Eleven days ago Jonathan uí-Callaghan posted about JPL’s sMars Ascent Vehicle. NASA’s notion is that for small, nonbrittle cargo on a 3.7 ms-2 planet whose oxygenpoor atmo goes exospheric fast, the more efficient initial delta-V can be had by lobbing the canister downfield like Tom Brady lobbing a football. Its trajectory goes from parabolic past V∞ by means of the rocket firing whilst in (thin) air.
It all sounds Kerbal Krazie (to ToughSf) but JPL say the unit tests work. Full regression testing remains a problem to be solved on Mars itself.
Looks really good for scaling toward delivering Mars-made rocket fuel and other such supplies onto Phobos. Until they get the Ring Of Iron of course.
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