Since the competition to the Moon, the approach to solutions for the space transportation problem has not changed much—the only exceptions being SpaceX rockets, Falcon 9 and Starship. All parts were designed to be single-use. This is an acceptable shortcut solution when the mission is one-of-a-kind. When satellite constellation deployment required better economics, refurbishing made sense. If humanity wants to realize its ambition of colonizing Mars, we need to design space transportation solutions with reusability in mind. Like airplanes, they should require almost no maintenance between flights—only fueling.
With this mentality, I recommend we should be developing and utilizing the Mars Transporter on Earth first. Instead of using propulsion-less, hard-to-refurbish capsules for deploying or retrieving payload and crew to the ISS, we should be using a slightly modified version of the Reusable Mars Surface Transport I proposed in my previous article. Even though conditions on Earth and Mars are not identical, they can be approximated.
The Mars Transporter cannot launch itself and dock with the ISS in a single stage. For this phase of the operation, I propose an Equalizer Booster, similar to the first-stage boosters of Falcon 9 or Starship. It can take the Mars Transporter to an appropriate altitude and provide an initial speed boost so that the remaining work is similar to what is required on Mars.
Current ISS capsule deployment is achieved by a three-stage system. The first two stages—typical rockets—put the capsule into orbit (in SpaceX's case, the first stage is recovered, but the second stage is expended). Then, the capsule relies on its limited hypergolic propellant to dock with the ISS over several hours of maneuvering.
In my architecture, deployment occurs via a two-stage system. The Equalizer Booster performs the heavier work compared to current rockets. Thanks to the Catcher in the Fly architecture I proposed, the booster does not need a large propellant reserve and does not require heavy heat shields (though it will experience higher thermal loads than classical first-stage boosters due to the higher delta-v requirement of the Mars Transporter). After stage separation, the Mars Transporter will match its altitude to that of the ISS at a slower relative speed, reaching the target elevation ahead of the space station. Thanks to its powerful onboard engines—which are required to take off and reach orbit in a single stage from the Mars surface—the transporter can accelerate and match the speed of the ISS as it approaches. This enables a considerably faster docking sequence than current capsule approaches.
For the Mars Transporter, I proposed LH₂ as the fuel with 98% HTP as the oxidizer and monopropellant for attitude control. This combination yields high thrust levels within a highly throttleable engine setup. The engine and micro-nozzles suffer no contamination and require no maintenance. Precise, continuous throttling during the approach phase is inherently more reliable than on-off hypergolic engines or low-thrust cold-gas thrusters. Most importantly, this propellant combination can be produced via ISRU on Mars and other celestial bodies where water ice is available. While HTP can freeze, proper insulation (already required for LH₂) paired with a radioisotope thermal source will prevent freezing.
Return to Earth will be completely different from current capsule designs. Modern capsules rely on exotic heat shields that degrade after a single entry and offer no propulsive velocity shedding. The Mars Transporter, on the other hand, retains reserve propellant to perform entry decelerations. I have previously detailed how the vehicle manages entry physics with minimal propellant consumption and without requiring heavy thermal shielding: it approaches the atmosphere at a shallow angle, where the concave dome encapsulating the micro-thrusters rams incoming air that becomes entrained by the engine exhaust. The main engines do not need to generate massive thrust; control is maintained by pressure buildup inside the concave structure. This entrained exhaust pushes the bow shock wave away from the vehicle surface, eliminating extreme thermal loads. The transporter does not land on the surface using its own systems; the Catcher in the Fly captures it at high altitude and safely returns it to the launch site. Unlike capsules, crew members inside the transporter experience low peak g-forces, and reduced plasma formation prevents communication blackouts with ground control.
So, what is the conclusion? Planting a flag on Mars earns a single page in history books, but colonizing the planet fills entirely new volumes. Organizations that prioritize short-term strategies just to arrive first will end up as footnotes. Those prioritizing long-term architectures will secure dominant operational and financial advantages. Developing bespoke vehicles for one-off missions consumes decades and billions of dollars. Conversely, developing Mars-capable hardware on Earth creates immediate operational assets with direct commercial returns. Sending mass to Mars is prohibitively expensive. If you design your strategy based on single use items than you need to send the same thing over and over again. Which makes your dreams about Mars stay as dreams. A fully reusable Mars Transporter provides faster access to the ISS, gentler orbital returns, and drastic long-term cost reductions through rapid reuse. Continuous operational use on Earth optimizes hardware and software reliability—a mandatory prerequisite before committing a vehicle to an unassisted Mars profile.
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