View source for NewMarsWiki:Tsiolkovsky Compendium

[[Image:TsiolkovskyCoin.jpg|thumb|A Russian Ruble coin with Tsiolkovsky on it]]This page is the introduction and entry point to the Tsiolkovsky Compendium (TC), the evolving record of an ongoing effort to collect, organize, and make accessible scientific and engineering results relevant to near-term space exploration and permanent space settlement.  The long term goal of the Tsiolkovsky Compendium is to create a comprehensive database of the scientific and engineering data required to design, simulate, implement, and operate manned exploration missions and settlement initiatives.

=Guidelines for Inclusion=

The threshold for inclusion in the Tsiolkovsky Compendium is scientific and engineering validity.  In science and engineering, validity generally refers to the extent to which a concept, analysis, conclusion or measurement is well-founded and corresponds accurately to the real world.  Validity can be definitively established by experiment, or tentatively established by thorough and reasonable analysis or analogous demonstration.

Every piece of data, every analysis, and every result included in the Tsiolkovsky Compendium must be cited, preferably from multiple sources.  Data, analysis, and results from peer reviewed journals, prior missions, and primary accounts (from reputable sources) are given more weight than non-reviewed articles, original research, or secondary accounts.

It is okay to have works-in-progress that are not fully cited yet, as long as over time progress is made to track down those references.  

It is also okay to contribute your own work or estimates, however you must be explicit when you do so and cite references for any assumptions made.  One's own work is anything not constrained exactly by simple physical laws with no estimation involved.

All internet sources should be cited with a link.  For sources that are not online, Title and Author will suffice, although an online summary would be a nice addition.

As a side note, anyone who works on this project is called a TCer, which is almost universally vocalized and written out as "Tracer".

=Editing and Formatting Guidelines=

This information should be posted the best and clearest way that the Tracer's wiki-code skills allow.  I suggest a quick read of one of the relevant wikipedia entries.  In addition, LaTeX is enabled on this wiki, so if you know how to use it, feel free.

Each page edited by a Tracer should be put in the category Tsiolkovsky Compendium.  This can be done by putting the text:

'''<nowiki>[[Category:Tsiolkovsky Compendium]]</nowiki>'''

At the bottom of the page.

=Current Projects=

This is a short description of each general area that the Tsiolkovsky Compendium is working on right now.  For a full list of all the pages that are part of the Tsiolkovsky Compendium, please go to the [[Tsiolkovsky Compendium Category Page]].

==Mars Direct==

Our first project is finding specific engineering information about [[Mars Direct]]. If anyone can find the specific masses of all of the components that would be very helpful.

[[Category:Tsiolkovsky Compendium]]