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Kimmo Huosionmaa
Everybody knows the tank, what Leonardo Da Vinci created. This thing was a wagon, what was covered with a wooden structure, what made it look like little bit some spacecraft. This structure was open at the downside, and that made possible to use this thing also as the submarine, what could be used to bring men across rivers that no one notices that thing. Leonardo's tank is a great example of innovation and creativity. But do you know, that this tank has something to do with modern space technology?
Today Russia plans to create the nuclear-powered spacecraft for the manned mission to Mars. There were planes to make that mission in the 1970's but the technology was not in the level, where it should be when the successful spaceflight to that planet was possible to accomplish. One of the greatest problems is that this kind of space journey could face the problems in the flight between Earth and Mars, and in that case, there is very hard to return.
When the spacecraft would turn in space, it needs twice as much propellant for that maneuver than normal aircraft. The spacecraft should first be stopped, and for that maneuver is needed so much propellant than the spacecraft have been used in the trip to that point. Then it should accelerate, what is easier in the Mars-trip because the gravity of the sun is helping spacecraft in that maneuver. But the second problem is that spacecraft could reach planet Earth and this makes problems with propellant because spacecraft must use fuel to change its trajectory and drive behind the Earth or face the trajectory of Earth. And then it should release the crew module or maneuver to the orbit of the Moon or Earth and when we are thinking that this spacecraft would have nuclear fuel inside it, there is no room for any mistakes or the highly enriched nuclear material would deliver across the Earth. And that's why is more comfortable to use the orbiter of Moon because in those cases the radioactive material would deliver the surface of Moon.
In 1970's NASA used this thing as the model of their MEM (Mars Enhanced Module) or Mars landing craft concept. This structure, what NASA created was a quite large spacecraft. At the top of the structure was the life support system and the below that cabin was planned to be a garage for the nuclear powered Mars-vehicle. The planned vehicle was looked like the little bit the tank truck, and it could support the crew even in weeks. The project had got millions of dollars in funding, and then it was disbanded because there was not enough experience with long-term space travel, and the knowledge of the planet Mars was in low level, that the space exploration was not able to create.
Sometimes I have thought that why those Mars-craft were always so complicated? Why NASA didn't put wheels under the Mars landing module itself? That would allow using that thing as the Mars-wagon itself. When we are thinking about the situation when the human would travel to that planet, there would be needed to send two spacecraft. The reason is that if there would happen an accident, would it cause the loss of the lives or extreme risk situation.
There are carbon dioxide "pockets" behind the Martian surface and the temperature in that planet is near the melting point of that gas. And when the carbon dioxide would be released, the surface will be collapsed. If that happens under the spacecraft the situation would be devastating. When the rocket booster will turn the flame of the rocket to that place, it would vaporize carbon dioxide immediately. When the pocket will collapse, would that cause problem for the spacecraft. That's why NASA innovated the idea, that the spacecraft would hover above the landing site and warm it with it with a rocket booster. The rocket itself was nuclear powered and the hydrogen was planned to conduct thru the nuclear elements because it was same times cooled the reactor.
Picture I
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Leonardo_tank.JPG
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