Idea: to use JP Aerospace's ideas to reach the Martian surface using an airship. Olympus Mons is an extinct volcano on Mars.
This may not be new, by the way. It's getting a big late in the workday cycle, so I don't have time nor the inclination to look it up. I do know that I checked out the capability of airships to survive at Martian reentry velocities. This capability may already exist with the materials available now. The big problem is putting together a big airship out there millions of miles from Earth. You'd have to assemble either on the surface, or in space itself. It would have to be done by machine, as sending humans out there doesn't exist at this time.
Anyway, there's been a lot of posts on JP's page lately. He's experimenting with rocket motors. He wouldn't need this on the way down, but the way back up, he'll need to reach orbital velocity. If that can be accomplished, you'd have a cheap transportation mode from the Mars surface and back.
I was figuring Olympus Mons because of the thinner atmosphere. It would be 12% of the surface pressure, so that would make a thin atmosphere even thinner. Presumably, that could help with the airships. Or maybe not. The thing about this mountain is the sheer size of the thing. It nearly would cover France, it is so large in area. It is flat enough to land on it, I presume. So, you could establish a Dark Sky station near the surface of this thing, and then another ship that could travel around near the surface. Same model as with Earth, but modified somewhat for the different operational conditions.
Given that Mars has an atmosphere that is already as thin as what would be at the Dark Sky Stations envisioned for Earth, this step may be unnecessary. But being up that high and on firm ground may offer some advantages.
There'd have to be some reconnaissance missions to determine a suitable landing site. It would be a major undertaking, no question about it.
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