SpaceX is developing its Starship Super Heavy two-stage super heavy-lift launch vehicle for interplanetary flights. But, if you would need a flight only between the surface of Mars, Moon or other similar planetary body and its orbit, you could do it by less powerful spacecraft - an orbital shuttle.
Here is a concept of such spacecraft, called SpaceX Starflight, by Spanish transportation designer Rodrigo Magro. The orbital shuttle would have a lifting-body shape with thermal shield on the windward side, two forward winglets as Starship, four lower fins with landing legs and solar panels, large panoramic window and hypergolic auxiliary engines for landing on the Moon and other smaller planetary bodies.
Showing posts with label Mars Exploration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mars Exploration. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 26, 2020
Saturday, August 15, 2020
Silhouettes of Cybertruck and Starman on Mars
Picture of the Day 16/8/2020 - illustration with silhouettes of Tesla Cybertruck and SpaceX's Starman on Mars by French graphic artist Palma.
Thursday, July 30, 2020
NASA Mars 2020 Perseverance rover launch
Today, July 30, at 7:50 AM (EDT) NASA will launch its next generation Mars 2020 Perseverance rover to Mars. The rover will land on Mars on February 18, 2021 in Jezero Crater (Western Isidis Planitia) to collect samples for later retrieval; the rover will be accompanied by a small reconnaissance drone-helicopter Ingenuity.
Here you can watch NASA's livestream of the launch:
The Perseverance is a twin rover of the Curiosity rover (working on Mars since 2012) with some upgrades:
Overview of the Perseverance scientific instruments:
Tuesday, July 7, 2020
NASA astronaut on Mars
Illustration of an astronaut on Mars, as viewed through the window of a spacecraft, by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory's visual strategist Joby Harris. More of his art here.
Monday, June 1, 2020
SpaceX Starship on Mars by Dale Rutherford
Monday, May 25, 2020
SpaceX Red Dragon entering Mars' atmosphere by Chris Monson
Tuesday, May 5, 2020
Two Starmen and a Stardog exploring Mars
Picture of the Day 5/5/2020 - two Starmen and a Stardog exploring Mars by Costa Rican artist Gabriel from Guardianes de Perros.
Tuesday, April 7, 2020
NASA astronaut on Mars by James Vaughan
Two variants of a scene with NASA's astronaut on Mars by photographer and concept artist James Vaughan - one with a small human base in the background and the second in front of an exploration rover. More of Vaughan's aerospace and defense concept art here.
Sunday, February 16, 2020
Animation envisioning first human mission to Mars
Images and video animation envisioning first human mission to Mars created by Taylor James design studio for a health care campaign "Destination Survival" by Sudler & Hennessey London.
Saturday, January 4, 2020
Painting of Elon Musk on Mars by Conor Walton
Saturday, November 23, 2019
Starman resting at his Tesla Cybertruck on Mars by Eashan Misra
SpaceX's Starman resting at his Tesla Cybertruck on Mars by Indian space artist Eashan Misra. More of his art here. According to Elon Musk, the CEO of both Tesla and SpaceX, the pressurized edition of Cybertruck will be capable to drive on Mars.
Friday, November 22, 2019
Tesla Cybertruck on Mars
The pressurized edition of Tesla Cybertruck, unveiled yesterday by Elon Musk, will be capable operating on Mars. Reddit user u/redditbsbsbs has made an image:
Friday, October 18, 2019
Walking around China's C-Space Mars simulation base in Gobi desert
Walking around China's C-Space Mars simulation base in Gobi desert - photos and a video by Slovenian photographer Matjaž Tančič. A private company C-Space opened this base on April, 2019 in the Gobi Desert 40km from Jinchang, northwest Gansu Province. Its aim is to educate and provide an environment for youths and tourists to experience life on Mars.
Monday, September 9, 2019
Three phases of terraforming Mars by Björn Selin
Annotated images with three phases of exploring and terraforming Mars by Swedish game artist Björn Selin. The images were made with the guidance of planetary scientist Chris McKay from NASA's Ames Research Center.
Phase 1 - exploration - humans can explore the barren Red planet only within protective pressure suits / rovers / habitats:
Phase 2 - planetary ecosynthesis - the air pressure and temperature has risen to the level where only warm clothing and oxygen mask is needed; simple organisms as lichens can be introduced:
Phase 3 - spreading life - humidity and temperature has risen to the level where only oxygen mask is needed; more complex organisms can be introduced:
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
Mission to Phobos by Ludovic Celle
Picture of the Day 30/7/2019 - Spacecraft approaching the largest and closest of the two [asteroid size] Martian moons - Phobos - by French graphic artist Ludovic Celle. More of his Mars art here.
Saturday, July 13, 2019
Mars rover returning to lander by Jaroslaw Marcinek
Picture of the Day 13/7/2019 - Mars rover returning to a lander by Polish freelance illustrator Jaroslaw Marcinek. More of his art here.
Friday, June 21, 2019
Mars exploration rover by Sergii Golotovskiy
Picture of the Day 21/6/2019 - Mars exploration rover in a sandstorm by Polish concept artist Sergii Golotovskiy. More of his art here.
Sunday, June 16, 2019
Mars exploration rover and drones by Paul Canavan
Picture of the Day 16/6/2019 - Painting of Mars exploration rover and drones by British fantasy artist Paul Canavan. More of his art here.
Wednesday, May 1, 2019
SpaceX. Raising the bar!
"Do it", as Elon Musk bluntly replied to the bragging of Boeing's CEO about "beating Elon Musk to Mars" 😁
These days SpaceX is the leading NewSpace company developing innovative and cost-effective rocket/space technologies and beating all the "space dinosaurs" in the field. Its ultimate goal is to colonize Mars. In the spirit of this reality Instagram user starjet_pilot has made this retro style poster (recalling the iconic photography of US soldiers raising the flag on Iwo Jima by Joe Rosenthal) of starmen raising the flag of SpaceX on Mars with the Starship in the background.
These days SpaceX is the leading NewSpace company developing innovative and cost-effective rocket/space technologies and beating all the "space dinosaurs" in the field. Its ultimate goal is to colonize Mars. In the spirit of this reality Instagram user starjet_pilot has made this retro style poster (recalling the iconic photography of US soldiers raising the flag on Iwo Jima by Joe Rosenthal) of starmen raising the flag of SpaceX on Mars with the Starship in the background.
Thursday, April 18, 2019
China's C-Space Mars simulation base in Gobi desert
On April 17, 2019 China opened it's second Mars simulation base - C-Space Project, located in the Gobi Desert 40km from Jinchang, northwest Gansu Province. Its aim is to educate and provide an environment for youths and tourists to experience life on Mars. The facility consists of several interconnected modules including a domed greenhouse, living quarters, a control room and a mock decompression chamber. It is developed by a private company C-Space and will be heavily focused on tourism, with additional investment and development of the surrounding area hoping to attract two million visitors a year by 2030.
Apparently China has serious plans to inspire its population about human colonization of Mars, as only a month ago it opened its first Mars simulation base - Mars Camp, located in a high-altitude desert - the Qaidam Basin in Qinghai Province.
Here is a collection of photos from the base by Reuters, AFP, EPA & East News:
Apparently China has serious plans to inspire its population about human colonization of Mars, as only a month ago it opened its first Mars simulation base - Mars Camp, located in a high-altitude desert - the Qaidam Basin in Qinghai Province.
Here is a collection of photos from the base by Reuters, AFP, EPA & East News:
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