🚀 go-pugleaf

Marcus Lindroos INF <MLINDROOS@FINABO.ABO.FI>
> flb@flb.optiplan.fi
> > does "flyby" mean not even properly *orbiting* 
> > Mars, perhaps to take a pick-axe to Phobos and 
> > Deimos, but rather merely sailing on by ?
> Exactly. An orbital mission would require an additional 220 ton rocket stage
> (=one more launch by Mir) and would prolong the mission by up to two years.

Such a mission would hardly seem worth it from a scientific stand-
point. Is there *any* science that could be done on such a mission 
that could not be done more cheaply and safely by a robotic craft ?

(Bioscience sure, but can't that be done in Earth orbit ?)

And BTW, does the data re. the long-term deleterious effects of
weightlessness (such as loss of bone mass) point towards use of
a tether to create 0.X G on a Mars mission ?  What kind of elec-
trical energy could such a tether generate by its rotation ?
Enough to justify the added gear ?

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