10X Mars Lander Project

Rear view showing internal structure.

by Mike Stoop & Andy Woerner

It all started one Saturday morning... The launch was rained out... Most of the normal people had called it a day... A few diehards remained under the ez-up hoping the rain would stop - a dangerous combination

Closer view of internal structure. How about that launch lug!

Forward view of the nozzle. This slips onto the motor tube and rests against the internal fins. Center motor tube is 98 and the outboards are 38.

This is the forward view of the lower body section. For you Mars Lander buffs, this would be the top of the ascent module. The chute will reside on top of this bulkhead. We decided to break the lander here so the nose weight in the upper shroud can ride down on its own chute.

My daughter attempting to use the upper section as a hat. We are very proud of the 'scale like' nose cone angles even though we decided not to break it there (Andy's handiwork on the lathe).

This is the leg mounting tab before the gear housings were glued on. The legs pivot on a 1/2" steel bolt.

The gear housing clamped on. The housing does not provide any structural support and is made from door skins laminated to 1/2" eps foam.

Andy using up all the white paint he had to cover the massive body. (I couldn't help paint here 'cause I was too busy taking pictures).

Tom made the mistake of visiting at our time of need. We quickly roped him into masking the body detail. THANKS Tom!

Here is the lower section with the clear coat drying in Andy's driveway. Yes it was fun watching people's reactions as they drove by.

And here's Andy and I ready to put on the decals. Our plan right now is to fly it at Plaster Blaster in October.

Successful launch at Plaster Blaster 10/2003!

Liftoff on center M1939 and 4 outboard J330.

On chute - 28' chute for main, R14 for Nose cone.

Touch down - we cracked one of the legs on landing :(

The persons responsible for this monster - Mike on the left, Andy on the right.