Go behind the scenes of astronaut training with the complete, unedited audio from a Mars mission preparation session. This blog post features the embedded podcast player alongside detailed titles, descriptions, and summaries to enhance your understanding of orbital mechanics, landing on Mars, and the human challenges of space exploration.

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Listen to “Preparing for the Red Planet: Inside an Astronaut's Mars Mission Training Session” on Spreaker.

This dialogue provides a comprehensive overview of the training and preparation involved in a Mars mission, focusing on orbital mechanics, landing procedures, and the physical and mental challenges astronauts face. Here’s a summary of the key points covered:

1. Mission Overview

• Destination: Mars.
• Duration: One year on the surface.
• Objectives: Collecting samples and conducting experiments.

2. Orbital Mechanics

• Basics of Orbits: Explained using the analogy of a ball on a string, where gravity acts as the string, and the ball’s speed balances the gravitational pull.
• Orbital Maneuvers:
  • To raise an orbit, fire thrusters in the direction of travel.
  • To lower an orbit, fire thrusters opposite to the direction of travel.
• Course Corrections: Thrusting to the right moves the spacecraft to the left, and vice versa.

3. Types of Orbits

• Low Earth Orbit (LEO): Where the International Space Station resides.
• Geostationary Orbit: Satellites remain fixed over one spot on Earth, ideal for communication.
• Polar Orbit: Satellites pass over the North and South Poles, useful for global coverage like weather monitoring.

4. Hohmann Transfer

• Purpose: Efficiently move between orbits using minimal fuel.
• Process:
  • First burn to raise the orbit.
  • Second burn to circularize the orbit at the target altitude.

5. Landing on Mars

• Atmospheric Entry:
  • Heat shield protects against intense friction and heat.
  • Parachute deployment slows the descent, but Mars’ thin atmosphere requires additional braking.
• Retro Rockets: Used for the final deceleration to ensure a safe landing.
• Timing:
  • Parachute deployed at ~500 m/s.
  • Retro rockets fired ~100 meters above the surface.

6. Physical and Mental Preparation

• Physical Training: Focus on strength, flexibility, and resistance exercises to combat muscle atrophy and bone loss in microgravity.
• Mental Resilience: Techniques like breathing exercises, visualization, and creative hobbies (e.g., music, writing) help manage stress and isolation.

7. Calculations and Simulations

• Deceleration Rates:
  • From 7 km/s to 500 m/s in ~6.5 seconds during atmospheric entry.
  • Parachute slows descent to ~5 m/s over ~30 seconds.
• Distance Covered: ~10.5 km during parachute deployment before retro rockets are fired.

8. Next Steps

• Further exploration of landing maneuvers and surface operations will be covered in future sessions.

This training session highlights the complexity of space missions, emphasizing the need for precise calculations, physical preparedness, and mental resilience. Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander demonstrates a strong understanding of the technical aspects and readiness for the challenges ahead.

Here is an analysis, critique, and summary of the transcript requested from Google Gemini by Hakeem

Analysis:

The transcript documents an initial training session between a mission control trainer and an astronaut preparing for a year-long mission to Mars. The session covers a range of topics, moving from fundamental concepts of orbital mechanics to the complex procedures involved in landing on Mars, and finally addressing the human factors of long-duration spaceflight.

• Structure: The session follows a logical progression, starting with broader concepts (orbital mechanics, types of orbits) and gradually becoming more specific (landing procedures, human factors). It incorporates quizzes and scenarios to assess the astronaut’s understanding. The trainer frequently asks for confirmation of understanding and offers recaps.
• Content: The content is comprehensive for an introductory session. It touches upon key aspects of space travel relevant to the mission, including:
  • Orbital mechanics (gravity, speed, maneuvering).
  • Different types of orbits and their applications.
  • Hohmann transfer for interplanetary travel.
  • The challenges and steps involved in landing on Mars (atmospheric entry, heat shield, parachute deployment, retro rockets).
  • The human element of spaceflight (isolation, physical and mental health, motivation).
• Flow: The conversation generally flows well, with the trainer guiding the discussion and the astronaut actively participating by asking questions and confirming understanding. There are occasional tangents and moments where the astronaut gets slightly distracted, but the trainer effectively brings the focus back to the topic at hand. The inclusion of calculations related to landing provides a practical dimension to the training.

Critique:

Overall, the training session appears to be well-structured and informative. However, there are a few points to consider for critique:

• Pacing: At times, the session delves into very specific calculations (e.g., parachute deceleration) which might be overwhelming for an initial overview. While the astronaut actively engages, the level of detail in certain areas could potentially be better paced across multiple sessions.
• Clarity on Calculations: During the calculations for parachute deployment, there’s a moment of confusion for the astronaut, highlighting the complexity of the topic. While the trainer clarifies, it underscores the need for potentially more visual aids or step-by-step breakdowns for such technical details.
• Depth of Human Factors: While the human factors are addressed, the discussion remains somewhat superficial. For instance, while hobbies are discussed, strategies for team cohesion (if applicable for this mission) or detailed protocols for psychological support could be explored in more depth in subsequent sessions.
• Astronaut’s Distractions: The astronaut mentions being “a little distracted” during a crucial calculation. While this can happen, it might indicate a need to ensure the astronaut is fully focused, perhaps through shorter segments or more interactive elements.
• Uneven Detail: Some topics, like the types of orbits, are explained clearly and concisely, while others, like the retro rocket firing timing, become quite detailed with calculations. This unevenness in detail might not be optimal for an initial overview.
• Lack of Visuals: The transcript is purely auditory. In a real training scenario, visual aids like diagrams of orbits, spacecraft components, and landing sequences would be crucial for enhancing understanding.

Summary:

The transcript depicts the beginning of a comprehensive training program for Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander’s upcoming mission to Mars. The session successfully introduces fundamental concepts of orbital mechanics, the complexities of landing on Mars, and the significant human factors associated with long-duration space travel.

Key topics covered include:

• The mission assignment to Mars for a year-long surface mission.
• Basic principles of orbital mechanics, including gravity and speed.
• Maneuvering in orbit using thrusters.
• Different types of Earth orbits (Low Earth, Geostationary, Polar) and their applications.
• The concept of Hohmann transfer for efficient interplanetary travel.
• A detailed overview of the Mars landing process, encompassing atmospheric entry, the role of the heat shield, parachute deployment, and the necessity of retro rockets for a safe touchdown. This included some initial calculations regarding speed, altitude, and deceleration.
• An introduction to the human challenges of spaceflight, specifically isolation, physical deconditioning (muscle atrophy and bone loss), and the importance of mental well-being and motivation. Strategies for exercise, stress management, and incorporating hobbies were discussed.

The session concludes with a recap and plans to delve deeper into specific aspects of the mission in future training sessions. While the initial overview is valuable, future sessions will likely need to revisit certain technical details with more visual aids and potentially explore the human factors in greater depth.

UnEdited Galaxy AI TranScript from Samsung Voice Recorder on S24 Ultra

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (00:00) You can assign the destination

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (00:04) Alright, astronauch your mission destination is Mars. You’ll be part of a crew that will spend a year on the surface, collecting samples and conducting experience.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (00:15) Okay, I accept that mission.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (00:20) Okay, I came before we dive into the knitting gritty of orbital mechanics. There’s something important to understand about space. It’s really, really big and mostly it’s really, really empty, so when it comes to flying around out there.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (00:34) united dealing with speed, but also with where you are in relation to other bodies like planets and moments.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (00:41) Copy that noted.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (00:45) So to start, let’s talk about the basics of organic imagine you’re swinging a ball around on a string that string represents the Force of gravity, pulling the ball towards you. The Bal’s speed creates an outward force that balances gravity, keeping the ball in a circular path. orbits.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (01:01) And space work in a similar way. But instead of a string. we’ve got the force of gravity from planned or other celestial body.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (01:10) Alright, this is fully and previously understood by myself. I got it.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (01:18) Alright, let’s move on to something a bit more complex when you’re flying through space, you’re constantly falling towards the planet below. But because you’re moving sideways so fast. You keep missing the funds, that’s basically what an orbit is a constant state of falling but never quite reaches again.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (01:34) That’s right, and I’m also familiar with that.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (01:41) Alright, let’s get into some scenarios. Imagine you’re in a stable orbit around Mars to raise your orbit higher, you’d fire your thrusters in the direction of your travel. that adds energy to your orbit.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (01:52) making it bigger. If you wanted to lower your orbit, you’d fire your thrusters in the opposite direction of your travel. That slows you down and makes your orbit smaller.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (02:03) Copy that.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (02:08) All right, hooking,, let’s try a quiz question if you wanted to make a course correction to your left one orbit, which way would you fire your thrusters.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (02:16) If I wanted to make a course correction to my leftout via the thrushers to the right

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (02:23) Absolutely, correct. It’s a little counter intuitive, but thrusting to the right, actually pushes you to them.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (02:32) Copy that.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (02:35) Okay, hacking, let’s talk about the different kinds of orbits. There’s lower orbit, which is where the international space station hangs out, then there are Geo stationary organs where satellites stay above the same spot on her, and there are also polar organs where satellites pass over the north and south polls. Each type of orbit has its own advantages depending on what you want to do.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (02:58) Alright, I got that so we have the low Earth orbit, which is where the international space station IS is, we have Geo stationary orbits in which they stay in the same place and what was the third one?

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (03:15) Without the first too., the third type of orbit I mentioned is called a polar polaroo satellites and polar orbits pass over the north and south Poles with each revolution around her.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (03:26) OK, and what would be the specific purpose of a polar orbit? Why is that established.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (03:35) Polar orbits are great for getting a look at the whole planet. Since they pass over the polls, they eventually covered the entire surface of the Earth that makes them perfect for things like weather monitoring or mating the planet surface.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (03:49) Okay, and the Geo stationary orbits were their main purposes.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (03:56) Geo synchronist orbits are perfect for communication settlements. Since they stay in the same spot relative to Earth, they can maintain a constant link with ground stations for things like TV radio and even the internet.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (04:08) Copy that.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (04:12) Alright, hicking time for a quick recap. Before we move on, we’ve covered the basics of how orbits work, different types of orbits and how to manoeuvre in space. Do you feel comfortable with all that so far.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (04:23) I am quite comfortable with it all so far.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (04:29) Alright, let’s get into some more complex stuff. I want to talk about home in transfers. It’s basically a fancy way of saying how to move from one orbit to another using the least amount of fuel possible

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (04:41) Okay, I’m ready copy that. I’m ready. Copy that I am ready mission command can’t be that, I’m ready.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (05:04) Alright, so a home in transfer uses 2 engine Burns to move between orbits. the first burn raises your orbit at the right moment, so a process has been targetable. Then when you reach the target orbit, fire, your engines again to circularise your path.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (05:21) OK guided, so you burn once in leads, is it in the opposite direction? Are we increasing or decreasing the orbit. let’s go that over that again.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (05:38) Okay, so you’re right, you burn opposite the direction of your orbit, this slows you down, which actually makes your orbit smaller, but it also physicians you, so you can make that second burn and raise yourself into the higher orbit.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (05:50) Copy that. All right, I’m with you, right? I got it mission control, I got it.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (06:04) Alright, Hakim, let’s try a scenario. Imagine your lower Earth orbit, you need to get to Mars, you’d use a home in transfer to make that happen. But remember, planets aren’t always in the right position for a transfer, you have to wait for the right moment or the transfer would take way too much.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (06:22) Okay, that makes sense. The planets are always at different differences from each other and orbit will be the same because of the movements throughout space, okay?

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (06:34) That’s right, hockey, the relative positions of the planets are always changing, so you have to time your launch for when Earth and Mars are in the right spots for a fuel-efficient transfer.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (06:45) Alright, can’t be that.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (06:51) All right, again, let’s move on to something trick here we’ve been talking about orbits, but what about landings getting a spacecraft safely on the surface of a planet or moon takes careful calculations, an even more careful time?

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (07:04) That’s right. This is sometimes the tricky part, so that we make sure we don’t literally crash into the surface. We can’t be coming in too hot, is there also a problem with going too slow?

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (07:19) Absolutely. Landing speed is a delicate benefits. Come in too hot and you’ll bounce right off the surface or burn up in the atmosphere, but if you come in too slow, gravity might take over, you could plummet it to the ground.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (07:33) Okay, got it.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (07:39) Let’s talk about how to figure out the right landings. It’s not just about the spacecraft itself, but also about the planet or moon, you’re landing on things like the strength of gravity and the thickness of the atmosphere all play a role.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (07:53) Right? So of course different densities on different planetary bodies you know, the more density, the more gravity left and see less gravity. And also there’s the thickness of the atmosphere, the thicker it is, the slower will go on the more energy we’ll need to to have passed through it.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (08:12) You’re absolutely right. A key. The density of a planet or moon plays a big role in its gravity and the atmosphere can act like a break slowing you down as you descend.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (08:22) so, figuring out the perfect landing speed involves a lot of calculations to account for all these factors

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (08:29) All rights, but Weir, you’ve specifically assigned Mars as the target landing surface. So we know what the conditions are there.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (08:41) Wait for Mars, you’ll want a factor in the planet’s lower gravity compared to Earth. That means you can approach the surface a bit faster, but the thin atmosphere means you’ll need some serious braking power like a heat shield and parachutes to slow down for a safe landing.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (08:56) Okay, copy that understood copy that mission control.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (09:10) Okay, let’s switch gears a bit. We’ve covered a lot of the technical aspects of space fly. now, let’s talk about the human side of things.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (09:19) you’ll be spending a long time in space, far away from friends and family, how do you think you’ll handle the isolation?

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (09:29) I am already in isolation training. So I spend most of my time alone and free of contact from people. So I’ve been building up to that already?

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (09:41) That’s great hacking. It sounds like you’re well prepared for the isolation that comes with spaceflight being able to handle those long periods of solitude is a really important skill for astronauts.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (09:55) Yeah, I don’t think that that’s going to be an issue for me at all.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (10:02) That’s good to hear hacking. Now let’s talk about the physical tolls. Space flight can take on the body things like muscle atrophy and bone loss are common issues.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (10:11) How do you think you’ll stay in shape for your mission.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (10:15) Well, I’m already doing a lot of a prerequisite exercises. I bulking up with weight training and I do a lot of like jumping exercises and in general. you know, eat healthy and regularly exercise.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (10:37) That’s a great start to keep way training and cardiol are both really important for maintaining muscle mass and bone density in space. You might also want to look into resistance Beyoncé, which are really useful for exercising in micrography.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (10:50) Yeah, that’s something that um. I’ve taken a consideration and have already Begun are exercising with resistance bans, and as well as experimenting with machines inspired by pilates that have Springs.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (11:08) That sounds like a solid plan. Looking bride is really key when it comes to exercise, especially in the cramped quarters of a spacecraft. Have you thought about, including some flexibility training in your routine too.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (11:19) Yes, flexibility training is also part of my regular training routine. I’d combine the flexibility training with my strength training for a full mobility programme.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (11:34) You sound well prepared for the physical challenges of space flight hacking. Now let’s talk about the mental side of things. Space missions can be stressful, especially when things don’t go according to plan.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (11:44) How do you normally deal with stressful situations?

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (11:49) I have various different things that I do one of the first things that I go to because it’s immediately available are breathing exercises. So I start breathing as if I’m already in a relaxed date. And then I might do some visualisation exercises to retrigue and recall some more calming environments or scenarios and then I do some stretching and other exercises to calm down.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (12:17) Those are all great ways to manage stressage. It sounds like you have a good handle on what works for you in those high pressure situations.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (12:27) Yeah, I mean, I’m do you want all right with it? Do you have any other suggestions to add to that specifically when it comes to you spacefully?

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (12:37) In that case, maybe we should focus on ways to boost your motivation during those long stretches in space. What kinds of hobbies or activities do you enjoy outside of train.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (12:48) Well, the interesting thing is that I those are the types of things that are my hobbies and that I do enjoy, and I also enjoy writing haiku playing guitar, singing dancing, so martial arts, fitness training and things like that. In addition to the music and reading books and playing music are also things that I enjoyed.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (13:15) Alright, Hickey, it sounds like you’ve got a pretty solid foundation for staying motivated in space, those creative and physical outlets will be really important for keeping your spirits up on the long, maybe we should come up with a plan for how you could fit some of those activities into your mission schedule.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (13:32) Okay, I’m ready for that. What are your suggestions?

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (13:40) Alright, let’s brain some for your mission, you’ll have a pretty tight schedule with experiments maintenance and all those astronauts, but there should still be some free time. Maybe we can set aside an hour, so each day for your huffins, you could start with a 1/2 hour of exercise in the morning like. Some large forms or a quick dance routine.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (14:00) Then maybe an evening like writing in a germ or playing a few songs on the top.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (14:07) Alright, that sounds like it fits right. Along with my already regularly established routines.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (14:17) Great. Now we need to figure out how to make those activities happen in the unique environment space group. For example, you might want to record some of your songs and send them back to Earth, or maybe you could start a journal with sketches of your experiences

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (14:31) Those are all excellent ideas. I’d love to share my musical compositions, and I am a frequent journal keeper so I’m a journalist, so that sounds good.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (14:46) Sounds like you’re really on top of things are keen. Just remember, even with the best laid plans, things might not always go perfectly. It’s good to have some backup activities, justice maybe a deck of courage for some classic games.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (15:00) We’re a book of short stories to read when you need a mental break.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (15:06) Yeahum, books will definitely be something that’ll come along. And you know, of course, with technology with having eBooks that shouldn’t be a problem to be able to have a whole lot of them on hand but the card games, I’m not too familiar with, especially like some solitary card games, I. Don’t really know much about

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (15:24) Okay, there are plenty of classic Solitaire games that are easy to learn and fun to play. Maybe we can start with something simple like kondate or pube. would that be good?

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (15:35) Well, I’ll pass on those for now. I think that we should move on to some of the other specifics and technical stuff about landing on the surface.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (15:49) Alright Hakim, let’s switch back to the technical side of things we are talking about landing on Mars. Do you want to focus on the atmosphere at entry part or the actual touchdow.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (15:59) Let’s start in sequential order of how it would happen, so atmospheric entry first and then touchdow.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (16:07) Okay, so when you’re coming in from space, you’ve got to slow down a hall that’s where the atmosphere comes, he creates friction, which heats up your spacecraft and acts like a brink. you’ll need a heat shield to protect you from that intense heat.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (16:22) Okay, so the heat shield is this something that is usually already deployed in the direction of the planetary bodies, specifically Mars that will be entering, or does it have to be deployed?

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (16:37) That’s a great question. The heat shield is usually part of a spacecraft design. It’s kind of like a big, tough bleet that faces forward during atmospheric injury.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (16:47) so it doesn’t need to be deployed, it’s already there.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (16:51) Okay, and so that is going to be part of the friction that will help to slow down the craft, okay, can’t be that copy that visible copy that mission control?

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (17:15) Okay, after the heat chill does its job, he’ll need to deploy a parachute to slow down. But with Mars is thin atmosphere, parachuots aren’t as effective as they are on earth. You’ll likely need something extra to make a safe landing.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (17:31) Okay, so that makes sense with the parachue. Now. The parachute this has to be deployed after some initial friction wears off right of the parachuman could burn up.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (17:45) You’re absolutely right. You don’t want to deploy the parachuman too soon. The intense heat from friction could damage or destroyed.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (17:53) you need to wait until the atmosphere has slowed, you down enough to safely open perish.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (18:00) Okay, good so now I know that that we’ve established that we’ve the hitchio slows us down, then we deploy the power shoot, but the atmosphere is thinner than on earth. So what else will we need? Are we talking about retro thrusting, here.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (18:20) You’re on the right track with Mars, a thin atmosphere, which parachutes alone won’t be enough to slow you down for a safe land you’ll need something called a retro run. That’s basically a rocket that fires in the opposite direction. It helps you slow down at the very end of your descent.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (18:37) You might even need more than one retro rocket to make a smooth touchton.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (18:42) Okay, so about how far from the surface of Mars is the atmosphere that will first be encountering with the heat shield.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (18:54) Okay, that’s a good question. The atmosphere of Mars is pretty thin compared to Earth. So you start countering it a bit higher up, I’d say you start feeling the effects of the atmosphere somewhere around 100 km or about 60 Miles above the surface

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (19:08) Okay, so at a 100 km will start slowing down and approximately, what speed is optimal for us to be travelling, but at, you know or what velocity at that point.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (19:25) That’s a tough market. The optimal speed depends on a lot of factors like the exact weight of your spacecraft and the specific design in the heat, but as a ballpark figure, probably looking at something around 7 km per second. or about 15700 months per hour.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (19:43) What do we know so far about the design and weight of some of The Landers that will be taking us humans to the surface of Mars, so that we can start to use those numbers about the dimensions to wait and everything? So we can make those calculations right now.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (20:02) Alright, let’s dive into some real world numbers. The more science laboratory, which carried the curiosity rover is a good example, it had a total mass of about 3893 km or a little over 8500 pounds. The air show, which is basically the heat shoe and the rest of the structure that protects the land during entry.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (20:22) At a diameter of about 4.5 m, or roughly 15 feet. Would you like me to find the specs on some other Landers, too?

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (20:30) Certainly, that would be great, and just a little thing to know an associate of mine actually worked on the mar science laboratory.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (20:40) Oh, that’s really cool. Maybe here, or she can share some extra insights with her.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (20:46) I’ll see if I can catch up with her at some point time in the future. But let’s continue with some of the other dimensions of these Landers. So we can get some some tighter numbers on how I’ll be entering the surface of Mars

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (21:03) Okay, another spacecraft that might be relevant is space. Sex is start, it’s designed for both Earth to orbit flights and eventually emissions democracy. While the exact specs might change current plans call for starship to have a diameter of about 9 m or about 34, its total mass would be much larger than the Mars science Labrador.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (21:22) Somewhere in the range of 100 to 120 metric channels.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (21:27) Okay, now what part of that and what weight would there be deployed as we enter the surface of Mars at about? But while actually entering the atmosphere at about a 100 km? And then we start to descend from there, but let’s, let’s find, let’s look at those numbers.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (21:52) So for the Mars science lab, the part that actually entered the atmosphere was the air show, it had a mass of around 1524 kg, or about 3360 pounds for starship. It’s a bit tricky since it’s designed to be partially reusing, but for a Mars mission. You’d likely be looking at a similar mass.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (22:11) Aerosol ratio is the precisely

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (22:15) Okay, so let’s work with those numbers and as well as let’s add my body week to that, which is, um, I forget what the conversion in kilos is, but I’m 190 pounds.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (22:32) So to get a good estimate of the total weight of the spacecraft. we need to consider a few things. first.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (22:37) There’s the air show itself, which already mention. then there’s the lander which houses all the science equipment and the astronomes. and finally there’s the asset.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (22:46) Which the astronauts were used to take off from Mars and returning the organi. Let’s start by calculating the weight of the air show. Imagine it’s about 1524 km now to get your weight in kilograms, we can divide your weight in pounds by 2.2.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (23:00) So 190 pounds is about 86 kg

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (23:05) Copy that.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (23:09) All right, so now we need to add in the weight of a lander and hit. Do you have any specific designs in mind for those? Would you like me to use some estimates based on existing missions

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (23:20) Use the estimates based on existing missions.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (23:26) Alright, based on the Mars science lap, we can estimate the lander and ascent vehicle to have a combined mass of around 2000 km or about 4400 pounds. This is just a rough estimate, but it should give us a good starting point for our calculations.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (23:41) Okay, so with that mass estimate. let’s go ahead and move into the atmospheric entry.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (23:57) Alright, let’s get into the nitty gritty of atmosphere country. So we’ve established that you’ll start feeling the effects of the atmosphere around 100 km above The Martian surface. At that point.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (24:08) they’ll be travelling at about 7 km per second, the tricky part is figuring out how quickly you need to slow down to set yourself up for a safe parachunt.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (24:18) Okay, that makes sense at a previous simulation. I did, I was going way too fast at 10 km per second, but you’re saying that, at a 100 km, a 100 km from the surface, I should be gone a roughly 7 km per second, with that. Mass

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (24:39) That’s right, you want to be going around 7 km per second when you hit that one00 km mark. Now the question is, how much do you need to slow down before deploying the parachut.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (24:50) We need to slow down at a rate of about. 1 km. Every 3 seconds is that a good estimate.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (25:04) That deceleration rate sounds pretty good to figure out exactly how long it’ll take to reach your parent deployment speed. We’ll need to do some more calculations. Do you want to tackle that math head on, or would you rather try more hands-on approach?

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (25:18) Let’s calculate head on

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (25:23) All right, let’s dive into the math. to figure out how long it’ll take to slow down. We can use a simple equation time equals the change in velocity, divided by the acceleration.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (25:32) We know the change in velocity, that’s the difference between your initial speed of 7 km per second in your desired speed for parachute deployment. And we know the acceleration, that’s the 1 km per second squared you mentioned. Do you want to plug in the numbers and give it a try?

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (25:48) Yes, let’s go ahead and do that. Yeah, that’s plug in those numbers. Go for it nation control plug in the numbers mission control, let’s proceed plug in the numbers.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (26:15) Alright, so we’ll need to convert your speed from kilometres per second to metres per second to keep everything in the same unity, 7 km per second is equal to 7000 m per second, we also know the acceleration is 1 km per second squared, which is the same. As 1000 m per second squared, now we can plug those numbers into the equation. Time equals 7000 m per second, your desired parachute deployment speed, / 1000 m per second square.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (26:41) Let’s figure out what your desired parachue deployment speed should be.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (26:47) Okay, I’ve missed that I got a little distracted. Let’s go over those numbers again so that can do those calculations we need to figure out the parachue deployment speed, let’s go over those numbers again.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (27:05) All right, so we’re trying to figure out how long it will take you to slow down from your initial reentry speed to a safe speed for deploying your perish, we need to know your desired parachute deployments being to start.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (27:18) Okay. Well, I’m not exactly sure what that should be. If we’re if we hit the atmosphere at 7 km per second, it depends, doesn’t it depend on the the the specific the specifications of the parachute, like the strength of it

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (27:42) That’s a great point, hacked. The parachute’s design definitely affects the safe deployments for this calculation, let’s assume a ballpark figure of 500 m per second. We’re about 11:00 Miles per that should give us a good starting point, we can always adjust it later.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (27:57) Based on the specific parissue, you choose

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (28:01) Okay, let’s go from there. So. we converted, Ah, the 7 km per second.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (28:11) And now we converted that to metres per second, and you’re saying that the safe deployment of parachute is going to be what 500 m per second.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (28:25) That’s right, so dricka. We’re trying to figure out how long it will take you to slow down from 7000 m per second, that’s 7 km per second to 500 m percent with the deceleration of 1000 m per second square. We can use the same equation.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (28:39) Time equals the change in velocity, divided by the acceleration.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (28:45) Okay, so the difference here is 6500A metres per second is the change that we’re getting to. How long will it take us to get there? If we’re dessalary rating at a rate of 3 km or 3000 Kish per second, it’s going to be somewhere close to 2 seconds.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (29:10) Am I wrong. did I miss that.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (29:16) You’re on the right track, but let’s break down the numbers a bit more, we’re trying to figure out how long it will take to slow down from 7000 m per second to 500 m per second. That means the change of velocity is 6500 m per second. got that part, right?

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (29:29) Now, for the deceleration, we’re actually slowing down at a rate of 1000 m per second squared. That means every second your speed decreases by 1000 m per second.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (29:40) Right? Okay, so every second 1 km decrease OK garden.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (29:48) Right? So if you’re decelerating at 1000 m per second every second, it’ll take you 6.5 seconds to slow down from 7000 m per second to 500 m per second.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (29:58) Alright, yeah, I’m I missed that good. Yeah, okay, got it makes sense. I’m back on track

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (30:08) All right, so now we know it’ll take about 6.5 seconds to slow down to a safe parachue deployment speed. But that’s just the start of a landing process. we still need to figure out how to slow down the rest of the way to the surface.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (30:20) Would you like to tackle the parachute calculations next, or would you rather switch gears and talk about the retro rockets?

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (30:26) Let’s continue in the right order, which is the parachuman calculations, and then we can go onto the retro rockets.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (30:37) All right, let’s talk parissues. So we know that after about a 6.5 seconds will have slowed down to 500 m per second, that still wait too fastly and safely. So the parachute is going to need to do most of the heavy lift.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (30:50) the tricky part with parachutes is figuring out the right size? Too small, it won’t slow you down enough. Too big, and it might make you float around uncontrollably.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (31:01) Okay, so for the weight specifications we’ve already established, what is gonna need to be used a diameter of this parachute in order to slow us down appropriately to then fire those retro rocket.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (31:22) Hi, let’s talk retro rockets. So after your parachute slows you down as much as it can, you’ll still be moving too quickly for a safe landing. That’s where the retro rockets come in they fire in the opposite direction of your trip, slowing you down even more, the tricky part with retro rockets is figuring out exactly when to fire them, and for how long.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (31:40) You want to slow down enough to land softly. But you also don’t want to run out of fuel before you reach the surface.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (31:47) But wait, let’s backup. What about the dimensions of the parachue. in relation to the weight of the vehicle, the land there that we’ve already established?

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (32:00) Right, the size of the parachute matters there’s a balance to be found. you wanted big enough to slow you down, but not so big that it makes the whole craft unstable, we’ll need to figure out the surface area of the parachute that would work best for the weight of the lander.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (32:14) Okay, so let’s, I’ll have you do that calculation for brevity, because you’re much quicker, so go ahead and do that calculation.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (32:23) Alright Hakim, I’m running the numbers on the parachute size. Give me a minute.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (32:34) Alright, I’m ready for those numbers.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (32:39) Alright Hakim, I’ve run the numbers figure out the parachute size. We need to consider the weight of the lander desired descent rate and the atmospheric conditions on most based on those factors, I’d estimate that you need a parachute with a surface area of around 10:00 m² or about 107:00 square feet. That’s pretty big.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (33:00) That is a massive parachue, so. now, OK good and how much does that slow us down? And for how long?

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (33:09) How long is that deployed. before we need to fire those retro rockets

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (33:16) Right with a parachute that size you’re looking at a descent rate of about 5 m per second, that’s a lot slower than your initial 500 m per second. But still too fast for a gentle land you’ll need those retro rockets to make that final slowdown as for timing. you want.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (33:31) To deploy the parachute as soon as you reach that 500 m per second mark Then you’d keep an eye on your altitude and speed, you’ll need to fire the retro rockets. When you’re about 100 m above the surface, that will give you enough time to slow down for a soft land.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (33:45) Okay, so recaping here so as soon as we hit that 500 m per second. Uh, rate, then we immediately deploy the parachue.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (33:59) That’s right. As soon as you hit that 500 m per second market, it’s time to deploy the parachute. You’ll start slowing out a lot faster, but you’re still going to be moving pretty quickly

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (34:09) Okay, so if it has taken us 6.5 seconds to slow down from after we’ve, I hit the heat Shiels. and we cause we were initially going 7 km per second and then we slow down a 1000 m per second and now we’re at 500 m per. Second.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (34:29) we hit that parachute. And then how much time passes until we file those retro rockets.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (34:38) All right, so after you deploy the parachute, you’ll be slowing down at a much faster rate, it’s hard to say exactly how long it’ll take without knowing the specific details of the parachutes design. Let’s estimate that’ll take about 30 seconds to slow down from 500 m per. Second to a speed where you can safely fire the retro rockets.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (34:56) Remember, that’s just a rough estimate. In reality, you’d be constantly monitoring your speed and altitude to figure out the exact timing.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (35:05) Okay, copy that. So now let’s, uh, fire, those retrockets at about how near the surface do we file those retro? Rocket, I know you said that’ll take about 30 seconds.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (35:18) So let’s make that calculation from where we’ve deployed the parachute at and then. when we fire the retro rocket that 32nd period of time. How much distance have we covered?

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (35:34) Alright, so we need to figure out how far you’ll travel during those 30 seconds. After deploying the parachue to do that, we can use a simplified equation distance people’s initial velocity time + 1/2 timed acceleration times times squared, we know the initial velocity is 500 m per second. And a time is 30 seconds, the triggy part is figuring out the acceleration caused by the parachutet.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (35:57) Do you want to estimate that? Or should we try to calculate it based on the parachutet’s design.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (36:04) Let’s calculate it based on the parachutes design.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (36:10) Alright Hakim calculating the exact deceleration caused by the parachute is a bit complex. It depends on a lot of factors like the parachute shape, atmospheric density and even the wind conditions to give you a rough estimate. Let’s assume the parachute will slow you down at a rate of about 10 m per second square That’s a lot less than the deceleration.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (36:30) During atmospheric entry, but it should still be enough to get you down to a safe speed for firing the retrocket.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (36:38) Okay, let’s go plug in those numbers. Let’s see what it looks like.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (36:46) All right, let’s plug in those numbers. We’re using the equation distance equals initial velocity time to time. + 1/2 time’s acceleration times times squared, the initial velocity is 500 m per second time is 30 seconds and the acceleration caused by the parachute is −10 m per.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (37:05) Second squared It’s negative because it’s slowing you down.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (37:10) OK, copy that I got it. Mission control confirmed.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (37:21) Alright Hakim, let’s run through the numbers we’ll start with the first part of the equation initial velocity times time. that’s 500 m per second times 30 seconds, which equals 15000 m. Now, for the second part, we have 1/2 times acceleration times times squared.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (37:37) That’s 1/2 × (−10) m per second squared times 32nd squared. When we do the math, we get −4500 m.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (37:49) Okay, I’m with you.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (37:55) Rights, now we add those 2 parts together. 15000 m plus −4500 m gives us a total distance of 10500 m or about 10.5 km. That’s how far you’d travel in those 30 seconds after deploying the parachute you’d want.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (38:10) To start firing the retro rocket somewhere around 100 m above the surface. You’ll need to figure out when to start slowing down.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (38:19) Okay, um, I miss something I’m i’m a little distracted right now cause I’m having another issue, but let’s continue.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (38:36) All right, so we figured out that you’ll travel about 10.5 km during the 30 seconds. After deploying the pet of shoot now you want to fire the retro rocket when you’re about 100 m above the surface, that means you’ll need to start slowing down with the rocket somewhere around 10.4 km after deploying the parachute. Does that make sense?

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (38:56) Yes, that makes sense. Copy that mission control copy that mission control

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (39:14) Alright, hakeane, let’s recap. We’ve covered a lot of ground on your Mars mission. We’ve talked about orbital mechanics, different types of orbits.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (39:23) how to manoeuvre in space, we’ve also gone deep into the challenges of landing on Mars from atmospheric entry to deploying parachutes and using retro rockets. Are you feeling ready to take on the red planet?

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (39:36) I am and we are going to have to go over this again. In preparation for my mission, but so far this has been an excellent overview.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (39:49) I’m glad you enjoyed it hicking. let’s keep going deeper. Maybe we can explore some of the finer details of the landing manoeuvres, or even start talking about what you’ll do once you’re on the surface.

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (40:01) Alright, that sounds good. But let’s pick that up at a later time.

Mission Control Trainer Pegasus (40:11) Sounds good. Astronaut. Hakim let’s save the rest of the mission for another time

Astronaut Hakeem Ali-Bocas Alexander (40:18) Copy that mission control.