Mission Technology

This is a subtopic of the main page, Mission

Launcher
The launcher is the rocket used to take payloads from Earth into Earth orbit or to Mars. Mars One anticipates use of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy, an upgraded version of the Falcon 9 which is in use by SpaceX now. The Falcon Heavy is slated to undergo test flights in 2013, granting ample time for fine-tuning prior to the Mars One missions which begin in 2016.

Falcon Heavy, the world’s most powerful rocket, represents SpaceX’s entry into the heavy lift launch vehicle category. With the ability to carry satellites or interplanetary spacecraft weighing over 53 metric tons (117,000 lb) to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Falcon Heavy can lift nearly twice the payload of the next closest vehicle, the US Space Shuttle, and more than twice the payload of the Delta IV Heavy.

Mars Transit Vehicle
The Mars Transit Vehicle is a compact space station that will carry the astronauts from Earth orbit to Mars. It is comprised of several parts fused while in low orbit around the Earth: two propellant stages, a Transit Living Module, and a Lander. The propellant stages propel the Transit Vehicle toward Mars. The Transit Living Module is home to the astronauts during their seven month journey. They sleep, train and prepare for their arrival and landing in the Transit Living Module. The astronauts enter the Lander when they near Mars, at which point the living capsule is disconnected and left behind to orbit the Sun. The Lander is the only piece that sets foot on Mars, with the astronauts inside.

Landers
Mars One anticipates use of a variant of the SpaceX Dragon capsule, first tested in 2010. This is the same vehicle which successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) in May of 2012. The lander Mars One requires will be slightly larger than the current Dragon. The Lander will be used for the Life Support Unit, the Supply Unit, the Living Unit, the Human Lander, and the Rover Lander.

Life Support Unit
The Life Support Unit is a Lander rigged with extra technologies which capitalize on the natural resources available on Mars. It uses these resources in three ways to create a habitable living environment for the astronauts. The Life Support Unit is connected to the Living Unit by a tube which feeds the oxygen, nitrogen, and argon to create a habitable atmosphere. Once the astronauts have landed, it will also be in charge of the water purification and removal of waste gas (carbon dioxide) from the Living Unit atmosphere.
 * Electrical energy
 * Potable water
 * Breathable air

Living Unit
The Living Unit is a Lander that has a unique, inflatable living section and an airlock used by the astronauts when leaving the sealed, habitable settlement. The Living Unit will be set in place by the Rovers and filled with breathable air by the Life Support Unit prior to the arrival of the astronauts. In addition, the Lander contains construction materials for the astronauts to construct rooms, floors and install electrical outlets. The Lander itself contains the 'wet areas', such as the shower and kitchen.

Rovers
Link to full page: Rover

The Rover is a semi-autonomous, solar-electric powered exploration and construction vehicle used to explore the surface of Mars in search of the most suitable location for the settlement, for transport of large hardware components (in a tractor-like fashion), and then general assembly.

It will focus on specific tasks, including :
 * Autonomous travel to locate the most suitable area for settlement.
 * Measure the amount of water in the soil.
 * Move the Landers to the preferred locations.
 * Remove protective panels from the Landers.
 * Unroll and lay down the solar photovoltaic panels.
 * Extract (from the Lander) and assist with inflation of the Living Unit.
 * Connect the air tube between the Life Support Unit and the Living Unit.
 * Deposit soil in the Support Unit for water extraction and return the dry soil.

Mars Suit
Mars' atmosphere is not suitable for human life. For humans to live and work there, they will need the protection of a full body suit not unlike that worn by the astronauts who walked on the moon during the Apollo program. The Mars Suit must be flexible enough to allow the astronauts to work with both cumbersome construction materials and sophisticated machinery, and at the same time keep them safe from the harsh atmosphere.

Communication System
The Communications system consists of a satellite in orbit around Mars, over the Mars One settlement, one in orbit around the sun, and existing ground stations on Earth.

The satellite over the Mars settlement is an areostationary satellite, the Mars equivalent of a geostationary satellite. It is always in the same place in the sky on Mars, receiving data from the settlement and transmitting it to Earth. On Earth the data is received by ground stations using large satellite dishes. The areostationary satellite enables almost 24/7 communication, which is interrupted only when Mars is in between the satellite and the Earth.

This is solved by placing a second satellite in an orbit around the sun, trailing 60 degrees behind the Earth. With this second satellite in place, when Mars is in between the areostationary satellite and the Earth, the signal can be relayed by the second satellite.

Once every 26 months, the Sun is exactly in between Mars and the Earth. This occultation lasts about six weeks. The second communications satellite will also be used to relay signals during this period.

However, when the Sun is in between Mars and the Earth and at the same time Mars is in between the areosynchronous satellite and the second satellite, we will have no contact with Mars for about two hours. Fortunately this is a rare situation and occurs when it is after midnight on Mars.