SpaceX planning to send it's Dragon capsule to Mars as soon as 2018

[Sableye]

[QUOTE=Saxon;50230077]You also need a return booster to get it out of low mars orbit then a transfer burn, which creates some major logistical issues when you start having to size everything up. Falcon heavy is their biggest rocket and it can't carry that payload

Musk is usually overly optimistic about stuff but hes pushed booster tech more in just a few years from what hasn't changed since the late 70's so you gotta give him some credit.[/QUOTE]

If the capsule has remote docking capabilities, it's not infeasable that they would redesign the trunk to be more of a service module, that remotely docks with the capsule, and that would house an engine and fuel to get home as well as provide long term power systems.but from my understanding that would require a substantial redesign of the docking hardware for that capsule as the dragon 2 is made to dock with the ISS using a docking system that's not capable of doing that

I'm an expert BC I play kerbal space program so I clearly know what I'm on about, if he has a team that says it can be done it probably can