Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!ncar!unmvax!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!pt.cs.cmu.edu!rochester!dietz
From: dietz@cs.rochester.edu (Paul Dietz)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: New Space SHuttle
Message-ID: <1989Aug26.160801.22141@cs.rochester.edu>
Date: 26 Aug 89 16:08:01 GMT
References: <900.24E64901@mcastl.fidonet.org> <17125@ut-emx.UUCP> <981@corpane.UUCP>
Reply-To: dietz@cs.rochester.edu.UUCP (Paul Dietz)
Organization: U of Rochester, CS Dept, Rochester, NY
Lines: 15

>> Also, has NASA or any other space agency released any plans of the craft
>> they intend to use to get to Mars?  Would it most likely be like
>> out Shuttles, or more like the bird that landed on the moon?  Apollo...  
>      ^^^^^^^^
>Now where did we put that landing strip on Mars...  :-) 

Actually, it isn't a totally stupid question.  It would save a lot
of fuel to enter low Mars orbit by aerocapture or aerobraking rather
than purely by rocket propulsion.  Aerocapture would probably require
a winged aeroshell, but the winged vehicle would not actually land
on Mars.  Since Mars' atmosphere is so thin, these aeromaneuvers would
come down to 30,000 feet or so.  Watch out for mountains.

	Paul F. Dietz
	dietz@cs.rochester.edu