TMK () was the designation of a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

space exploration project to send a crewed flight to

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

and

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

(TMK-MAVR design) without landing. The TMK-1

spacecraft A spacecraft is a vehicle that is designed spaceflight, to fly and operate in outer space. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including Telecommunications, communications, Earth observation satellite, Earth observation, Weather s ...

was due to be launched in 1971 and make a three-year-long flight including a Mars flyby, at which time probes would have been dropped. Expanded project variations, such as the TMK-E, Mavr or KK, including a Venus flyby, electric propulsion or a crewed Mars landing were also proposed. The TMK project was planned as a response to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

' crewed

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

landings. An earlier ''

Martian Piloted Complex The Martian Piloted Complex or MPK was a Soviet Union human mission to Mars proposed in 1956-62 by Mikhail Tikhonravov. It featured a six-cosmonaut crew on a 900-day mission, with a launch in 1975. The craft would have a mass of 1,630 metric tons ...

'' mission was proposed in 1956. The project was never completed because the required

N1 rocket The N1 (from , "Carrier Rocket"; Cyrillic: Н1) was a super heavy-lift launch vehicle intended to deliver payloads beyond low Earth orbit. The N1 was the Soviet counterpart to the US Saturn V and was intended to enable crewed travel to the Mo ...

never flew successfully.

TMK-1

The first flight to Mars of the TMK-1 was planned to begin on June 8, 1971. The 75 metric ton TMK-1 spacecraft would take a crew of three on a Mars flyby mission. After a 10½ month flight the crew would race past Mars, dropping remote-controlled landers, and then be flung into an Earth-return trajectory. Earth return would happen on July 10, 1974, after a voyage of three years, one month, and two days. Spacecraft configuration: *A ''habitation'' or ''pilot compartment'', with an internal volume of 25 cubic meters *A ''work'' or ''equipment section'', including the hatch for extra-vehicular activities and a solar storm shelter should solar flares increase radiation to dangerous levels. Total volume of the section would be 25 cubic meters *A ''biological systems compartment'', with the SOZh closed-cycle environmental control system, with a total volume of 75 cubic meters *An ''aggregate section'', with the Mars probe capsules, the KDU midcourse correction engine, the SOZh solar concentrator and solar panels, and radio antennas * The ''SA'' crew Earth reentry capsule, about 4 m in diameter.

TMK-E

This variation was proposed in 1960, and consisted of a complete Mars landing expedition to be assembled in Earth orbit using several N1 launches. The spacecraft would be powered by nuclear electric engines and five landers would deliver a nuclear-powered ''Mars Train'' on the surface for a one-year mission. The TMK-E would be capable of a three-year flight to Mars and return, of which one year was powered flight. It would measure 175 m in length and house a crew of six. Six landing craft were included, two for the crew and four for the ''Mars Train'' vehicles.

Mavr (MArs - VeneRa)

A variation of the TMK mission planning involved a flyby of Venus on the return voyage, and was given the code name "Mavr" (''MArs - VeneRa''), meaning Mars - Venus.

KK - Space Complex for Delivering a Piloted Expedition to Mars

In 1966, a final version of the TMK studies was known as ''KK - Space Complex for Delivering a Piloted Expedition to Mars''. Nuclear electric propulsion was to be used for the 630-day mission. The craft structure consisted of: * ''EK - Expeditionary spacecraft'': command center for piloting in interplanetary space * ''OK - Orbital Complex'': living and work compartments and the life support systems * ''SA - The Landing Module'', ''AV - The Ascent Module'' and ''RV - The Ascent Rocket stage'' * ''PS - The Planetary Station'': used by the expedition on the Martian surface for life support and scientific research The launch was planned for 1980, with a crew of three cosmonauts. Mars stay duration would be 30 days. Mission data: * Total Payload Required in Low Earth Orbit-metric tons: 150 * Total Propellant Required-metric tons: 24 * Number of Launches Required to Assemble Payload in Low Earth Orbit: 2 * Launch Vehicle: N1

References

{{Nuclear propulsion Cancelled Soviet spacecraft Soviet Mars missions Soviet Venus missions Human missions to Venus Human missions to Mars

TMK-1

TMK-E

Mavr (MArs - VeneRa)

KK - Space Complex for Delivering a Piloted Expedition to Mars

See also

References