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Oxygen Generator System Mars In-Situ Propellant Production Precursor FlightThe 2001 Lander to Mars will carry the first ever ISRU payload to Mars. This payload, the Mars In-situ Propellant production Precursor (MIP), will demonstrate a variety of technologies that will be required for future ISRU Mars indigenous material processing plant designs. One of those technologies is that of extracting oxygen from the predominantly carbon dioxide atmosphere of Mars, a prerequisite for future sample return and human missions to Mars. The Oxygen Generator Subsystem (OGS) portion of the MIP will demonstrate this and is the focus of this paper. The primary objective of the OGS is to demonstrate the production of oxygen from Mars atmospheric gases. Secondary objectives are to measure the performance and reliability of oxygen generation hardware in actual mission environments over an extended time. Major constraints on the OGS design came from several sources. The Lander provides power to the system from solar power that is harnessed by photovoltaic arrays. This limited OGS to daytime only operations (six to eight hours) and a maximum power of 15W. The reliance on solar power necessitated thermal cycling of the OGS between Mars ambient and OGS operating temperatures. The Lander also limited the total mass of the MIP payload to 7.5 kg with a correspondingly small volume, and the OGS was one of six experiments in the MIP. Mass and volume were to be minimized. Another constraint was cost. Mission funding, as always, was tight. Cost was to be minimized. In short the OGS design had to be low power (<15 Watts), low mass (1 kg), low volume, low cost, and be capable of cyclical operations for an extended stay on Mars. After extensive research, a zirconia based solid oxide electrolyzer design was selected.
Document ID
19990042262
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Sridhar, K. R.
(Arizona Univ. Tucson, AZ United States)
Gottmann, M.
(Arizona Univ. Tucson, AZ United States)
Baird, R. S.
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX United States)
Date Acquired
August 19, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1999
Publication Information
Publication: In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU 3) Technical Interchange Meeting: Abstracts
Subject Category
Propellants And Fuels
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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