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Benefits of Mars ISRU Regolith Water Processing: A Case Study for the NASA Evolvable Mars CampaignISRU of Mars resources was baselined in 2009 Design Reference Architecture (DRA) 5.0, but only for Oxygen production using atmospheric CO2. The Methane (LCH4) needed for ascent propulsion of the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) would need to be brought from Earth. However: Extracting water from the Martian Regolith enables the production of both Oxygen and Methane from Mars resources: Water resources could also be used for other applications including: Life support, radiation shielding, plant growth, etc. Water extraction was not baselined in DRA5.0 due to perceived difficulties and complexity in processing regolith. The NASA Evolvable Mars Campaign (EMC) requested studies to look at the quantitative benefits and trades of using Mars water ISRUPhase 1: Examined architecture scenarios for regolith water retrieval. Completed October 2015. Phase 2: Deep dive of one architecture concept to look at end-to-end system size, mass, power of a LCH4/LO2 ISRU production system
Document ID
20170002539
Acquisition Source
Glenn Research Center
Document Type
Presentation
Authors
Kleinhenz, Julie
(NASA Glenn Research Center Cleveland, OH United States)
Paz, Aaron
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX United States)
Mueller, Robert
(NASA Kennedy Space Center Cocoa Beach, FL, United States)
Date Acquired
March 27, 2017
Publication Date
June 7, 2016
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Report/Patent Number
GRC-E-DAA-TN32777
Meeting Information
Meeting: Planetary and Terrestrial Mining Sciences Symposium
Location: Golden, CO
Country: United States
Start Date: June 7, 2016
End Date: June 9, 2016
Sponsors: Honeybee Robotics
Funding Number(s)
WBS: WBS 102434.01.16.02
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
Keywords
Mars Exploration
in situ resource utilization
Extraterrestrial water
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