Re: Mars Viewmaster

Why would we want to explore Mars?

As a preamble to its eventual settlement and development. Duh!

Why would we want to do that?

To expand the resources available to industrial humanity beyond what's
available here on Earth.

Why Mars?

Because all the elements are there for survival - its a stepping stone
to other worlds - 120,000 of them circling the Sun in the asteroid
belt, and the Kuiper Belt.

Sabatier Reactors have been built and operated in space.

Nuclear Reactors have been built andoperated in space.

The five ton entry for the nuclear reactor includes all the hardware
it drives, including the rover and chemical plant.

A 12,000 sq ft umbrella? How does that work? It doesn't!

Pound it in the ground? How on an unpiloted ship? You're not
thinking clearly.

Although a light weight inflatable concentrator, attached to the ship
itself, would work well to reduce the mass of the system and if the
heat were used along with eletricity in a high temperature
eletrolyzer, efficiencies would be quite high in making hydogen.


..
.