The Mars Project
Encyclopedia
The Mars Project is a nonfiction science book by German (later German-American) rocket physicist, astronautics engineer and space architect, Wernher von Braun
. It was translated from the original German by Henry J. White and first published in English by the University of Illinois Press
in 1953.
The Mars Project is a technical specification for a manned expedition to Mars
. It was written by von Braun in 1948 and was the first "technically comprehensive design" for such an expedition. The book has been regarded as "the most influential book on planning human missions to Mars".
developed a fascination for interplanetary flight while he was at school in Germany. In 1930 he went to university in Berlin to study engineering, and there he joined the Spaceflight Society (Verein für Raumschiffahrt
) and later worked on the design of liquid-fuel rockets. Shortly before the outbreak of World War II
, von Braun was recruited by the Germany Army to assist in the building of long-range military rockets. He quickly rose through the ranks and became technical leader of the team that developed the V-2 rocket. Towards the end of the war over a thousand V-2s were launched from Germany and bombed England. In 1944 von Braun was arrested by the Gestapo
and charged with proposing the building of interplanetary spacecraft instead of military weapons, but he was released after two weeks. As the war drew to a close in early 1945 von Braun and his rocket team fled the advancing Red Army
, and later surrendered to American troops. Von Braun and his scientists, plus 100 V-2s, were shipped to the U.S. Army's rocket research facility at Fort Bliss
in New Mexico.
In 1948 the U.S. Army's V-2 test program was completed and von Braun used his spare time to write a science fiction
novel about a manned mission to Mars
. He based his story on comprehensive engineering diagrams and calculations, which he included in an appendix
to the manuscript. The novel was not published, but the appendix formed the basis of a lecture von Braun gave at the First Symposium on Spaceflight held at the Hayden Planetarium
in New York City in 1951. The appendix was also published in a special edition of the German space flight journal Weltraumfahrt in 1952, and later that year in hardback by Umschau Verlag in West Germany
as Das Marsprojekt. It was translated into English by Henry J. White and published in the United States in 1953 by the University of Illinois Press
as The Mars Project.
that von Braun wrote in 1948. The expected launch date was 1965. He envisioned an "enormous scientific expedition" involving a fleet of ten spacecraft with 70 crew members that would spend 443 days on the surface of Mars before returning to Earth. The spacecraft, seven passenger ships and three cargo ships, would be assembled in Earth orbit using materials supplied by reusable space shuttle
s. The fleet would use a nitric acid
/hydrazine
propellant
that, although corrosive and toxic, could be stored without refrigeration during the three-year round-trip to Mars. He calculated the size and weight of each ship, and how much fuel they would require for the round trip (5,320,000 metric ton
s). Hohmann trajectories
would be used to move from Earth- to Mars-orbit, and von Braun computed each rocket burn necessary to affect the required manoeuvres.
Once in Mars orbit, the crew would use telescopes to find a suitable site for their base camp near the equator. A manned winged craft would detach itself from one of the orbiting ships and glide down to one of Mars' poles
and use ski
s to land on the ice. The crew would then travel 6,500 km overland using crawlers
to the identified base camp site and build a landing strip. The rest of the ground crew would descend from orbit to the landing strip in wheeled gliders. A skeleton crew would remain behind in the orbiting ships. The gliders would also serve as ascent craft to return the crew to the mother ships at the end of the ground mission.
Von Braun based his Mars Project on the large Antarctic expeditions of the day. For example, Operation Highjump
(1946-1947) was a United States Navy program that included 4,700 men, 13 ships and 23 aircraft. At the time, Antarctic explorers were cut off from the rest of the world and the necessary skills had to be on hand to deal with any problem that arose. Von Braun expected the Martian explorers to face similar problems and included a large multi-disciplined crew in his mission, and multiple ships and landers for redundancy to reduce risk to personnel.
of Mars, interplanetary astronavigation
, meteor shower
s, and the long-term effect of spaceflight on humans.
But there are other shortcomings in The Mars Project that von Braun could not have anticipated. He had not planned on any unmanned exploratory missions to Mars taking place before the first manned expedition. Von Braun had not foreseen the technological advances that would take place and the development of robot spacecraft. It was not until 1965 that the unmanned Mariner 4
spacecraft found that the density of the Martian atmosphere was one tenth of what had been estimated. Von Braun's huge winged gliders would not have been able to land horizontally on the surface of Mars. The danger of high energy solar radiation beyond low Earth orbit was not known in 1948. The Van Allen radiation belt
s that protect Earth from solar radiation were discovered only in 1958, and von Braun did not plan for the protection of the crew in space and on the Martian surface from such radiation.
The Mars Project was the first technical study on the feasibility of a manned mission to Mars, and has been regarded as "the most influential book" on planning such missions. Mark Wade wrote in Encyclopedia Astronautica
, "What is astonishing is that von Braun's scenario is still valid today."
Between 1952 and 1954, one of America's most popular magazines, Collier's
brought von Braun's ideas to the attention of the general public when they published a series of eight articles on space flight and exploration. Von Braun contributed to many of the articles, which were illustrated with paintings by space artists Chesley Bonestell
and others. The success of the Collier's series made von Braun a household name, and he appeared on several TV shows. He also collaborated with Walt Disney
and appeared in three episodes of Disney's Tomorrowland
TV program. After the first show, Man in Space
was broadcast in March 1955, von Braun and his fellow German rocket scientists were granted American citizenship
. The two other shows von Braun featured in were Man and the Moon
and Mars and Beyond
.
In 1956 von Braun revised his Mars Plan and scaled down the size of the mission to two ships and 12 crew. He published his results in a new book, The Exploration of Mars with co-author German-American science writer and space advocate, Willy Ley
. The original Mars Project was later republished by the University of Illinois Press
in 1962, and again in 1991, with a foreword
by American scientist and the third Administrator of NASA
, Thomas O. Paine
. Von Braun's unpublished science fiction novel from 1948 was eventually published in Canada by Apogee Books
in December 2006 as Project Mars: A Technical Tale. It included his technical papers on the proposed project and paintings by Chesley Bonestell.
Wernher von Braun
Wernher Magnus Maximilian, Freiherr von Braun was a German rocket scientist, aerospace engineer, space architect, and one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology in Nazi Germany during World War II and in the United States after that.A former member of the Nazi party,...
. It was translated from the original German by Henry J. White and first published in English by the University of Illinois Press
University of Illinois Press
The University of Illinois Press , is a major American university press and part of the University of Illinois system. Founded in 1918, the press publishes some 120 new books each year, plus 33 scholarly journals, and several electronic projects...
in 1953.
The Mars Project is a technical specification for a manned expedition to Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
. It was written by von Braun in 1948 and was the first "technically comprehensive design" for such an expedition. The book has been regarded as "the most influential book on planning human missions to Mars".
Background
Wernher von BraunWernher von Braun
Wernher Magnus Maximilian, Freiherr von Braun was a German rocket scientist, aerospace engineer, space architect, and one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology in Nazi Germany during World War II and in the United States after that.A former member of the Nazi party,...
developed a fascination for interplanetary flight while he was at school in Germany. In 1930 he went to university in Berlin to study engineering, and there he joined the Spaceflight Society (Verein für Raumschiffahrt
Verein für Raumschiffahrt
The Verein für Raumschiffahrt was a German amateur rocket association prior to World War II that included members outside of Germany...
) and later worked on the design of liquid-fuel rockets. Shortly before the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, von Braun was recruited by the Germany Army to assist in the building of long-range military rockets. He quickly rose through the ranks and became technical leader of the team that developed the V-2 rocket. Towards the end of the war over a thousand V-2s were launched from Germany and bombed England. In 1944 von Braun was arrested by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
and charged with proposing the building of interplanetary spacecraft instead of military weapons, but he was released after two weeks. As the war drew to a close in early 1945 von Braun and his rocket team fled the advancing Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
, and later surrendered to American troops. Von Braun and his scientists, plus 100 V-2s, were shipped to the U.S. Army's rocket research facility at Fort Bliss
Fort Bliss
Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in the U.S. states of New Mexico and Texas. With an area of about , it is the Army's second-largest installation behind the adjacent White Sands Missile Range. It is FORSCOM's largest installation, and has the Army's largest Maneuver Area behind the...
in New Mexico.
In 1948 the U.S. Army's V-2 test program was completed and von Braun used his spare time to write a science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel about a manned mission to Mars
Manned mission to Mars
A manned mission to Mars has been the subject of science fiction, engineering, and scientific proposals throughout the 20th century and into the 21st century...
. He based his story on comprehensive engineering diagrams and calculations, which he included in an appendix
Addendum
An addendum, in general, is an addition required to be made to a document by its reader subsequent to its printing or publication. It comes from the Latin verbal phrase addendum est, being the gerundive form of the verb addo, addere, addidi, additum, "to give to, add to", meaning " must be added"...
to the manuscript. The novel was not published, but the appendix formed the basis of a lecture von Braun gave at the First Symposium on Spaceflight held at the Hayden Planetarium
Hayden Planetarium
The Hayden Planetarium is a public planetarium, part of the Rose Center for Earth and Space of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, currently directed by astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson....
in New York City in 1951. The appendix was also published in a special edition of the German space flight journal Weltraumfahrt in 1952, and later that year in hardback by Umschau Verlag in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
as Das Marsprojekt. It was translated into English by Henry J. White and published in the United States in 1953 by the University of Illinois Press
University of Illinois Press
The University of Illinois Press , is a major American university press and part of the University of Illinois system. Founded in 1918, the press publishes some 120 new books each year, plus 33 scholarly journals, and several electronic projects...
as The Mars Project.
Synopsis
The Mars Project is a technical specification for a manned mission to MarsManned mission to Mars
A manned mission to Mars has been the subject of science fiction, engineering, and scientific proposals throughout the 20th century and into the 21st century...
that von Braun wrote in 1948. The expected launch date was 1965. He envisioned an "enormous scientific expedition" involving a fleet of ten spacecraft with 70 crew members that would spend 443 days on the surface of Mars before returning to Earth. The spacecraft, seven passenger ships and three cargo ships, would be assembled in Earth orbit using materials supplied by reusable space shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
s. The fleet would use a nitric acid
Nitric acid
Nitric acid , also known as aqua fortis and spirit of nitre, is a highly corrosive and toxic strong acid.Colorless when pure, older samples tend to acquire a yellow cast due to the accumulation of oxides of nitrogen. If the solution contains more than 86% nitric acid, it is referred to as fuming...
/hydrazine
Hydrazine
Hydrazine is an inorganic compound with the formula N2H4. It is a colourless flammable liquid with an ammonia-like odor. Hydrazine is highly toxic and dangerously unstable unless handled in solution. Approximately 260,000 tons are manufactured annually...
propellant
Propellant
A propellant is a material that produces pressurized gas that:* can be directed through a nozzle, thereby producing thrust ;...
that, although corrosive and toxic, could be stored without refrigeration during the three-year round-trip to Mars. He calculated the size and weight of each ship, and how much fuel they would require for the round trip (5,320,000 metric ton
Tonne
The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...
s). Hohmann trajectories
Hohmann transfer orbit
In orbital mechanics, the Hohmann transfer orbit is an elliptical orbit used to transfer between two circular orbits, typically both in the same plane....
would be used to move from Earth- to Mars-orbit, and von Braun computed each rocket burn necessary to affect the required manoeuvres.
Once in Mars orbit, the crew would use telescopes to find a suitable site for their base camp near the equator. A manned winged craft would detach itself from one of the orbiting ships and glide down to one of Mars' poles
Geographical pole
A geographical pole is either of the two points—the north pole and the south pole—on the surface of a rotating planet where the axis of rotation meets the surface of the body...
and use ski
Ski
A ski is a long, flat device worn on the foot, usually attached through a boot, designed to help the wearer slide smoothly over snow. Originally intended as an aid to travel in snowy regions, they are now mainly used for recreational and sporting purposes...
s to land on the ice. The crew would then travel 6,500 km overland using crawlers
Tracked vehicle
A tracked vehicle is a vehicle that runs on continuous tracks instead of wheels...
to the identified base camp site and build a landing strip. The rest of the ground crew would descend from orbit to the landing strip in wheeled gliders. A skeleton crew would remain behind in the orbiting ships. The gliders would also serve as ascent craft to return the crew to the mother ships at the end of the ground mission.
Von Braun based his Mars Project on the large Antarctic expeditions of the day. For example, Operation Highjump
Operation Highjump
Operation Highjump , officially titled The United States Navy Antarctic Developments Program, 1946-1947, was a United States Navy operation organized by RADM Richard E. Byrd Jr. USN, , Officer in Charge, Task Force 68, and led by RADM Richard H. Cruzen, USN, Commanding Officer, Task Force 68....
(1946-1947) was a United States Navy program that included 4,700 men, 13 ships and 23 aircraft. At the time, Antarctic explorers were cut off from the rest of the world and the necessary skills had to be on hand to deal with any problem that arose. Von Braun expected the Martian explorers to face similar problems and included a large multi-disciplined crew in his mission, and multiple ships and landers for redundancy to reduce risk to personnel.
Shortcomings
In his introduction to The Mars Project, von Braun stated that his study was not complete. He said that he had omitted the details of some topics that would need to be addressed further, including the eccentric orbitOrbital eccentricity
The orbital eccentricity of an astronomical body is the amount by which its orbit deviates from a perfect circle, where 0 is perfectly circular, and 1.0 is a parabola, and no longer a closed orbit...
of Mars, interplanetary astronavigation
Celestial navigation
Celestial navigation, also known as astronavigation, is a position fixing technique that has evolved over several thousand years to help sailors cross oceans without having to rely on estimated calculations, or dead reckoning, to know their position...
, meteor shower
Meteor shower
A meteor shower is a celestial event in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate from one point in the night sky. These meteors are caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere at extremely high speeds on parallel trajectories. Most meteors are smaller...
s, and the long-term effect of spaceflight on humans.
But there are other shortcomings in The Mars Project that von Braun could not have anticipated. He had not planned on any unmanned exploratory missions to Mars taking place before the first manned expedition. Von Braun had not foreseen the technological advances that would take place and the development of robot spacecraft. It was not until 1965 that the unmanned Mariner 4
Mariner 4
Mariner 4 was the fourth in a series of spacecraft, launched on November 28, 1964, intended for planetary exploration in a flyby mode and performed the first successful flyby of the planet Mars, returning the first pictures of the Martian surface...
spacecraft found that the density of the Martian atmosphere was one tenth of what had been estimated. Von Braun's huge winged gliders would not have been able to land horizontally on the surface of Mars. The danger of high energy solar radiation beyond low Earth orbit was not known in 1948. The Van Allen radiation belt
Van Allen radiation belt
The Van Allen radiation belt is a torus of energetic charged particles around Earth, which is held in place by Earth's magnetic field. It is believed that most of the particles that form the belts come from solar wind, and other particles by cosmic rays. It is named after its discoverer, James...
s that protect Earth from solar radiation were discovered only in 1958, and von Braun did not plan for the protection of the crew in space and on the Martian surface from such radiation.
Influence
Encyclopedia Astronautica
The Encyclopedia Astronautica is a reference web site on space travel. A comprehensive catalog of vehicles, technology, astronauts, and flights, it includes information from most countries that have had an active rocket research program, from Robert Goddard to the NASA Space shuttle to the Soviet...
, "What is astonishing is that von Braun's scenario is still valid today."
Between 1952 and 1954, one of America's most popular magazines, Collier's
Collier's Weekly
Collier's Weekly was an American magazine founded by Peter Fenelon Collier and published from 1888 to 1957. With the passage of decades, the title was shortened to Collier's....
brought von Braun's ideas to the attention of the general public when they published a series of eight articles on space flight and exploration. Von Braun contributed to many of the articles, which were illustrated with paintings by space artists Chesley Bonestell
Chesley Bonestell
Chesley Bonestell was an American painter, designer and illustrator. His paintings were a major influence on science fiction art and illustration, and he helped inspire the American space program...
and others. The success of the Collier's series made von Braun a household name, and he appeared on several TV shows. He also collaborated with Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
and appeared in three episodes of Disney's Tomorrowland
Tomorrowland
- Tomorrowland 1955–1967 :The first Tomorrowland opened at Disneyland on July 18, 1955, with only several of its planned attractions open, due to budget cuts. The construction of the park was rushed, so Tomorrowland was the last land to be finished. It became something of a corporate showcase,...
TV program. After the first show, Man in Space
Man in Space
Man in Space is an episode of Disneyland which originally aired on March 9, 1955. It was directed by Disney animator Ward Kimball. Later, it was edited into a featurette to play in theaters, accompanying Davy Crockett and the River Pirates. This Disneyland episode , was narrated partly by Kimball...
was broadcast in March 1955, von Braun and his fellow German rocket scientists were granted American citizenship
Citizenship in the United States
Citizenship in the United States is a status given to individuals that entails specific rights, duties, privileges, and benefits between the United States and the individual...
. The two other shows von Braun featured in were Man and the Moon
Man and the Moon
Man and the Moon is an episode of Disneyland which originally aired on December 28, 1955. It was directed by Disney animator Ward Kimball, and is about the Moon. It begins with a humorous look with Man's fascination with the Moon through animation...
and Mars and Beyond
Mars and Beyond
Mars and Beyond is an episode of Disneyland which aired on December 4, 1957. It was directed by Ward Kimball and narrated by Paul Frees. This episode discusses the possibility of life on other planets, especially Mars. It begins with an introduction of Walt Disney and his robot friend Garco, who...
.
In 1956 von Braun revised his Mars Plan and scaled down the size of the mission to two ships and 12 crew. He published his results in a new book, The Exploration of Mars with co-author German-American science writer and space advocate, Willy Ley
Willy Ley
Willy Ley was a German-American science writer and space advocate who helped popularize rocketry and spaceflight in both Germany and the United States. The crater Ley on the far side of the Moon is named in his honor.-Life:...
. The original Mars Project was later republished by the University of Illinois Press
University of Illinois Press
The University of Illinois Press , is a major American university press and part of the University of Illinois system. Founded in 1918, the press publishes some 120 new books each year, plus 33 scholarly journals, and several electronic projects...
in 1962, and again in 1991, with a foreword
Foreword
A foreword is a piece of writing sometimes placed at the beginning of a book or other piece of literature. Written by someone other than the primary author of the work, it often tells of some interaction between the writer of the foreword and the book's primary author or the story the book tells...
by American scientist and the third Administrator of NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
, Thomas O. Paine
Thomas O. Paine
Thomas Otten Paine , American scientist, was the third Administrator of NASA, serving from March 21, 1969 to September 15, 1970.During his administration at NASA, the first seven Apollo manned missions were flown...
. Von Braun's unpublished science fiction novel from 1948 was eventually published in Canada by Apogee Books
Apogee Books
Apogee Books is an imprint of Canadian publishing house Collector's Guide Publishing. The Apogee imprint began with "Apollo 8 The NASA Mission Reports" in November 1998 at the request of astronaut Buzz Aldrin, second man on the moon. The first publication by Apogee was printed to celebrate the 30th...
in December 2006 as Project Mars: A Technical Tale. It included his technical papers on the proposed project and paintings by Chesley Bonestell.
External links
- The Mars Project publication history. Google Books.
- Collier’s Space Flight Series.