LOx/LCH4: A Unifying Technology for Future Exploration

Abstract

OVERVIEW For every pound of payload landed on Mars, 226 pounds are required on Earth to get it there. Due to this enormous mass gear‐ratio, increasing commonality between lander subsystems, such as power, propulsion, and life support, results in tremendous launch mass and cost savings. Human‐Mars architectures point to an oxygen‐methane economy, utilizing common commodities scavenged from the planetary atmosphere and soil via In‐Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) and common commodity tankage across sub‐systems.