> Mission > Early Design Sketches Out of the dozens of crude ERV sketches we've made, below are a few that made it to the scanner. Click an image to see its full size. If you're on dialup, be aware some images are half a meg. Our original ERV design which would have worked fine in space... as long as you didn't mind walking on the walls. Landing, however, would have been difficult to impossible due to its complex geometries. Above is an ERV Concept featuring large inflatable staterooms and a cone-shaped solar collector that stowed inside a central shaft running the length of the ERV. We later discovered the solar collector folded to a much smaller 3m x 1m cylinder. Since the staterooms were the only place that artificial gravity would be felt, and where radiation shielding would be minimal, we decided to scrap this design. Dominic's early calculations for the transfer ellipse from Mars to Earth. Basically, the quickest way home from Mars is to head straight towards the sun and let the Earth "crash" into us. This kind of maneuver requires a considerably higher delta V. However, if you need to get back to Earth as quick as possible (we figured about 3 months), this is how you would do it. This much improved ERV design used an extendable truss to accomodate a pair of concave solar collectors. This sketch also shows the first use of modular sections providing a simple yet elegant landing configuration, rotational stability, the ability to jettison spent stages, and a heavily shielded crew compartment. However, because the solar collectors could not be deployed on Mars, this design was rejected. A recent ERV design showing the nine stages of a Mars-to-Earth mission. The only differences between this sketch and the final design is the elimination of the protruding transfer rocket nozzle, and a fatter 1:4 aspect ratio. Notice the landing strut that doubles as an access ramp. Early sketch of Magnum booster with attached ERV. The competition required that the ERV be no larger than 7m in diameter by 27m tall.