Mini Mag Orion, Part 3

When I left off this topic last, I expressed some skepticism about whether or not this concept could work.

One problem that I indicated was that the concept didn't include enough delta v in order to get back.  That is probably wrong, at least according to this mission table.  The mission table below includes a round trip for 3 different delta v scenarios, all of which are less than the mission delta v expected from the concept itself ( 100 km-sec ).  See column I-3.  Note:  Brachistochrone is well beyond even this concept.  Forget it about that for now.

project rho mission tables

The Mini Mag Orion should be able to make a roundtrip in just 45 days, according to this.  That allows another 45 days for hanging around Mars and doing some actual exploration.  Well, la dee friggin' da!

You'll have plenty of delta v for a mission and thus, plenty of propellant.  No need to manufacture it on Mars.  At least not for the Mini Mag Orion (MMO).  You may still want to do that in order to get off the surface.  You may also want to forward some propellant for this purpose ( and landing ) by using a slower moving tug.  By doing these two things, you can maximize the amount of mass available for the trip itself.

Given the rather short transit times, relatively speaking, this concept should simplify those aspects of a Mars trip which are the most troublesome.  Such as radiation exposure and the effects of prolonged weightlessness.

Update:

Nope.  The pdf file says 100 days one way.  I overlooked something.  You have to slow down twice.  That gives four legs of the journey, to wit:

1. Outbound acceleration to Mars.
2. Outbound deceleration to Mars in order to prepare for orbit.
3. Inbound acceleration to Earth from Mars orbit.
4. Inbound deceleration to Earth orbit from Mars.

If 25 km/sec was apportioned to each leg, then you'd probably be closer to the column I-1 in the chart above.  But I'm basically talking out my ass cuz I don't do this for a living and I'm a rank amateur.