All articles generated by our volunteers that are meant to educate the public, students of any age about any discipline related to Mar exploration and inhabitation.
Mars has long been known as the “Red Planet” of our solar system for its distinctive red colour. Its earliest recorded name, “Har decher”, literally meant “Red One” in Egyptian. But why exactly is Mars red? Mars’ surface is dominated… Read More »Why Is Mars Red? The Science Behind Its Surface Colour
Can we endure Martian isolation? Can we survive Martian gravity? Can we build with Martian soil? Can we access Martian water? An analysis of the ‘Mysteries of Mars’ suggests that we can! Infographic by Ryan Mintz
Welcome to Part 1 of Building Athens, the first in a series of articles on the development of the very first Martian education system. Not only is obedience to law or criminal inclinations not inherited, but heredity also does not… Read More »Building Athens Part 1: Challenges to Building a Martian Education System
Header image: Artist’s impression of an Apollo capsule re-entry (image source: NASA.) “That was a real fireball, boy. I had great chunks of that retropack breaking off all the way through…” NASA astronaut John Glenn, reporting to mission control shortly… Read More »Rocket Physics, the Hard Way: Re-entry and Hypersonic Flight
Header image: Computational fluid dynamics simulation of a NASA X-43A hypersonic aircraft (image source: NASA.) “Go at throttle up…” Launch control call-out during Space Shuttle launches Recall the last time you watched a rocket launch. About a minute into ascent,… Read More »Rocket Physics, the Hard Way: Max q and Bernoulli’s Principle
Header image: Cherenkov radiation in a nuclear reactor (image source: Argonne National Laboratory.) “This is not nuts, this is super-nuts.” Richard Courant, on viewing a test of the Project Orion nuclear propulsion system Last installment, we delved into the inner… Read More »Rocket Physics, the Hard Way: Nuclear Thermal Rockets
In our previous article, we covered the basics of rocket engines, but we only scratched the surface when it came to fuel-oxidizer combinations. While hydrogen-oxygen and kerosene-oxygen dominate the world of launch vehicles, numerous other propellant combinations are in common… Read More »Rocket Physics, Extra Credit: Rocket Fuels
Header image: SpaceX Raptor test fire (image source: SpaceX.) “Anyone who sits on top of the largest hydrogen-oxygen fueled system in the world; knowing they’re going to light the bottom, and doesn’t get a little worried, does not fully understand… Read More »Rocket Physics, the Hard Way: Rocket Engine Engineering
Header image: Artist’s impression of Perseverance in powered descent under its skycrane (image source: NASA/JPL-Caltech.) Perseverance successfully landed on Mars in 2021! Previous installments of Rocket Physics, the Hard Way have discussed the rocket equation and astrodynamics in the context… Read More »Rocket Physics Special: The Physics of Perseverance
This is a follow-up to Rocket Physics, the Hard Way: How to go to Mars which covered the basics of orbital mechanics. Building on our foundation of intuitive understanding, we will now cover the more technical aspects. What is an… Read More »Rocket Physics, the Hard Way: How to go to Mars – Extra Credit
“There is an art to flying, or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.” – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams In this series, Rocket Physics, the Hard… Read More »Rocket Physics, the Hard Way: How to Go to Mars
“Rocket science is tough, and rockets have a way of failing.” – Sally Ride, NASA astronaut To go to Mars, we need rocket science. But why is rocket science so hard? In this series, Rocket Physics, the Hard Way, we… Read More »Rocket Physics, the Hard Way: The Tyranny of the Rocket Equation