The SCSIIT Response Is Finally Ready
Welcome to After Columbia
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After Columbia joins forces with OpenLuna
"Luna is a stepping stone to Mars."
Technically, this statement is laughable: Mars and the Moon have completely different environments and completely
different logistical requirements. Very little of what is built for the Moon can be used on Martian missions.
Be aware of those who say we must go to the Moon first to develop the hardware needed to go to Mars.
Business and program development concerns show that the Moon really can be a stepping stone to Mars.
You can go to the Moon cheaper, more often, and for shorter periods than you can Mars, and the technical problems of just
getting into space are common between both destinations. Your credibility as the best private foundation to get to Mars
is very secure...if you announce your intention to do so from the surface of Luna!
After Columbia Mars Direction
ACMD and MarsDrive have permanently parted ways. MarsDrive leadership has demonstrated an inability
to see that flame wars about ideas are not flame wars about people. Discussion about mission concepts and technical
ideas were consistently degrading into personal flame wars when there was disagreement. Personal credentials and politics
trumped technical merit. This does not apply to the team as a whole, only its leaders. I (Terry) left because
I was sick of having the discussions constantly stoop to interpersonal politics, away from the design discussions that mattered.
This mission uses tiny 12 tonne entry mass fixed geometry gumdrop landers assisted by Viking type parachutes
operating at their current theoretical limits, and more of them. Called the Stampede Lander. ACMD's booster is
a 40 tonnes LEO booster, but actually launches 14 tonnes to a high orbit suggested by 4 Frontiers engineer Grant Bonin (http://www.4frontierscorp.com/dev/assets/Bonin,%20Grant%20-%20CV.pdf). Minimum crew size is 3.
Wanted: Stepping Stone Missions. The following concentrate on Mars, but we are not averse to visiting
other destinations (i.e.: the Moon, NEOs, etc.)
1. Tiny missions to Mars. Something that costs under $10mln would be perfect.
2. Robotic Mars Sample Return missions.
3. Anything in between
4. Demonstrator space stations with tourism potential
5. Mars homesteads (see http://www.marshome.org/) Do you have an idea for a colony that can bootstrap on Mars? Preference would be given to those that
can be landed in small packages, but anything will be considered.
Mars Challenger II files:
The report:
The presentation file at Canadian Space Summit
