Elon Musk has been an inspiration. His story is truly unique, and the incredible projects that he has taken upon have revolutionized our perspectives.
Yesterday afternoon (9/27/2016) at the International Astronautical Congress in Mexico, Elon made a speech about "making humans a multiplanetary species". Elon spoke about his plans on paving the path to MARS and how the mission can succeed. The video shown below shows the "Interplanetary Transport System," which is now being developed and constructed by SpaceX with Elon Musk as its primary president.
The featured "ITS" depicts a reusable rocket (reusable like airplanes), that functions with solar arrays. Its primary mission & purpose is to send humans to the red planet. Elon states that the goal would be to send 100 humans on each trip, building up to one million red planet inhabitants by the year 2060. This is an immense advance in regards to the future of space exploration and the expanding of our knowledge.
The process that ITS would go through from launch to deploy to arrival is the following:
- Liftoff from Cape Canaveral's 39 A Launch Pad (launch pad of Apollo XI)
- Travel at Maximum Aerodynamic Pressure
- Stage Separation
- Spaceship stabilizes to parking orbit - booster heads to Earth
- Booster landing on droneship
- Propellant tanker loaded onto booster
- Launch of booster -Refueling of spaceship in orbit
- Tanker returns to Earth
- Spaceship officially departs for Mars
- Solar arrays deploy (200 kW of power)
- 8 month journey
- MARS entry
SpaceX has recently conducted a test of the booster that could power the System, called the Raptor. Raptor would be powered by liquid methane and oxygen, and it would be replenished on Mars and return to Earth.
- Credit: Space X
The revelation of the plan to go to Mars could be the beginning of a "race to Mars," but as Elon has made plans and studied the success and points of such journey, the greater possibility currently resides in the exploration of Mars from our part of the globe while directed by Elon (SpaceX) and NASA.
The science of astrophysics takes shape in this astonishing prospective journey. Being a topic of great interest for all, it broadcasts each angle of our set galaxy and helps us understand what is far beyond, it is a revelation for what our eyes can observe.
Astrophysics is one of the sciences that deals with space, and it is an amazing field of study. From researching and studying the field, we are able to create a clearer picture of what lies beyond the edges of our origins.
Astrophysics is a deep rooted science that has left many in contemplation. Yet, it is our duty to comprehend our evolution and our spot among the stars, and astrophysics presents many solutions. Known as the universal unifier, space exploration is a topic that mostly all of us can refer to because it is the science of what we think when we simply look up at the night sky. "Look at the sky above you, not at your feet" -Stephen Hawkings
<< With it all, a great journey is that which awaits with a vast collection of wisdom in which we will endeavor. For farout exploration and interplanetary accesses, we strive to expand the barriers of Earth's orbit while remaining in the globe that makes possible our outreach to the cosmos. >>
--Astrophysics Angie (9/28/2016)
