Leaving Earth
Above: The escape maneuver is performed by firing the first of four nuclear propulsion stages. The stages are jettisoned as each maneuver is complete. The crew ship rotates slowly to provide artificial gravity for the crew. Bottom Right: Drew Carey.
From: Artists’ concepts (Spacecraft) [1 of 6 folders]
En route to Mars
Left: Enjoying Frogger™ while someone else does the laundry. Right: The LLS is modularized, each module can be sealed off if damaged. Mid-deck and someone is taking a shower because in space someone is ALWAYS taking a shower.
From: Planets and Planetary Missions
Arrival at Mars
From: Artists’ concepts (Spacecraft) [1 of 6 folders]
It’s not clear (to me) whether this image represents the convoy arriving at or departing from Mars. Either way, it’s an amazing visual. If it’s arrival, the second stages are fired, slowing the convoy so the can be captured by Mars’ gravity.
From: Transportation [3]
Mars Orbit
Above: In Mars orbit, the hangar of the Cargo Module is depressurized and the crew remove and deploy surface probes. Below: One last treat, the Convair EMPIRE report went into great detail about the automated Mars probes. One concept was a Mars lander based on NASA’s Surveyor.
From: Artists’ concepts (Spacecraft) [1 of 6 folders]
Image credit: Krafft Ehricke Papers
Image source: NASM
numbers station 
3 thoughts on “EMPIRE Hunting: Part 2”