Recent content by rustythebailiff

Early on there were a lot of proposals to do this. The X-20 program had a reusable booster proposed for it. But let's remember, it took SpaceX a decade to perfect this, with 21st century technology, fast computers, and a much smaller booster. We just didn't have the tech available at the...

I think at this point China is the closest to competing with the U.S. in a crewed Mars landing. That said, I think that a human setting foot on Mars is still a long way off. There are a lot of technological hurdles that have to be cleared before we can even think about going there.

This might be an interesting read for you... https://2009-2017.state.gov/t/isn/5181.htm

Agreed. A lot of questions can be answered before sending a human crew. Can plants grow in the Martian regolith? Is there water and can it be obtained in sufficient quantities? Can we build habitats using regolith? And many others. It's a shame the NERVA project was cancelled. We could have...