Gemini Mars Lander (1963)
General Electric's Mars Mission Concept
Price: $100.00 + Shipping
STATUS: IN STOCK
Price: $100.00 + Shipping
STATUS: IN STOCK
About the Design
In 1963, General Electric's Aerospace Division presented a paper to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) proposing a "brute force" mission to Mars. Penned by GE engineers Thomas P. Widmer and Dandridge Cole, the proposal called for sending two astronauts to Mars aboard a craft powered by as-yet-undeveloped NERVA atomic engine. Once at the Red Planet, the two-man crew would transfer to the landing vehicle, a delta-winged cylinder topped by a specially adapted Gemini capsule. Once landed, the crew would descend to the Martian surface using hand- and foot-holds embedded in the landing craft's surface. When the mission was completed, they'd leave Mars using the landing craft's upper stage and rendezvous with their orbiting mother ship for the trip home.
Although ambitious, the GE proposal contained any number of issues, and was never seriously pursued. |
About the Model
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