Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Hoffman, N..
Giant debris flows could have filled the northern lowlands with approx. 2 km of sediment in 10(exp 3) to 10(exp 5) years by catastrophic regional terrain collapse. The outburst floods and chaos zones are probably the waning stage of this process. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.
Inertial fusion can be used to power spacecraft within the solar system and beyond. Such spacecraft have the potential for short-duration manned-mission performance exceeding other technologies. We are conducting a study to assess the systems aspects of inertial fusion as applied to such missions, based on the conceptual engine design of Hyde (1983) we describe the required systems for an entirely new spacecraft design called VISTA that is based on the use of DT fuel. We give preliminary design details for the power conversion and power conditioning systems for manned missions to Mars of total duration of about 100 days. Specific mission performance results will be published elsewhere, after the study has been completed.