Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!decvax!wivax!linus!allegra!eagle!harpo!seismo!hao!hplabs!sri-unix!REM@MIT-MC From: REM%MIT-MC@sri-unix.UUCP Newsgroups: net.space Subject: SPACE Digest V3 #117 [actually lunar soft landing] Message-ID: <1631@sri-arpa.UUCP> Date: Tue, 31-May-83 08:33:00 EDT Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.1631 Posted: Tue May 31 08:33:00 1983 Date-Received: Sat, 4-Jun-83 07:50:23 EDT Lines: 13 From: Robert Elton MaasGee, that's a fantastic idea (in both connotations of the word, both strange/weird and wonderful/brilliant). You'll need a shield against the ablative effect of the dust. Perhaps you first toss enough dust up to orbit to construct a shield, and you do so. Then your soft-lander "burrows" through additional tossed-up dust on its way down. While on Luna, it is equipped with a brand new shield for the up trip. On the way up yet more tossed-up dust gives it orbital velocity. Once in orbit it sheds the up-shield, dons its ion rocket (or gets docked with an ion-rocket tug) for non-landing maneuvering, then sheds the ion rocket or tug and dons a down-shield for the next trip to Luna.