Atmosphere Engine

[ParaScuba]

will it work on mars? I almost finish with build ship and wonder if atomsphere engine going work there or not

[Farrel]

Mars does have an atmosphere, but it's not as dense as earth. You'll find atmo thrusters do work, but they are much weaker. You might need more atmospheric thrusters to take off, and you won't be able to get as high up.

Be careful when flying up hills.

[ShadedMJ]

Outside of the moon of the earth-like planet, all the planets and moons have atmosphere.

Could start up a new custom start on mars, paste in your ship, and find out yourself in a matter of seconds.

[Buzzard]

All planets and moons (except for Earthlike's Moon) have some sort of atmosphere. BREATHABLE atmosphere... is not guaranteed. O2 content is separate from atmosphere in general. (Alien planet has O2, but only really low down, below the mountains, while the atmosphere continues on up past the mountains)

There is one spot on Mars that's just a little tricky to get to with atmospheric thrusters: The top of Olympus Mons. The caldera inside the rim has atmosphere, but the rim sticks up beyond the point that atmo thrusters shut off. It's possible to take a craft that has 'excessive' levels of thrust and jump over the rim, hopefully being able to stop quickly once back in atmo in the caldera.

[Spaceman Spiff]

I'm not sure if it's been mentioned, but with the exception of the Moon (the Earthlike planet's moon), all planets and moons have an atmosphere sufficient for atmospheric thrusters to operate. Be wary of Pertam, however, as it has a very shallow atmosphere and any heavily laden ship will soon find out that its running with no lift.

[Mojo]

I have never set foot or ship on Pertam, but of course I guess I would have to play again to ever achieve that :)

[eagle2351]

It will work, but with half the efficiency than on earth. It's the same for an ion engine, it will have half the efficiency. I recommend having all three types of thrusters but have the hydros as more of a booster.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Originally posted by Mojo:

I have never set foot or ship on Pertam, but of course I guess I would have to play again to ever achieve that :)

Personally, I've enjoyed the challenges offered by Pertam. It's shallow atmosphere and higher gravity makes ship design a bit more challenging, and the weather effects can be too much for the uninitiated. I find building a Bat Cave is the best solution for dealing with the weather, so it doesn't much bother me. If it had some giant "Tremors" worms, it would be complete.

[Buzzard]

@Eagle2351 - NO. Ion thrusters are horribly fouled anywhere NEAR an atmosphere, dropping to a minimum of ~20% efficiency. Unless it's a SPACE craft (or Earthlike's Moon), ions are a horrible idea.