🚀 go-pugleaf

...perhaps the Russians should have tried to boost interest in their space
program in the West by launching a manned flyby mission to Mars?! A fully
fuelled Energia should be powerful enough to launch a Mir space station with
supplies for a crew of two plus a Proton rocket for course corrections. In
addition, a Soyuz capsule for return to Earth would be needed, and probably an
additional module for storing supplies and equipment.
---
The entire mission would last one year, with a close Martian flyby + course
correction some six months after launch. As I see it, we would obtain a lot of
valuable information from doing it. For example, how do humans cope with the 
psychological strains of an interplanetary mission, being totally cut-off 
from Earth for months? We would also learn a lot about guiding a manned
spacecraft millions of kilometers from Earth and similar things necessary for
launching a full-scale Mars mission.
---
I can't see any technical problems. The Energia is relatively untested but the
crew would rendezvous with the Mir/Energia combination in orbit and not be
aboard during the launch. The Suyuz
was designed for lunar missions and should be able to withstand the higher
temperatures of an atmospheric re-entry from interplanetary space. The weakest
link? Perhaps the Mir station itself. Its systems have been unreliable for most
of the missions in Earth orbit.  

MARCU$

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. . . Fififinlandssvensk
     
Marcus Lindroos                             Internet:     mlindroos@abo.fi
Computer Science
Abo Akademi University
Finland