Aug. 6, 2005Meridiani Base: The 2nd Mars Expedition Planning WorkshopPage 1 of 25 The Development of...

Aug. 6, 2005 Meridiani Base: The 2nd Mars Expedition Planning Workshop of 25

The Development of In-Situ Material Utilization

for the Colonization of Mars

Daniel FudgeB.A.Sc., M.A.Sc.

Member of Technical Staff, MDA Space Missions

ISU SSP05 Participant


Overview

• Motivation

• Resource requirements

• Possible solutions to these requirements

• ISMU implementation in the 2019 mission

• Conclusions

• Questions


Motivation

• Reduced mission cost, mass, volume, complexity and risk.

– Sir John Franklin vs. Roald Amundsen Northwest Passage exploration [1].

– $450B “90 Day Report” vs. $55B “Semi-Direct” Mars exploration architectures [1].

• Necessary for colonization.


Resource Requirements

• Propellant• Breathable Air• Water• Power generation and storage• Electronic and electrical components• Chemicals for scientific, industrial and recycling systems• Building materials


Possible Solutions - Propellant

• Hydrogen-Oxygen from water

• Aluminum-Oxygen from AL2O3 [3]

• Silane (SiH4)-Carbon Dioxide [1]

• Methane-Oxygen [1][4]


Possible Solutions - Breathable Air & Water

• Buffer Gasses– Atmospheric argon and nitrogen

• Oxygen– Atmospheric Carbon dioxide

– Water

• Water– Regolith

– Ice

– Brines

– Geothermally heated sub-surface pools


Possible Solutions - Power

• Generation

– Geothermal power plant or windmills

– Solar panels from SiO2 [3]

– Fusion reactors from deuterium [1]

• Storage

– Batteries

– Chemical


Possible Solutions - Electronics & Chemicals

• Silicon form SiO2 [3]

• Ethylene (C2H4) from carbon dioxide and hydrogen

• Locally grown plant derivatives

• Replace traditional polymers and organic materials Martian chemistry


Possible Solutions - Building Materials

• Iron

• Aluminum [3]

• Titanium [3]

• Bricks [5]

• Concrete [5]

• Sintered glass [5]

• Polyethylene and polypropylene [1]


ISMU Implementation in 2019 Mission

• Propellant production (ISPP)

• Water processing

• Breathable Air

• Brick construction

• Iron casting

• Ethylene production


ISMU Implementation - Propellant Usage

• Earth Return Vehicle (ERV)

– Methane-oxygen (Isp ~ 380s) [1]

• Rover fuel cells

– Methane-oxygen with reformer to extract hydrogen from the methane [4]


ISMU Implementation - ISPP Summary

• Three reactors in the plant

– Sabatier: CO2 + 4H2 CH4 + 2H2O

– Reverse Water Gas Shift (RWGS): CO2 + H2 CO + H2O

– Hydrolysis: 2H2O O2 + 2H2

• 1 kg of H2 from Earth produces 18 kg of propellant [1]

• Optimal oxygen to methane ratio of 4 to 1 [1]


ISMU Implementation - ISPP Demos

• Two system plants have been constructed and tested

– “Air revitalization system” by Astrium GmbH in 1997

– Martin Marietta system in 1994

• Both use the Sabatier process

• Astrium - 125 to 190g per hour of CO2 with 1400W [6]

• Martin Marietta - 28g of CO2 per hour with 300W [6]

• Average consumption: 7.4 to 11.2 W*hr/g CO2


ISMU Implementation - Air & Water

• Nitrogen and Argon are bi-products of the ISPP plant’s carbon dioxide filters

• Oxygen and water can be produced from the Sabatier and RWGS reactors on the ISPP plant

• The limiting component is hydrogen


ISMU Implementation - Water

• Due to the hydrogen shortage the search for water in all forms is necessary

• Ice or water trapped in materials such as gypsum or smectite [1]

– Not processed in large quantities only search and sampling

• Geothermally heated pools of liquid water or brine– Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) mounted to the rover bottom

– Processed if found for surplus hydrogen, the search for life and invaluable processing experience


ISMU Implementation - Roman Barrel Vault

• Protects equipment from dust and thermal fluctuations

• Proof of concept for future pressurized structures

• Sample vault has internal dimensions of 2.5x1.7x3m consisting of 465 bricks

• Rectangular bricks are 10x30x60cm

Rectangular Bricks

Voussoirs

Keystone


ISMU Implementation - Brick Production

• Full automated. Only requires addition of filtered regolith, water and power

• Assuming 20 minutes per brick, 6.5 days to manufacture the 465 vault bricks

RegolithH2O

Mixer 900C Oven200C Oven

Brick Storage


ISMU Implementation - Iron Casting

• Utilizes carbon monoxide from RWGS to produce iron (Fe) [1]

– 3CO + Fe2O3 2Fe + 3CO2

• Combines the iron with carbon monoxide at 110C to form iron carbonyl (Fe(CO)5) [1]

– 3CO + Fe2O3 2Fe + 3CO2

• Iron carbonyl is liquid at room temperature

– Liquid can form into a mold

• Heating to 200C releases the CO

– The mold hardens into solid iron


ISMU Implementation - Ethylene Production

• Utilizes carbon monoxide from RWGS to produce ethylene (C2H4) [1]

– 2CO + 4H2 C2H4 + 2H2O

• Requires new reactor but very little crew time

• Important demonstration for future colonization


Conclusions

• ISMU reduces the cost, mass, volume, complexity and risk involved in a mission.

• ISMU is necessary for successful future colonization• The 2019 mission should implement

– Methane-oxygen ISPP– Processing of liquid water or brine– Brick processing and roman vault creation– Iron casting– Ethylene production


Questions

???


Appendix

Appendix


References

[1] Zubrin R., Wagner R. (1996) The Case For Mars, pp. 16, 68.

[2] Doll S. (2003) Keys to Space, International Space University, Toronto, 8.38-8.48.

[3] Rieder R., Economou T., Wanke H., Turkevich A., Crisp J., Bruckner J., Dreibus G., McSween H. Y. Jr. (1997) The Chemical Composition of Martian Soil and Rocks Returned by the Mobile Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer: Preliminary Results from the X-ray Mode, Science Vol. 278.

[4] Vanderwyst A., Beyer J., Passow C., Paulson A., Rowland C. (2003) Power Generation and Energy Usage in a Pressurized Mars Rover, AAS 03-320, 332-334.

[5] Duke M. B (1998) Mars Surface Mission Workshop, LPI Contribution No. 934, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston. 11 pp.

[6] Baker A M (2003) 'ISRU System design & Roadmapping' report submitted under ESA Contract 'Future Power Systems for Space Exploration', ESTEC contract # 14565/00/NL/WK.


Resource Drivers

• Environmental control and life support [2]• Environmental protection• Communication and transportation• Scientific investigation and industry


What is ISMU?

• ISMU = In-Situ Material Utilization

• Definition: Using the materials found in the field to survive, work and expand.

• These materials include the atmosphere, regolith, minerals, H2O and any other material found on-site.

• In-Situ Propellant Production (ISPP) is a subset of ISMU.

Aug. 6, 2005Meridiani Base: The 2nd Mars Expedition Planning WorkshopPage 1 of 25 The Development of...

Documents

Transcript of Aug. 6, 2005Meridiani Base: The 2nd Mars Expedition Planning WorkshopPage 1 of 25 The Development of...