The last post looked at the spacesuit. One thing that I found was that the human body doesn't cover that much in surface area. According to this, an average of less than 2 square meters. It so happens that an Iron Man suit may be possible with only 400 lbs worth of tungsten for the radiation shield. Is that correct? I need to double check that. Yes, it looks correct.
With that little in mass, we may go with a truly Iron Man look. No to the medieval look. Somehow, incorporate the tungsten into the carbon fiber, or just place it on top of it. You can look cool, like the Iron Man. Now with the suit 50% protected against gamma radiation and pressurized, it may need some more attention paid to ergonomics. For a long term mission, ergonomics has to be considered. Considered, but not emphasized. This mission will require a spartan treatment. Mass is the big enemy, but looking cool doesn't cost any mass, or doesn't have to.
Although it is a suit that can allow movement, is it comfortable? What about body heat? It needs a climate control. It also needs a way "to go". The suit has to worn constantly---it can't be taken off except once a day, perhaps. It won't even be possible take it off to go the restroom. The suit will have to take care of that. It all has to be kept simple and lightweight. How do you scratch an itch? Good question.
The space hab is going to require more oxygen than I thought. Looks like a few thousand pounds. It doesn't have to be pressurized all the time. Just for access to the entire hab. Once it is finished, it can be depressurized.
It looks like the mass of the suits and the hab can be kept down considerably. Perhaps artificial gravity can be reconsidered? A 10 meter in radius sphere could provide up to Martian gravitation at 6 RPM, if my math is right. The worry before was vibration, but at less than a thousand pounds for the radiation protection, this may not be such a big deal after all.
Update:
I've been thinking about this and have decided that this is enough research for now. A suit is possible, in my opinion.
As a reference, I include the following links
- bursa
- Mercury (element)
- Half-Value Layer Calculation
- Transmitted Intensity and Linear Attenuation Coefficient
- Mass attenuation coefficient
- Half-Value Layer
- Is there a compound denser than the densest element?
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