How could a spacecraft as compact as Orion possibly take humans to locations beyond Earth?

Neither Orion nor the Manned Dragon by themselves are not able to support missions that last more than two weeks. All they can do is take 4 to 6 astronauts to the Moon or to the Lagrangian points. For missions lasting longer than that the Orion or Dragon will have to be docked to a much larger spacecraft consisting of propulsion, habitat and lab modules.

This is what makes me worry. While a lot of effort goes into developing Orion, nobody is talking about all the other elements needed to go far out into space. I'm afraid that by the time they develop all of those elements the Orion will be obsolete.

We need time and people with brains to work that one out

Probable is possible

Just part of a much larger system

The future of Mars exploration will be done by highly advanced AI autonomous androids in touch with a control center at NASA and/or other space agencies.

AI doubles every 3 years. This means in only 12 years from now, it will have advanced to 16 times better than it is now.

Australia is currently leading the world on developing quantum computers. These should be available in 6 years and one well-designed android using them will be able to do anything on Mars that a human can do

<How could a spacecraft as compact as Orion possibly take humans to locations beyond Earth?> Clearly 'beyond Earth' is possible, since the US sent eight manned spacecraft to the Moon that were smaller than Orion. But yes, a trip to Mars or an asteroid is a different matter entirely, and clearly more space than a single capsule interior will be needed for a long-term journey, never mind far more food and other life support than a single service module can provide.

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You have obviously never examined the inside of sn apollo capsule

It can't. Imagine being trapped in a stuffy cramped capsule for months at a time with sullen egotists while being in constant fear of lethal radiation, explosive decompression and equipment failure.

But the whole exercise is pointless anyways, so no way will anyone be going to Mars. There is no political prestige any more, no military benefit, no profit except for the sensationalism being generated by anticipation that it "might" happen, and certainly no scientific value.

Basically manned Mars nonsense is just a mass delusion that will start to run thin as the economy deteriorates and people have more immediate problems to worry about.

Cheers!

The larger and heavier a spacecraft is, the more expensive it is. A trip to Mars and back is going to be extremely expensive, so there is a strong desire to save on the cost. The crew will be selected for their ability to live in close quarters for years. Socially, they will be very special people.

Some estimates of the total cost are $500 BILLION, including years of advance planning.

You're partly right -- the Orion MPCV is really only set for a 21 day mission at most. It can carry up to 6 people and supplies. But the Mrs program uses it as a basis for possible trips to Mars, but those won't be until the 2030's. By that time, the're hoping for a lot more advanced technology, which can be incorporated into the craft, whatever it will be.

Like maybe a true inertialess propulsion system that will make the trip in less than a month in each direction, with a short stay on Mars. Rather than the years it would take with normal rocket engines.

i think Elon Musk is probably ahead of them on that .. i'd be looking at what he's doing ..