An ISRU propellant production system for a fully fueled Mars Ascent Vehicle

Kleinhenz, J.; Paz, Aaron

doi:10.2514/6.2017-0423

Cited by 27 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Results from an ISRU baseline study (Kleinhenz and Paz ) conducted for the Evolvable Mars Campaign showing the benefits of ISRU propellant production. Case 0: the propellant mass needed for a Mars ascent vehicle (Polsgrove ).…”

Section: Objective 7: Evaluate the Type And Distribution Of In Situ Rmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…With the focus on hydrated minerals for this sample opportunity (as opposed to subsurface ice), understanding the mineralogy will inform decisions about resource availability and possible byproducts. The water release profile upon heating (which stems from the hydration state and the type of hydrated minerals) is a critical engineering trade regarding heat input and the power profile of the hardware needed (Kleinhenz and Paz ). Potential contaminants that could release upon this heating could impact downstream systems, such as electrolysis, and necessitate the need for additional hardware to mitigate this.…”

Section: Objective 7: Evaluate the Type And Distribution Of In Situ Rmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most recent ISRU study focused on using the easily accessible granular surface material (Kleinhenz and Paz ), which is likely to have a low water yield. Consolidated material with potentially higher water content may require more robust excavation and comminution equipment.…”

Section: Objective 7: Evaluate the Type And Distribution Of In Situ Rmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The potential science and engineering value of samples delivered to Earth by Mars sample return

Beaty¹,

Grady²,

McSween³

et al. 2019

Meteorit & Planetary Scien

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Executive Summary Return of samples from the surface of Mars has been a goal of the international Mars science community for many years. Affirmation by NASA and ESA of the importance of Mars exploration led the agencies to establish the international MSR Objectives and Samples Team (iMOST). The purpose of the team is to re‐evaluate and update the sample‐related science and engineering objectives of a Mars Sample Return (MSR) campaign. The iMOST team has also undertaken to define the measurements and the types of samples that can best address the objectives. Seven objectives have been defined for MSR, traceable through two decades of previously published international priorities. The first two objectives are further divided into sub‐objectives. Within the main part of the report, the importance to science and/or engineering of each objective is described, critical measurements that would address the objectives are specified, and the kinds of samples that would be most likely to carry key information are identified. These seven objectives provide a framework for demonstrating how the first set of returned Martian samples would impact future Martian science and exploration. They also have implications for how analogous investigations might be conducted for samples returned by future missions from other solar system bodies, especially those that may harbor biologically relevant or sensitive material, such as Ocean Worlds (Europa, Enceladus, Titan) and others. Summary of Objectives and Sub‐Objectives for MSR Identified by iMOST This objective is divided into five sub‐objectives that would apply at different landing sites. 1.1 Characterize the essential stratigraphic, sedimentologic, and facies variations of a sequence of Martian sedimentary rocks. 1.2 Understand an ancient Martian hydrothermal system through study of its mineralization products and morphological expression. 1.3 Understand the rocks and minerals representative of a deep subsurface groundwater environment. 1.4 Understand water/rock/atmosphere interactions at the Martian surface and how they have changed with time. 1.5 Determine the petrogenesis of Martian igneous rocks in time and space. This objective has three sub‐objectives: 2.1 Assess and characterize carbon, including possible organic and pre‐biotic chemistry. 2.2 Assay for the presence of biosignatures of past life at sites that hosted habitable environments and could have preserved any biosignatures. 2.3 Assess the possibility that any life forms detected are alive, or were recently alive. Summary of iMOST Findings Several specific findings were identified during the iMOST study. While they are not explicit recommendations, we suggest that they should serve as guidelines for future decision making regarding planning of potential future MSR missions. The samples to be collected by the Mars 2020 (M‐2020) rover will be of sufficient size and quality to address and solve a wide variety of scientific questions. Samples, by definition, are a statistical representation of a larger entity...

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Section: Objective 7: Evaluate the Type And Distribution Of In Situ Rmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Objective 7: Evaluate the Type And Distribution Of In Situ Rmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The potential science and engineering value of samples delivered to Earth by Mars sample return

Beaty¹,

Grady²,

McSween³

et al. 2019

Meteorit & Planetary Scien

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…One study -the Mars Water In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) Planning (M-WIP) Study [15] examined primarily those feedstocks associated with solid materials such as regolith or specific minerals identified at a number of locations on the Martian surface. Results from this study are described in a separate conference paper [3]. The other major feedstock type -substantial deposits of essentially pure water ice -is the focus of the assessment described in this paper.…”

Section: Accessing and Extracting Subsurface Icementioning

confidence: 99%

“…This paper discusses the assessment of ice as a feedstock. A separate paper [3] discusses the results from the assessment of regolith/minerals as a feedstock.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A water rich mars surface mission scenario

Hoffman

Andrews

Joosten³

et al. 2017

2017 IEEE Aerospace Conference

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-In an on-going effort to make human Mars missions more affordable and sustainable, NASA continues to investigate the innovative leveraging of technological advances in conjunction with the use of accessible Martian resources directly applicable to these missions. One of the resources with the broadest utility for human missions is water. Many past studies of human Mars missions assumed a complete lack of water derivable from local sources. However, recent advances in our understanding of the Martian environment provides growing evidence that Mars may be more "water rich" than previously suspected. This is based on data indicating that substantial quantities of water are mixed with surface regolith, bound in minerals located at or near the surface, and buried in large glacier-like forms. This paper describes an assessment of what could be done in a "water rich" human Mars mission scenario. A description of what is meant by "water rich" in this context is provided, including a quantification of the water that would be used by crews in this scenario. The different types of potential feedstock that could be used to generate these quantities of water are described, drawing on the most recently available assessments of data being returned from Mars. This paper specifically focuses on sources that appear to be buried quantities of water ice. (An assessment of other potential feedstock materials is documented in another paper.) Technologies and processes currently used in terrestrial Polar Regions are reviewed. One process with a long history of use on Earth and with potential application on Mars -the Rodriguez Well -is described and results of an analysis simulating the performance of such a well on Mars are presented. These results indicate that a Rodriguez Well capable of producing the quantities of water identified for a "water rich" human mission are within the capabilities assumed to be available on the Martian surface, as envisioned in other comparable Evolvable Mars Campaign assessments. The paper concludes by capturing additional findings and describing additional simulations and tests that should be conducted to better characterize the performance of the identified terrestrial technologies for accessing subsurface ice, as well as the Rodriguez Well, under Mars environmental conditions.

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Polymeric Reactors for Catalytic Reactions beyond Earth

Friedland,

Güttel

2024

Chemie Ingenieur Technik

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Current space missions to Luna and Mars are considering to use the resources, which can be found on‐site at the destination. This strategy named in‐situ resource utilization (ISRU) saves valuable pay‐load capacities during the rocket launch from the earth surface. Specifically, in mars missions it is intended to produce the necessary rocket fuel CH4 for the back‐transit to earth via water electrolysis and subsequent CO2 methanation. The present study elaborates this concept and examines the question if polymeric reactors are feasible for heterogeneously catalyzed reactions in applications beyond earth. The study aims at providing a theoretical backbone for a proof‐of‐concept. The evaluation is conducted theoretically by design considerations and adds experimental results to show the general feasibility of polymeric reactors for applicable reaction conditions.

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An ISRU propellant production system for a fully fueled Mars Ascent Vehicle

Cited by 27 publications

References 9 publications

The potential science and engineering value of samples delivered to Earth by Mars sample return

The potential science and engineering value of samples delivered to Earth by Mars sample return

A water rich mars surface mission scenario

Polymeric Reactors for Catalytic Reactions beyond Earth

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