Slashdot Mirror
Robert Zubrin's Mars Gashopper Airplane
Fraser Cain writes "Universe Today has a story about Robert Zubrin's (Mars Society President) Martian Gashopper Aircraft proposal to NASA. It uses solar power to liquefy carbon dioxide and then use it as a propellant to take off, fly hundreds of km above the surface of Mars like an airplane, and then land vertically again."
The Carbon dioxide is much more concentrated on Mars than on Earth. It would take a lot longer to get enough for fuel, and you would need more propellant to overcome Earth's larger gravity.
Viral software licensing is not freedom, it is in fact GNU/Socialism.
CO2 sublimates, doesn't it?
It does under Earth's amospheric conditions. You can liquefy CO2 by putting it under high pressure (5+ atmospheres, IIRC). When they release the liquid CO2 it'll probably produce gas and small crystals that will sublimate away, like what happens when you discharge a CO2 fire extiguisher on Earth.
It would be neat to watch a rocket powered aircraft that trails dry ice snow instead of smoke and flames...
0 1 - just my two bits