Earth to Earth Intercontinental Rocket Transport

FlexBlue Underwater Commercial Nuclear Reactor

Links and References

Atomic power stations out at sea may be better than inland ones

Underwater Power Plants


The Flexblue system; early considerationson safeguarding

Flexblue® Underwater Reactor: Introduction to the Concept and to The Passive Safety Strategy for a Steam Generator Tube Rupture Accident:

NASA's Nuclear Thermal Rocket Concepts

Links and References

Space Technology Game Changing Development Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP)

Nuclear Rockets to Mars (The 1960s)

Serenergy's 800 km Range Plugin-Hybrid Methanol Fuel Cell Electric Car

Links and References 

FIAT-e500-Battery-electric-plugin-hybrid-car-with-methanol-fuel-cell-range-extender

New methanol fuel cell car for Just Eat

Methanol Filling Station in Europe

The Production and Utilization of Renewable Methanol in a Nuclear Economy

Dr. Prakash on the Methanol Economy

The Methanol Alternative: 2012 Methanol Forum

Floating Cities

Links and References

Seasteading Institute 

Seasteading 

(Part IV) A Practical Timeline for Establishing a Permanent Human Presence on the Moon and Mars using SLS and Commercial Launch Capability

Three Mars Regolith Habitats (MRH) connected to a transparent martian biosphere covered with a water shielded biodome.

by Marcel F. Williams

Part IV: Mars

Once NASA has established a permanent human presence in high Mars orbit in the form of a microgravity storm shelter (BA-330), microgravity Deep Space Habitat (DSH), and a rotating simulated gravity producing space station (AGH-SS), the American space agency can then proceed to establish a permanent human presence on the surface of Mars.

An Ares CLV-7B with payload joined with an  ADEPT deceleration shield needed to safely enter  the martian atmosphere before landing. An additional attitude control module is added to enable thrusters to  control the angle of the vehicle's entry into the  martian atmosphere.

2032

SLS Launches:


SLS Launch 34: Two CLV-7A (Cargo Landing Vehicle) to LEO to be deployed to high Mars orbit by OTV-125 vehicles and deployed to the martian surface by ADEPT decelerators

The First CLV-7A  will have an  ATHLETE robot that will deploy electric powered excavation vehicles, sintering vehicles,  backhoe, lifting crane

The Second CLV-7A   will deploy at least 160 KWe of  nuclear power to the  martian surface with at least a 10 year lifetime for the fueled reactors.

SLS Launch  35: Two CLV-7A (Cargo Landing Vehicle) to LEO to be deployed to high Mars orbit by OTV-125 vehicles and deployed to the martian surface by ADEPT decelerators

The first CLV-7A will deploy  a mobile hydrogen tanker (MHT)   plus  four   Water Bug regolith water extraction robots to the martian surface

The  second  CLV-7B will carry two mobile water tankers (MWT), two mobile LOX tankers (MLT) 


SLS Launch 36: Two CLV-7A (Cargo Landing Vehicle) to LEO to be deployed to high Mars orbit by OTV-125 vehicles and deployed to the martian surface by ADEPT decelerators

The first CLV-7A will deploy  a second mobile hydrogen tanker (MHT)   plus  four   Water Bug regolith water extraction robots to the martian surface

The  second  CLV-7B will carry two mobile ground transport vehicles

SLS Launch 37: Two Ares-ETLV-4 crew landers to LEO. They will self deploy themselves to high Mars orbit and deploy themselves to the martian surface attached to ADEPT decelerators

Commercial Launches:

1. Private commercial launch companies will continue to deploy ADEPT  deceleration shields to LEO. The deceleration shields will be transported to high Mars orbit  by NASA's growing fleet of  Orbital Transfer Vehicles (OTV-125). The ADEPT shields will allow NASA to use cargo landing vehicles (CLV-7B) and crew landing vehicles (ETLV-4), originally designed for lunar missions, to deploy cargo and crews to the martian surface. 

2. ACES  68 WPD-LV will be deployed to the lunar surface and to the surface of Mars and Deimos, replacing NASA's WPD-LV-7A propellant producing water depots

Note: 

1. All SLS and commercial launched vehicles for Mars will be deployed to Mars during the 2033 launch windows. 

2. Reusable OTV-125 will continue to be deployed to LEO with every SLS launch that uses an upper payload fairing

Two Lunar Regolith Habitats (LRH) next to a lunar biosphere domed with lunar regolith bags to protect it against excessive cosmic ration, micrometeorites, and extreme thermal fluctuations.

2033

SLS Launches:

SLS Launch 38:  A single CLV-7B carrying a Mars Regolith Habitat (MRH) will be launched to LEO to be deployed to high Mars orbit by an OTV-125  and deployed to the martian surface by ADEPT decelerators

SLS Launch 39: A second CLV-7B carrying a Mars Regolith Habitat (MRH) with a equipped with a medical level will be launched to LEO to be deployed to high Mars orbit by an OTV-125  and deployed to the martian surface by ADEPT decelerators

SLS Launch 40: A single CLV-7B carrying a Lunar Regolith Habitat (LRH) will be deployed to LEO. The lunar habitat will be used as an aquaculture facility for raising shrimp and fish.

SLS Launch 41: Two CLV-7A (Cargo Landing Vehicle) to LEO to be deployed to the lunar surface.

The First CLV-7B will deploy an inflatable 32 meter in diameter Kevlar biosphere to the lunar surface

The Second CLV-7B will deploy the biosphere's connecting airlocks (2.4 meters in diameter),

Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) and panel components for the internal construction of housing and work spaces  and geodesic dome components.

Notes: 

1. Odyssey 5 crew will depart EML1 during an April 2033 launch window, arriving in high Mars orbit in October 2033  to join 12 astronauts who are already in Mars orbit from the previous Odyssey flight.

2. Mars surface outpost components  will be transported by OTV-125 spacecraft from EML1 during May 2033 launch windows, arriving in high Mars orbit in September of 2033. 

3. A crew of six (four Americans and two foreign guest astronauts) will be the first humans to set foot on the surface of Mars in November of 2033, landing an ADEPT shielded Ares-ETLV-4 on the martian surface. A second landing of six will occur, three months later in February of 2034. Afterwards, crewed flights to the martian surface from high Mars orbit will occur every six months. 

4. The Ares ETLV-4 crew lander can land on the surface of Mars with enough propellant to return to low Mars orbit. A second  option lands the Ares ETLV-4 on the surface of Mars   with only enough hydrogen to return to Mars orbit; liquid oxygen would be supplied by mobile LOX tankers (MLT) deriving their oxygen supplies from propellant depots located near the martian outpost.  A third option lands the Ares ETLV-4 on the martian surface almost empty with both LOX and LH2 supplied from the Mars outpost for its return trip to orbit.

5. Eight  Odyssey 4 and Odyssey 5 crew members will depart Mars orbit in January 2035, returning to cis-lunar space in September of 2035 aboard the Odyssey 4. They will leave 16 crew members behind in Mars orbit aboard the AGH-SS and on the surface of Mars at the Mars outpost. 

6. The inflatable lunar Kevlar biosphere will 32 meters in diameter with a safety factor of four. Lunar regolith bags two meters thick will shield the upper hemisphere from micrometeorites, excessive radiation, and from extreme thermal fluctuations. The upper hemisphere of the lunar biosphere will provide a spacious recreational area under the geodesic dome. The lower hemisphere of the lunar biosphere will provide ample accommodations for housing, laboratories, and food production: agronomy, aquaculture, poultry.

 

Crewed Ares ETLV-4 coupled with a protective ADEPT deceleration shield. The Ares ETLV-4 can land on the martian surface with enough propellant to return to low mars orbit. 

2034


1. SLS Launch 42: An MRH (Mars Regolith Habitat) agronomy habitat will be deployed to LEO with an Ares-CLV-7B and an OTV-125 destined for the martian surface. 

2. SLS Launch 43: An MRH aquaculture habitat will be deployed to LEO with an Ares-CLV-7B and an OTV-125 destined for the martian surface. 

3. SLS Launch 44: Two Ares ETLV-4 spacecraft plus an OTV-125 will be deployed to LEO destined for high Mars orbit.

 
4. SLS Launch 45: Two Ares CLV-7A (Cargo Landing Vehicle) to LEO to be deployed to LEO destined for the martian surface:

The First Ares CLV-7B will deploy an inflatable 32 meter in diameter Kevlar biosphere to the martian surface

The Second Ares CLV-7B will deploy the biosphere's connecting airlocks (2.4 meters in diameter),

Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) and panel components for the internal construction of housing and work spaces  and transparent Kevlar biodome. 

Notes:

1. Mars biosphere: The the top hemisphere of the inner dome of the  Mars biosphere will be covered with a transparent UV filtering layer. The outer area will be  shielded from excessive cosmic radiation with a transparent water filled biodome. This will allow natural sunlight to enter the dome.

The martian moon Deimos will be utilized for the production of hydrogen, oxygen, and water eliminating the need to import water from the Earth's moon in order to provide water and propellant for interplanetary vessels returning to cis-lunar space. 

2035


1. SLS Launch 46: Two CLV-7B spacecraft will be deployed to LEO destined for the surface of the martian moon, Deimos:

The first CLV-7B  will deploy mobile ground excavation vehicles, lifting cranes, and regolith sintering vehicles. 

The second  CLV-7B  will deploy four small nuclear reactors for providing up to 160 KWe of electric power.


2. SLS Launch 47: An OTV-125 plus two CLV-7B spacecraft will be deployed to LEO destined for the surface of the martian moon, Deimos:

The first CLV-7B will have two cargo levels and will deploy mobile water, hydrogen, and water tankers to the surface of Deimos

The second CLV-7B will have two cargo levels and will deploy a plasma arc pyrolysis and syngas refinery to Deimos for the production of water, hydrogen, and water. The upper level will deploy another mobile hydrogen tanker.


3. SLS Launch 48: An OTV-125 plus a single CLV-7B carrying a Lunar Regolith Habitat (LRH) will be deployed to LEO. The lunar habitat will be used as poultry  facility for producing chickens and eggs.

4. SLS Launch 49: An OTV-125 plus two CLV-7B will be deployed to LEO destined for the lunar surface

The First CLV-7B will deploy an inflatable 32 meter in diameter Kevlar biosphere to the lunar surface

The Second CLV-7B will deploy the biosphere's connecting airlocks (2.4 meters in diameter),

Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) and panel components for the internal construction of housing and work spaces  and geodesic dome components.

Notes

1. With five habitat modules and two biospheres, NASA's lunar outpost would be complete and capable of housing up to 200 personal-- if desired. 

2. Deimos water and propellant producing facility will allow NASA to fuel spacecraft operating in Mars orbit and interplanetary spacecraft heading back to cis-lunar space. 

3. Launch windows to Mars from cis-lunar space will occur in June and July of 2035 with payloads and personal arriving to high Mars orbit in December of 2035 or January of 2036. 


So, under this architecture, NASA will have permanent outpost on both the Moon and Mars, and artificial gravity outpost in high Mars orbit by the middle 2030s. The DOD will have permanent outpost on the Moon and an artificial gravity outpost at EML4 by early 2030s. This will be possible thanks to a combination of regular launches by the SLS (up to four launches a year by the late 2020s) and private commercial launch vehicles in the 2020s and the 2030s.

Propellant producing water depots are the key to substantially enhancing the payload capabilities of both the SLS and private commercial launch vehicles under this scenario. However, NASA's current plan of relying on propellants  that have to be terrestrially produced  and launched from the Earth's enormous gravity well would severely curtail the payload capabilities and sustainability of   the SLS and private commercial launch vehicles. 

Links and References


A Practical Timeline for  Establishing a Permanent Human Presence on the Moon and Mars using SLS and Commercial Launch Capability

 Part I

Part II

Part III

NASA Ames Research Center Trajectory Browser

What about Mr. Oberth?

Inflatable Biospheres for the New Frontier

Protecting Spacefarers from Heavy Nuclei

(Part III) A Practical Timeline for Establishing a Permanent Human Presence on the Moon and Mars using SLS and Commercial Launch Capability

A rotating artificial gravity space station in Mars orbit beyond the orbital arc of Deimos. One ETLV-4 crew lander is docked at the station's central docking port while a crewed ETLV-4 approaches the station after visiting the surface of Phobos.

by Marcel F. Williams

Part III: Artificial Gravity and the Moons of Mars 

While traveling from Earth to the Moon or the Earth-Moon Lagrange points only takes a few days, human voyages between Mars and cis-lunar space will require a several months of travel time. So astronauts will have to be adequately  protected from the  deleterious effects of cosmic radiation (especially its heavy nuclei components), solar storms, and the microgravity environment. 

The notional crewed spacecraft proposed under this scenario all have habitat areas that provide at least 20 grams per centimeter squared of radiation shielding, enough to protect astronauts from the penetration of heavy ions and from harmful levels of radiation resulting from major solar events. Such levels of shielding in interplanetary vehicles should limit astronaut radiation exposure to less than 30 Rem per year during the worse cosmic ray conditions (the solar minimum).  Permanently occupied space stations beyond the Earth's magnetosphere and  that rotate to produce a simulated gravity will have their internal shielding (iron plates)  gradually increased until levels of internal radiation exposure for its human inhabitants  is below 5 Rem per year (the legal limit of radiation exposure allowed for radiation workers on Earth). 

In order to mitigate or eliminate the deleterious effects of microgravity, under this architecture, artificial gravity environments (0.5g) will be provided for astronauts for multimonth interplanetary journeys. Simple rotating spacecraft (AGH-I) composed of three pressurized SLS propellant tank derived habitats joined together by cables and twin expandable and retractable booms will be used for interplanetary voyages between EML1 and high Mars orbit. Similar artificial gravity producing habitats will also be used for permanent space stations (AGH-SS) deployed in orbits within cis-lunar space and in orbit around Mars. 

Flight paths between LEO and  EML1 and EML1 and high Mars orbit

NASA is currently contemplating a solar/xenon based interplanetary architecture. The scenario presented here, however,  advocates a propellant depot based interplanetary architecture similar to that advocated by the ULA (United Launch Alliance). The advantages are:

1. LOX/LH2 propellant allows astronauts to reach Mars faster than interplanetary vessels propelled by xenon gas, reducing radiation exposure and the psychological stress of longer travel times.

2. The continuous drive of xenon engines would make it difficult to accommodate artificial gravity habitats, forcing astronauts to endure the deleterious of effects and the physical and psychological stresses associated with a microgravity environment. So multi-month journeys within a microgravity environment could significantly increase that chances of fatal mishaps during an interplanetary mission.

3. Chemical rockets would have the advantage of being able to dump their water shielding just before their final trajectory burns,  substantially reducing vehicle mass as the spacecraft enters high Mars orbit or cis-lunar space. 

4. A xenon based interplanetary spacecraft would be dependent on an expensive fuel that has to be launched out of the Earth's enormous gravity well. A LOX/LH2 producing water depot, on the other hand, could eventually use extraterrestrial sources of water and oxygen from the Moon, Mars, the moons of Mars, etc.  

5. In order to reduce the mass required to be launched from the Earth's gravity well, a xenon based interplanetary architecture would still require substantial amounts of extraterrestrial water for drinking, food preparation, washing, radiation protection, the production of air,  and for the production of LOX/LH2 or LOX/methane propellant for vehicles landing and taking off from the surfaces of Mars or the moons of Mars. So it would be much simpler and cheaper for extraterrestrial resources to be used for the entire architecture instead of just part of it.

Bigelow BA-330 habitat which is inherently provided with enough shielding to protect astronauts from heavy nuclei penetration.

SLS and Commercial Launch Sequences to Establish a Permanent Human Presence in High Mars Orbit

2027

SLS Launches: 

SLS Launch 14: Two CLV-7B (Cargo Landing Vehicle) deployed to lunar outpost after refueling at EML1:

First CLV-7B   will be carrying  a second mobile hydrogen tanker (MHT) derived from the 2.4 meter cryotank technology plus  four  more Water Bug microwave water extraction robots.

Second CLV-7B  will deploy at least 160 KWe of  nuclear power to the lunar surface with at least a 10 year lifetime for the fueled reactors. 

SLS Launch 15: SLS deploys first artificial gravity habitat to LEO (AGH-I). An OTV-125 (an IVF modified EUS) transports the AGH-I to EML1

SLS Launch 16: SLS deploys WPD-OTV-400  EML1. The propellant producing water depot will be capable of storing up to 400 tonnes of LOX/LH2 propellant and up to 1000 tonnes of water.  

SLS Launch 17: SLS deploys OTV-400 to EML1. The SLS propellant tank derived vehicle will be used to transport crews between high Mars orbit and cis-lunar space.  

Commercial Launches:

1. First commercial deployment of reusable ACES-68 (ULA) and Shepard (Blue Origin) derived lunar landing tankers for transporting  lunar water from the lunar surface to EML1 (at least 1000 tonnes to EML1 per year)

2. Commercial launches of twin satellite communications and navigation system to Sun-Mars L4 and L5  plus a trio of satellites into Aresynchronous orbit in order to establish uninterrupted communications between Earth and Mars and between Mars orbit and the martian surface.

Notes:

 1. 2027 will be the beginning of four SLS launches per year by NASA

2. The AGH-I will be provided with water 30 centimeters of internal water shielding from water depots located at EML1. In 2027, the crewed structure will test its ability to provide 0.5 g of simulated gravity and its ability to routinely expand and contract its cables and booms and to increase and decrease its rate of rotation. 

3. The OTV-400 orbital transfer vehicle will be tested by sending it unmanned to Sun-Earth L2 and then back to cis-lunar space. 

SLS propellant tank derived Deep Space Hab (DSH). Requires additional water shielding to protect astronauts from heavy nuclei penetration (Credit NASA)

2028

SLS Launches: 

SLS Launch 18: Two DSH (Deep Space Habitats) deployed to LEO; one remains permanently at LEO while the other will  be transported by an  OTV-125 to EML1 and then to high Mars orbit

SLS Launch 19: Second WPD-OTV-400 to EML1

SLS Launch 20: SLS deploys third WPD-OTV-400 to EML1

SLS Launch 21: SLS deploys fourth WPD-OTV-400 to EML1

Notes:

1. Odyssey 1 (OTV-400 +AGH-1+ETLV-4) will travel to to  SEL2 (Sun Earth Largrange Point 2) in order to test the Odyssey vehicles interplanetary capability. It will take about 30 days to reach ESL2 and 30 days to return to cis-lunar space. 30 days will be spent at SEL2. 

2. LEO DSH (LEO Space Hab) will join the BA-330 as an additional way station for beyond LEO missions for NASA  

SLS propellant tank derived artificial gravity habitat (AGH). Requires 30 cm of water shielding for crewed interplanetary journeys and 50 cm of iron shielding as a permanent space station deployed beyond the Earth's magnetosphere. 

2029

 SLS Launches:

SLS Launch 22: Second AGH-I deployed to EML1

SLS Launch 23: Second OTV-400 deployed to EML1

SLS Launch 24:  Two ETLV-4 + OTV-125 are launched to LEO for redeployment to EML1

SLS Launch 25: Two CLV-7B vehicles deployed to LEO for redeployment at EML1:

Cargo Langer One: mobile magnetic iron extraction robots + 3D iron  panel manufacturing machines for internally radiation shielding AGH-SS space stations.

Cargo Lander Two: regolith bag manufacturing plant to enhance the protection of landing pod areas and for shielding the domed sections of future biosphere habitats

Commercial Launches:

1. Commercial launch of  BA-330 to LEO and transported to EML1 by ACES-68 OTV. The BA-330 will  be transported to high   Mars orbit by an OTV-125; departs in February of 2029 to arrive in high Mars orbit in July of 2029.

Notes:

1. Odyssey 2: Second crewed  mission of the Odyssey spacecraft will be a 235 day  round trip to SEL1 (Sun-Earth Lagrange point 1)

2. With four  WPD-OTV-400 depots at EML1, one will depart for  Mars  in January of 2029 to arrive at high Mars orbit in July of 2029. A second WPD-OTV-400 depot will depart EML1 in February of 2029 to also arrive in high Mars orbit in July of 2029. Both propellant depots will carry at least 550 tonnes of water to high Mars orbit. 

3. OTV-125 transports DSH  to high Mars orbit; departing EML1 in January of 2029 to arrive at high Mars orbit in July of 2029.

LOX/LH2 fueled OTV-400 and EUS derived OTV-125. Both reusable vehicles will use the ULA's Integrated Vehicle Fluid technology for eliminate the need for helium and hydrazine while utilizing ullage gases for attitude control. 

2030

 SLS Launches:

SLS Launch 26: Third OTV-400 deployed to EML1

SLS Launch 27:  AGH-SS deployed to EML4 for DOD

SLS Launch 28: NASA deploys a second AGH-SS  to EML1. The partially iron shielded artificial gravity space station will  be transported to high Mars orbit by an OTV-400.

SLS Launch 29: Two Ares R-ETLV-4  deployed to EML1+ OTV-125


Commercial Launches:

1. First commercial crew  shuttles to the lunar surface: reusable  Xeus (ULA), reusable Lunar Shepard (Blue Origin)?

 

Notes:

1. Odyssey 3:  Crewed Odyssey mission ( OTV-400/AGH-I/ETLV-4)  to high Mars orbit with a flyby past Venus.  Departs from EML1 in February of 2030, flying past Venus in  July of 2030 and arriving at Mars in January 2031. The AGH-I will replenish its water shield by rendezvousing with one of  the WPD-OTV-400 water depots.   The Odyssey 3 will use one of the WPD-400 depots to refuel with LOX/LH2 propellant in order to depart  Mars orbit in April 2031,  returning to cis-lunar space in December of 2031. 

During the crew's three months stay in Mars orbit, the crew will use the two ETLV-4 vehicles in Mars orbit to visit the surfaces of Deimos and Phobos. The crew will also visit the  BA-330 storm shelter and the DHS previously deployed to  high Mars orbit 

2. Second ETLV-4 is not transported with the Odyssey vehicle but self deploys itself to high Mars orbit for utilization in the crewed mission, following the same flight pattern as the Odyssey 3. 

Reusable ETLV-4 will allow astronauts to visit the moons of Mars. The ETLV-4 will also be used to transport the the ADEPT attached Ares-ETLV-4 to low Mars orbit for missions to the surface of Mars.

2031

 SLS Launches: 

 SLS Launch 30: Two ETLV-4 + OTV-125 are launched to LEO for redeployment to EML1

SLS Launch 31: OTV-125+ LRH (Lunar Regolith Habitat) to Moon for DOD
 
SLS Launch 32: SLS deploys OTV-125+LRH (agronomy hab) to lunar outpost

SLS Launch 33: Two CLV-7B cargo landers deployed to LEO to be transported to EML1.

CLV-7B One will transport four mobile crew vehicles to the lunar outpost; two for NASA and two for the DOD.

CLV-7B Two will transport two mobile optical telescopes to the lunar surface: one for NASA and one for the DOD



Commercial Launches:

1. Start of commercial launch of ADEPT deceleration shields to LEO by Vulcan launch vehicles. The ADEPT shields will be transported to high Mars orbit by reusable  OTV-125 vehicles and possibly by ACES-68 vehicles.  

 Notes:


1. An OTV-400 will transport the partially shielded AGH-SS to high Mars orbit, departing in February of 2031 and arriving in high Mars orbit in September of 2031.  

2. Second crewed Odyssey mission (Odyssey 4) will be transported to high Mars orbit by another OTV-400. The Odyssey 4 will depart EML1 in March of 2031, arriving in high Mars orbit in August of 2031. Beginning of permanent human occupation of Mars AGH-SS space station

3. Lunar manufactured iron radiation shielding plates for the AGH-SS will be transported to high Mars orbit over the years by several OTV-125 vehicles, decreasing cosmic radiation exposure to less than 30 Rem per year to less than 5 Rem per year during solar minimum conditions. 

4. The two Ares R-ETLV-4 vehicles will rear dock with two ADEPT deceleration shields. An ETLV-4 will dock and transport an Ares R-ETLV-4  from high Mars orbit to low Mars orbit. The unmanned Ares-ETLV-4 will land on Mars, testing the ADEPT shield. Teleoperated robots will be deployed to collect regolith samples and samples of the martian atmosphere. The Ares R-ETLV-4 will return to low Mars orbit where it will be transported by an ETLV-4 back to high Mars orbit. Both Ares-R-ETLV-4 vehicles will be used multiple times,  mating with other expendable ADEPT shields for unmanned sample retrieval missions to the martian surface.  This will also test the reliability of the ADEPT shields for future crewed missions to the martian surface.

5. First DOD outpost on the lunar surface (just a few kilometers away from NASA’s lunar outpost). Mobile crew transport vehicles will be used to transport astronauts between   NASA and DOD facilities.  

Odyssey interplanetary space craft. After trajectory burns to insert the Odyssey into a Mars Transfer Orbit, the AGH-I will separate from the OTV-400 and the ETLV-4 in order to rotate and expand its cables and booms to provide 0.5g of simulated gravity in the twin counter-balancing habitat modules. The AGH will dump its water shield and reattach itself to the OTV-400 and the ETLV-4 for the final trajectory burns into orbit around Mars. 

A Permanent Human Presence in High Mars Orbit

So under this propellant depot architecture, the first crewed mission (Odyssey 3) to high Mars orbit will depart from EML1 in February of 2030 and arriving at Mars in January 2031, flying past the planet Venus during the nearly year long journey. Once the crew arrives, a DSH (Deep Space Habitat) and storm shelter (BA-330) will already be deployed in high Mars orbit in order to enhance their safety. After their orbital transfer vehicles (OTV-400) has been refueled by one of the twin propellant depots (WPD-OTV-400), the Odyssey 3 will depart from Mars in April 2031 and returning to cis-lunar space in December of 2031.

WPD-OTV-400 propellant producing water depot in high Mars orbit refueling an OTV-400 that will transport the Odyssey back to cis-lunar space.

The second crewed mission to high Mars orbit (Odyssey 4) will depart from EML1  in March of 2031, arriving in high Mars orbit in August of 2031. This mission will include the first use of ADEPT deceleration shields to land   R-ETLV-4 vehicles on the martian surface for the robotic retrieval of lunar regolith samples. 

Ares-ETLV-4 simply adds additional thrusters to the top of the ETLV-4 to provide sufficient attitude control while entering the martian atmosphere behind and ADEPT deceleration shield. 

Unmanned Ares-ETLV-4 attached to an ADEPT deceleration shield. Teleoperated robots will be deployed to retrieve regolith and atmospheric samples to be returned to low Mars orbit and back to the AGH-I.

Landing Humans on Mars will be the last part (Part IV) of this article.  
 

Links and References

 Part I: NASA and the DOD

Part II: The Moon

NASA Ames Research Center Trajectory Browser

What about Mr. Oberth?

Protecting Spacefarers from Heavy Nuclei

Reusable Heavy Cargo and Crew Landing Vehicles for the Moon and Mars

First Human Voyages to the Martian Moons Using SLS and IVF Derived Technologies

Landing on Mars with ADEPT Technology