What might an early design for a crewed Mars mission look like?
In this talk, Massimiliano Vasile explores the trade-offs in designing both the vehicle and the mission. The goal is a round-trip to Mars, with flexible time spent on or near the planet. The vehicle is built for at least 3 crew members and 50 tons of cargo, with options for in-orbit assembly and refuelling. The design uses a bimodal nuclear propulsion system. A multi-objective optimization analysed the balance between flight times, total mission duration, Mars stay times, planetary alignment, dry masses and engine size, as well as mission paths.

Massimiliano Vasile, is currently Professor of Space Systems Engineering and Director of the Aerospace Centre of Excellence at the University of Strathclyde (Glasgow/Scottland). He received his M.S. in 1996 and Ph.D. in 2001 from Politecnico di Milano.  Prof. Vasile has developed novel numerical methods for single and multi-objective optimisation under uncertainty, has pioneered the use of computational intelligence in astrodynamics, and the use of imprecise probability theories in the optimisation of space systems.  His research has been funded among others by the European Space Agency, the UK and French Space Agencies, and the European Commission.