Five new Space Drawings have just been made available (see HERE). One of these drawing packages shows two North American Aviation conceptual designs for landers meant to transport astronauts to the surfaces of the asteroids Ceres or Vesta. One lander was designed for a crew of three, the other for a crew of ten. Both were designed for a 30-day stay time and to use FLOX/MMH propellants – very energetic with great energy density, but just about as toxic as physically possible.
Due to the long stay times, the vehicles – which were otherwise similar to the Lunar Excursion Module – were equipped with living quarters distinct and separate from the ascent module. The living quarters would be left behind when the ascent modules took off.
The three-man Planetary Excusion Module (PEM) had an estimated gross mass of 14,100 kilograms, the ten-man PEM massed 27,800 kilos. The 3-man PEM had a cylindrical living space behind the cramped ascent stage; the 10-man PEM used a hocky-puck-shaped living quarters atop the descent stage, essentially serving as a platform for the even more cramped ascent stage.
Ganymede and Mercury were other targets for this class of vehicle.
The full resolution images are available here:
http://www.up-ship.com/drawndoc/drawndocspacesaturn.htm#spacedwg16
One Response to “Astronauts to Ceres and Vesta: 1966”
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A mission of this sort should be incorporated into the Constellation program!