Gemini Mars


The CranSpace team is proud to announce that we were the winners of the International Gemini Mars Design Competition, after presenting our design alongside nine other teams at the 19th annual International Mars Society Convention in Washington DC. Read more here.


An updated report, reflecting the final design presented at the convention, is now available for download.

The Mission




Mission Statement


To design a two-person flyby mission to Mars to recapture the imagination of the public and give direction to the U.S. human spaceflight program. The mission will be launched before the end of the 2016 elected president's second term.


Mission Key Points


  • The Crew: One male and one female astronaut
  • Trajectory: Free return trajectory, with a flyby of Venus and Mars
  • Journey time: 580 day round trip
  • Distance Travelled: 251 million km

Benefits


The mission will give invaluable knowledge to help improve and define future interplanetary missions in areas including: optical communications, closed loop life support, human biological sciences and human psychology of interplanetary space flight.


Our Design




Heritage Strategy


Due to the short development time already existing technology was utilized as much as possible for the key aspects of the mission, such as spacecraft configuration, communications and life support. These will however be complemented with experimental technologies which will be a proving ground for later use.

ORION


The Orion Capsule was chosen as a direct result of it being designed for interplanetary re-entry. Available for our 2021 launch window the capsule will be re-designed internally to carry two crew members instead of the six it is currently designed to carry. The Orion spacecraft will be used for ferrying the crew to the space habitat, and then returning them to earth.

MPLM


The MPLM will be the main space habitat module, where the crew will eat, sleep, and work for the duration of the mission. With three previously constructed and with 12 flight-proving missions, there is significant experience in the manufacture and operation of the MPLM, thus increasing the confidence in the design and reducing development costs. The MPLM will need to be modified for interplanetary missions due to its lack of adequate radiation and thermal shielding.



The Team


William Blackler

Space Engineer
Project Manager and Biological Life Support
will.blackler@outlook.com

Rob Sandford

Space Engineer
Power, Water, Launch and CAD
rob_sandford@hotmail.co.uk

Guillaume Renoux

Space Engineer
Re-entry, Radiation Protection, Mission Science and CAD Design
guillaume.renoux@gmail.com

Mario Cano Diaz

Aerospace/Space Engineer
Astrodynamics, Cost and Website
mario.cano.diaz@hotmail.com

Roland Albers

Aerospace Engineer
Requirements and Thermal
rolandalbers@gmx.de

Dan Grinham

Aerospace Engineer
Configuration and Spacecraft Design
dan.grinham@outlook.com

Dale Wyllie

Physicist/Space Engineer
Psychology/Physiology and Atmospheric Life Support
dale.wyllie@outlook.com

Tiago Matos

Aerospace Engineer
Risk and Consultant
tiagomatoscarvalho@gmail.com

Contact US