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TrenchTingz t1_ixeujg3 wrote

I’d say 5-10 years once the rocket is reliable

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simcoder t1_ixf89fb wrote

You're gonna have to figure out how to build a Starship landing pad on Mars before you can even consider landing a Starship there.

Bit of a chicken and the egg situation there. I wonder if Elon realizes that yet?

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wgp3 t1_ixhnp7w wrote

That's as silly as saying they need a landing pad on the moon before they can even consider landing a starship there. Especially on the south pole with how uneven the terrain is.

Wonder if nasa realizes that?

Or maybe these people understand the challenges better than you and are working towards mitigating them.

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TrenchTingz t1_ixfpb57 wrote

With one “all terrain starship” that can land in dicey spots. We can practice for that on earth!

That ship carries 3d printing and scavenger robots that 1.) bring back both rovers (i understand the contradiction without a flight back but this is murica and NASA needs all the help they can get) 2.) print hundreds of “concrete” landing pads in a small area where the next ships will land. More for redundancy, of course. 3.) gather data for the next mission [refuelling stations, oxygen, and survival]

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simcoder t1_ixfqj9r wrote

"All terrain" vehicles tend to be short and wide so that uneven terrain doesn't cause your ship to fall over. I just can't really see how you modify Starship to address how not "all terrain" its basic design is.

I have to wonder if that isn't one of the hidden benefits of the "catcher" system they've put in place here on Earth. IE to avoid risking one of the ships falling over on landing.

I know there are other benefits but the catcher system is maybe the one way you sort of guarantee that it won't fall over on landing. Although it also introduces other risks but that's another thread :P

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TrenchTingz t1_ixfqs97 wrote

With all due respect, no they don’t, look up some military “all terrain” vehicles. It’s all about distribution and suspension. The first landing is the only hard one, and if necessary we revive the old mars landing system for the 3d robot.

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simcoder t1_ixfue7v wrote

Hmmm. OK. That was a pretty broad statement and probably doesn't hold up across the board. Fair enough.

I guess the issue to me is that Starship is basically 5 times taller than it is wide (iirc). That just seems fairly prone to tipping over while landing on perfectly flat ground (with the right adverse conditions). And in "all terrain" conditions, it just seems like you be lucky if it didn't tip over.

Maybe I'm over thinking it. But it seems like ideally you'd want the inverse of that ratio for an "all terrain" lander. IE one that is wider than it is taller. So pretty much no matter what type of slope you land on, you can be fairly confident that the thing will remain upright.

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PallidZetta t1_ixlowxz wrote

Easy UPS space program has the fastest shipping. Just need to launch some workers to assemble it afterwards.

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