Martian Observations

So after the Shuttle retires in a few months, Lockheed Martin and NASA/JPL want to replace it with the Orion craft, which was formerly known as the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV). Lockheed Martin is in charge of its development and construction, and when they went to test its parachutes a week ago, the test ended in disaster.


image from space.com

Luckily, the craft they were testing was not the actual Orion craft. And this is actually a good thing. It's a good thing they're catching these bugs now and not later, when manned testing is going on. If humans had been in that module, they would have been killed or severely injured. Mistakes are made during the testing stages so that they don't happen when people's lives are at stake.

The 'chutes are one of the most important features of the landing module, should NASA ever decide to send men to Mars. Without functional parachutes, it's impossible to slow the craft enough for a safe descent. HOWEVER, it is possible to lessen the necessity for a parachute system by adding an aerobrake to the CEV that will help it descend into Martian atmo. If the end result is going to be Mars, then aerobraking as described in Zubrin's plan Mars Direct, will be advantageous.

Parachutes and aerobraking won't work on the moon, however, where there is no atmosphere to speak of. NASA wants to stick men back on the moon by 2020, and it's about damn time we went back there. It's been nearly 40 years since Eugene Carnan climbed back up the ladder into the lunar landing module, taking with him the legacy of being the last human to set foor on the moon. It's time we went back there, and this time, there are more contestants in the race. I've heard rumours that the Chinese are going to try and get someone up there, and the Russians are at it again. The ESA even has a plan, the Aurora Programme. Maybe if we're lucky, another space race will start, this time to Mars.