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What if Earth sends a fleet to Mars with orbital bombardment capabilities? Mars isn't like the Earth where you can just run outside of your fixed settlements i

What if Earth sends a fleet to Mars with orbital bombardment capabilities? Mars isn't like the Earth where you can just run outside of your fixed settlements into the forests or jungle. Even Earth isn't like that any more.

myrandomcomment 6y ago
So the point is it MAD in space. Successful colonization of Mars would involve master the technology needed to capture and move big rocks in space :) Put one of those on a course to smash into the east coast at that point would not be hard.
ampdepolymerase 6y ago
Brush up on Factorio and arm the rockets. Our current spacecrafts are not designed to survive sustained damage (and unlike on earth, the attack vehicles have no easy way of refuel in space, so they are limited when it comes to evasive maneuvers). Attacking a planet is limited by the (current) laws of physics. Defenders are at a great advantage as long as they have a proper production line for orbital rockets.
- sudosysgen 6y ago
  Not really. The attackers have nuclear weapons, the defenders don't. That's it. It's over.
  - myrandomcomment 6y ago
    I big rock tossed at earth could do way more damage than a bunch of nukes. Like I said, it's MAD in space.
    - sudosysgen 6y ago
      This is a game of energy. The energy necessary to deflect an asteroid from earth is undoubtedly lower than to put it on that course to begin with. It's really not MAD. Also, sending a nuke could be done much faster than an asteroid intercept mission. It could get there in as little as a week.
      - myrandomcomment 6y ago
        Putting a few 100 rocks on course for earth all with different trajectories and arrival times is quite a doomsday game. Mars could be nuked but with 100s of big rocks, a few are going to get though and it will take only a few. It is MAD.
        sudosysgen 6y ago
        They need to be massive enough to do some real damage, and this will require a lot of energy and luck to divert as there is a low chance you'll find a few hundred on such a trajectory. Just getting the ships in position to shift their orbits will take weeks to months. Meanwhile, nukes already hit. You'd only need 100km/s of delta-v, which is very doable at those timescales with a sub-ton payload.
ASalazarMX 6y ago
It would be a fucking shame to waste the resources of the first interplanetary colony in a war. It would be pretty in line with what our leaders do, but still a shame.
Balgair 6y ago
ACOUP has a pretty good piece on the practicality of planetary bombardments here: https://acoup.blog/2020/07/17/fireside-friday-july-17th-2020/ https://acoup.blog/2020/07/17/fireside-friday-july-17th-2020... TLDR: Short of planet killing levels of power, you are unlikely to dislodge dug-in ground forces. Rock is really really good at absorbing impacts.

myrandomcomment 6y ago

So the point is it MAD in space. Successful colonization of Mars would involve master the technology needed to capture and move big rocks in space :) Put one of those on a course to smash into the east coast at that point would not be hard.

ampdepolymerase 6y ago

Brush up on Factorio and arm the rockets. Our current spacecrafts are not designed to survive sustained damage (and unlike on earth, the attack vehicles have no easy way of refuel in space, so they are limited when it comes to evasive maneuvers). Attacking a planet is limited by the (current) laws of physics. Defenders are at a great advantage as long as they have a proper production line for orbital rockets.

sudosysgen 6y ago
Not really. The attackers have nuclear weapons, the defenders don't. That's it. It's over.
- myrandomcomment 6y ago
  I big rock tossed at earth could do way more damage than a bunch of nukes. Like I said, it's MAD in space.
  - sudosysgen 6y ago
    This is a game of energy. The energy necessary to deflect an asteroid from earth is undoubtedly lower than to put it on that course to begin with. It's really not MAD. Also, sending a nuke could be done much faster than an asteroid intercept mission. It could get there in as little as a week.
    - myrandomcomment 6y ago
      Putting a few 100 rocks on course for earth all with different trajectories and arrival times is quite a doomsday game. Mars could be nuked but with 100s of big rocks, a few are going to get though and it will take only a few. It is MAD.
      - sudosysgen 6y ago
        They need to be massive enough to do some real damage, and this will require a lot of energy and luck to divert as there is a low chance you'll find a few hundred on such a trajectory. Just getting the ships in position to shift their orbits will take weeks to months. Meanwhile, nukes already hit. You'd only need 100km/s of delta-v, which is very doable at those timescales with a sub-ton payload.

ASalazarMX 6y ago

It would be a fucking shame to waste the resources of the first interplanetary colony in a war. It would be pretty in line with what our leaders do, but still a shame.

Balgair 6y ago

ACOUP has a pretty good piece on the practicality of planetary bombardments here: https://acoup.blog/2020/07/17/fireside-friday-july-17th-2020/ https://acoup.blog/2020/07/17/fireside-friday-july-17th-2020... TLDR: Short of planet killing levels of power, you are unlikely to dislodge dug-in ground forces. Rock is really really good at absorbing impacts.