posting your comment on the blog. John also talked about propellant depots and their usage for Mars HSF missions. John described his concept of a high mass mission and why. This prompted Doug to check in with us with a series of questions throughout the show regarding John's ideas.
Crew safety was another topic during this segment. This was followed by Joshua asking about the economic drivers for the Mars mission John was talking about. Don't miss what John said in response to Joshua's question.
In the second segment, John was asked if we should first go to Mars or do an O'Neill colony. John suggested both should be done ASAP. Don't miss his explanation.
BJohn asked John about the Martian moons. John had much to say about the mons and how best to go there and use them to facilitate the humans to Mars missions. Jack emailed in a question about the recent House Science Committee hearing on the Space Leadership Preservation Act that featured Dr. Mike Griffin and Col. Eileen Collins answering the congressional questions. Jack's purpose in referencing the hearings was to ask John what he thought of Mike's response dealing with when we will be ready to send a crew to Mars. You can watch the 2 hour 15 minute hearing at https://science.house.gov/legislation/hearings/full-committee-hearing-space-leadership-preservation-act-and-need-stability. Doug joined in with email comments about a Mars flyby mission saying to do that with a crew would not require the testing program Mike suggested for humans to Mars.
Later in the segment, John was asked if he was hearing credible rumors about the SpaceX plans to go to Mars which will be announced at the September IAC meeting in Mexico. John talked about different versions of SpaceX rockets that might be involved but he had nothing specific to say about the SpaceX plans. So we all wait for the big announcement.
Doug sent in another question asking about water on Mars and using an LCROSS like detection system. John said for Mars one would need a better radar system to get to what he called the "ground truth." He also described a type of mining process which he said would be possible on Mars, the Carbonyl Process. Helen got in the final question about astronaut survival, radiation and human factors. John seemed to indicate these issues were solved or soon would be so don't miss his reply to Helen. John offered a conclusion that focused on reusable rockets, SpaceX, cislunar infrastructure development and a possible SpaceX timeline from 2025-2030.
Please post your comments/questions in the comments section of this archived program on TSS website. You can reach John Strickland through me.
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