2020 Red Dragon

The first test flight of a Dragon capsule to Mars in 2020 atop of a Falcon Heavy rocket will demonstrate technologies needed to land large payloads on the Red Planet including supplies and habitats for Martian explorers.

One primary objective is to succeed with the Entry, Descent, and Landing approach (EDL) of the Red Dragon as this level of weight has never been attempted, to achieve this the Dragon would propulsively decelerate from supersonic speeds to touchdown, taking advantage of its high-thrust retro-propulsion system and obviating the need to develop new parachutes or other aerodynamic decelerators for the vehicle. SpaceX plans to include legs on a version of the human variant of Dragon; Red Dragon would land on modified legs as necessary for the Mars environment.

Arcadia Planita has been identified as a good landing site with few rocks and due to its low elevation and sit close to the Equator, to optimize solar power and thermal conditions also it has large amounts of ice near the surface that may help support a human colony.

Three other landing sites have been identified Deuteronilus Mensae, Phlegra Montes and Utopia Planitia but are more rockier.

Arcadia Planita is is a smooth plain region North West of Olympus Mons

Arcadia Planitia topography map