1966 World Book Mars Mission Architecture

Does anyone else who attended grade school in the mid '60s remember
this from the 1966 World Book Encyclopedia?

http://home.earthlink.net/~jimdavis2...sWorldBook.jpg

This is from the "Space Travel" article. The article is credited to
one Harold L. Goodwin, Assistant Director, Office of Scientific and
Technical Information, NASA. It is also claimed that the article
was "critically reviewed" by no less persons than Alan Shepard and
Werner von Braun.

Presumably this is taken from a NASA and/or contractor Mars mission
study. Can anyone here provide a reference to this study?

The depicted architecture is interesting for a number of reasons.

1. The "mission module" appears to be aerodynamic although at no
time does it enter an atmosphere. It seems to share the shape of
some sort of earth to orbit shuttle but surely this wouldn't be
efficient for a Mars mission?

2. The "excursion module" ascent stage seems to require one
position for for landing (for crew vision?) and another for liftoff
from Mars.

3. Propulsion appears to be entirely chemical throughout the
mission.

4. As depicted the craft enters Mars orbit without an engine burn.
Aerocapture perhaps, explaining the mission module shape?

5. There is no obvious source of electrical power. Perhaps a
nuclear reactor at the end of the boom extended for artificial
gravity? But the boom is not extended in Mars orbit?

6. All hardware is expendable a la Apollo.

Later editions (into the early '70s at least) had the same
depiction but at one point a disclaimer was added saying that this
was only one possible manned Mars mission.

Does anyone know when this particular architecture made its last
appearance in World Book?

Jim Davis

On 23 Jan 2005 00:05:43 GMT, Jim Davis
wrote:

Does anyone else who attended grade school in the mid '60s remember
this from the 1966 World Book Encyclopedia?

http://home.earthlink.net/~jimdavis2...sWorldBook.jpg

....Yep. IIRC, it was in the 1969 edition, or at least one of the
yearbooks as well. Of course, even at my younger, more precocious age,
I questioned the design with regards to using a delta shape that was
obviously aerodynamic but was never going to be landed anywhere.

OM

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OM wrote:


...Yep. IIRC, it was in the 1969 edition, or at least one of the
yearbooks as well. Of course, even at my younger, more precocious age,
I questioned the design with regards to using a delta shape that was
obviously aerodynamic but was never going to be landed anywhere.



I should have looked at this sooner; it's in Miller's "The Dream
Machines"- at least more drawings of it are, although there doesn't
appear to be a text description of it.
In this version, the center part of the triangular main body extends
under it on cables leaving just the nose reentry vehicle attached to a
triangular framework with the motors and lander at the back- and the
whole thing then rotates to generate artificial gravity. The
illustrations are on page 499 of the book, and the text on the
illustrations may imply that this is one of a series of Mars ship
designs studied by the NASA Lewis Research Center in 1961. at least the
one at the top of the page is. The whole vehicle is quite small (they
have some measurements of the crew quarters*)- here's some approximate
dimensions.
Width at base of triangular main section: 62 feet.
Over all length main section: 70 feet (sans overlapping Mars lander
headshield- overall length with heatshield: 86 feet)
Nose earth reentry vehicle: 20 feet long x 13 feet wide x 6 feet in depth.
Crew quarters- width at front: 160 inches.*
Crew quarters- width at back: 524 inches.*
Crew quarters length: 44 feet.
Crew quarters depth: front: 6.5 feet; back: 9 feet. (the cutaway drawing
in the encyclopedia article is from the back of the crew quarters,
looking forward).
Distance crew section rests below main body when winched out for
artificial gravity: 125-150 feet.

Mars lander assembly:
Entry heatshield: 40 feet in diameter.
Cradle for ascent stage (living quarters?): two rectangular units, each
15 feet long x 7 feet wide x 11 feet high.
Ascent stage: 25 feet long x 10 feet in diameter.
Presumed ogival crew section of ascent stage: 10 feet long x 10 feet
wide at base.

It looks like the ascent stage may use a small diameter plug-nozzle motor.
Overall crew size appears to be four- based on chairs at kitchen table
and number of beds shown.

Pat