Quote:
Originally Posted by unlurking
Good read on ISS and atmosphere leaks...
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20110012997
Some take aways for a Mars mission seem to be that the larger the vehicle volume, the more amount of time to resolve a leak; and the more connection ports, the more opportunities for leaks. Since SS has a similar volume to the ISS, it's probably comparable on leakage mitigation timelines. Since it has significantly fewer ports, it should also have significantly less opportunity for leaks to develop in the first place. I imagine a Mars colony (at least an early colony) would likely be built with lots of modules and connection ports, but hopefully with each module being much larger than the modules on ISS. |
I seem to remember seeing that the plan would be to leave Starships behind that could be used as long-term habitats but that may have just been some rumor or idea someone had. Makes sense though if you could retrofit the entire rocket to be living quarters.
Also saw a thing where the PSI on a plane is only 4-5 but that may not be the case on a planet with little atmosphere to begin with. Clearly pressurizing habitats is not my strong suit but I find it super interesting and hope Musk pulls it off.