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NASA NTRS2001

Designing Extraterrestrial Plant Growth Habitats With Low Pressure Atmospheres

In-situ resource utilization, provision of human life support requirements by bioregenerative methods, and engineering constraints for construction and deployment of plant growth structures on the surface of Mars all suggest the need for plant growth studies at hypobaric pressures. Past work demonstrated that plants will likely tolerate and grow at pressures at or below 10 kPa. Based upon this premise, concepts are developed for the design of reduced pressure atmospheres in lightweight, inflatable structures for plant growth systems on Mars with the goals of maximizing design simplicity and the use of local resources. A modular pod design is proposed as it could be integrated with large-scale production systems. Atmospheric modification of pod clusters would be based upon a pulse and scrub system using mass flow methods for atmospheric transport. A specific modification and control scenario is developed for a lettuce pod to illustrate the dynamics of carbon dioxide and oxygen exchange within a pod. Considerations of minimal atmospheric crop requirements will aid in the development of engineering designs and strategies for extraterrestrial plant growth structures that employ rarefied atmospheres.

Corey, Kenneth A.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Membrane Separation Processes at Low Temperatures

The primary focus of Kennedy Space Center's gas separation activities has been for carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and argon used in oxygen production technologies for Martian in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) projects. Recently, these studies were expanded to include oxygen for regenerative life support systems. Since commercial membrane systems have been developed for separation of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and oxygen, initially the studies focused on these membrane systems, but at lower operating temperatures and pressures. Current investigations art examining immobilized liquids and solid sorbents that have the potential for higher selectivity and lower operating temperatures. The gas separation studies reported here use hollow fiber membranes to separate carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and argon in the temperature range from 230 to 300 K. Four commercial membrane materials were used to obtain data at low feed and permeate pressures. These data were used with a commercial solution-diffusion modeling tool to design a system to prepare a buffer gas from the byproduct of a process to capture Martian carbon dioxide. The system was designed to operate, at 230 K with a production rate 0.1 sLpm; Feed composition 30% CO2, 44% N2, and 26% Ar; Feed pressure 104 kPa (780); and Permeate pressure 1 kPa (6 torr); Product concentration 600 ppm CO2. This new system was compared with a similar system designed to operate at ambient temperatures (298 K). The systems described above, along with data, test apparatus, and models are presented.

Parrish, Clyde↗

NASA NTRS1997

Exploring for Martian Life

During the next decade, robotic field science will play an essential role in advancing our understanding of Martian history. Specifically, capable rovers are needed to survey a broad range of Martian rock types for in situ chemistry and mineralogy as a basis for interpreting globally-distributed data obtained from orbit. The relationship between orbital and landed science will be fundamental in selecting a landing site for future missions aimed at probing the ancient rock record for evidence of: (1) past life or prebiotic chemistry; (2) the climate and volatile history of Mars; and (3) candidate materials for in situ resource utilization.

Farmer, Jack D.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Thermal Design of a Collapsible Cryogenic Vessel

Strategic planning for human exploration missions to Mars has conclusively identified in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) as an enabling technology. Most mission scenarios include an ISRU plant to produce propellants for ascent from Mars as well as the production of backup reserves of water, oxygen, and process gases. Current mission scenarios call for an ISRU plant to be deployed and then produce and store the required propellants and life support reserves before the arrival of the first human mission. Reliable cryogenic propellant liquefaction and storage technologies for extended period missions are especially critical. This report examines the cryogenic storage problem for liquid oxygen produced by an ISRU plant for a human mission scenario. The analysis examines various hardware configurations including insulation types, packaging techniques, and required cryocoolers to minimize the initial launch mass to low Earth orbit. Results of the analyses indicate that high vacuum insulation systems requiring vacuum pressures below one millitorr will be required to minimize the 'initial launch mass into low Earth orbit even though the temperature on the surface of Mars is much lower than Earth.

Hegab, Hisham E.↗

NASA NTRS1997

Cryogenics and the Human Exploration of Mars

Current plans within NASA involve extending the human exploration of space from low earth orbit into the solar system, with the first human exploration of Mars presently planned in 2011. Integral to all hum Mars mission phases is cryogenic fluid management. Cryogenic fluids will be required both as propellant and for In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU). Without safe and efficient cryogen storage human Mars missions will not be possible. Effective control and handling of cryogenic fluids is the key to affordable Mars missions, and advancing active thermal control technology is synergistic with all of NASA's exploration initiatives and with existing and future instrument cooling programs, including MTPE and Origins. Present mission scenarios for human exploration require cryogenic propellant storage for up to 1700 days and for up to 60 metric tons. These requirements represent increases of an order of magnitude over previous storage masses and lifetimes. The key cryogenic terminology areas to be addressed in human Mars missions are long-term propellant storage, cryogenic refrigeration, cryogenic liquefaction, and zero gravity fluid management. Long-term storage for the thermal control of cryogenic propellants is best accomplished with a mix of passive and active technologies. Passive technologies such as advanced multilayer insulation (MLI) concepts will be combined with the development of active coolers (cryogenic refrigerators). Candidates for long-life active cooling applications include Reverse Turbo-Brayton, Stirling, and Pulse-Tube coolers. The integration of passive and active technologies will form a hybrid system optimized to minimize the launch mass while preserving the cryogenic propellants. Since cryogenic propellants are the largest mass that Mars missions must launch from earth, even a modest reduction in the percentage of propellant carried results in a significant weight saving. This paper will present a brief overview of cryogenic fluid management technology as it applies to the current human Mars mission scenarios.

Salerno, Louis J.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Continuous Measurements and Quantitative Constraints: Challenge Problems for Discrete Modeling Techniques

We present some diagnosis and control problems that are difficult to solve with discrete or purely qualitative techniques. We analyze the nature of the problems, classify them and explain why they are frequently encountered in systems with closed loop control. This paper illustrates the problem with several examples drawn from industrial and aerospace applications and presents detailed information on one important application: In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) on Mars. The model for an ISRU plant is analyzed showing where qualitative techniques are inadequate to identify certain failure modes and to maintain control of the system in degraded environments. We show why the solution to the problem will result in significantly more robust and reliable control systems. Finally, we illustrate requirements for a solution to the problem by means of examples.

Goodrich, Charles H.↗

NASA NTRS1998

Model Based Autonomy for Robust Mars Operations

Space missions have historically relied upon a large ground staff, numbering in the hundreds for complex missions, to maintain routine operations. When an anomaly occurs, this small army of engineers attempts to identify and work around the problem. A piloted Mars mission, with its multiyear duration, cost pressures, half-hour communication delays and two-week blackouts cannot be closely controlled by a battalion of engineers on Earth. Flight crew involvement in routine system operations must also be minimized to maximize science return. It also may be unrealistic to require the crew have the expertise in each mission subsystem needed to diagnose a system failure and effect a timely repair, as engineers did for Apollo 13. Enter model-based autonomy, which allows complex systems to autonomously maintain operation despite failures or anomalous conditions, contributing to safe, robust, and minimally supervised operation of spacecraft, life support, In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) and power systems. Autonomous reasoning is central to the approach. A reasoning algorithm uses a logical or mathematical model of a system to infer how to operate the system, diagnose failures and generate appropriate behavior to repair or reconfigure the system in response. The 'plug and play' nature of the models enables low cost development of autonomy for multiple platforms. Declarative, reusable models capture relevant aspects of the behavior of simple devices (e.g. valves or thrusters). Reasoning algorithms combine device models to create a model of the system-wide interactions and behavior of a complex, unique artifact such as a spacecraft. Rather than requiring engineers to all possible interactions and failures at design time or perform analysis during the mission, the reasoning engine generates the appropriate response to the current situation, taking into account its system-wide knowledge, the current state, and even sensor failures or unexpected behavior.

Kurien, James A.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Ground-Based Research within NASA's Materials Science Program

Ground-based research in Materials Science for NASA's Microgravity program serves several purposes, and includes approximately four Principal Investigators for every one in the flight program. While exact classification is difficult. the ground program falls roughly into the following categories: (1) Intellectual Underpinning of the Flight Program - Theoretical Studies; (2) Intellectual Underpinning of the Flight Program - Bringing to Maturity New Research; (3) Intellectual Underpinning of the Flight Program - Enabling Characterization; (4) Intellectual Underpinning of the Flight Program - Thermophysical Property Determination; (5) Radiation Shielding; (6) Preliminary In Situ Resource Utilization; (7) Biomaterials; (8) Nanostructured Materials; (9) Materials Science for Advanced Space Propulsion. It must be noted that while the first four categories are aimed at using long duration low gravity conditions, the other categories pertain more to more recent NASA initiatives in materials science. These new initiatives address NASA's future materials science needs in the realms of crew health and safety, and exploration, and have been included in the most recent NASA Research Announcements (NRA). A description of each of these nine categories will be given together with examples of the kinds of research being undertaken.

Gillies, Donald C.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Designing Extraterrestrial Plant Growth Habitats with Low Pressure Atmospheres

Corey, Kenneth A.↗

NASA NTRS2003

CO2 Acquisition Membrane (CAM)

The objective of CAM is to develop, test, and analyze thin film membrane materials for separation and purification of carbon dioxide (CO2) from mixtures of gases, such as those found in the Martian atmosphere. The membranes are targeted toward In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) applications that will operate in extraterrestrial environments and support future unmanned and human space missions. A primary application is the Sabatier Electrolysis process that uses Mars atmosphere CO2 as raw material for producing water, oxygen, and methane for rocket fuel and habitat support. Other applications include use as an inlet filter to collect and concentrate Mars atmospheric argon and nitrogen gases for habitat pressurization, and to remove CO2 from breathing gases in Closed Environment Life Support Systems (CELSS). CAM membrane materials include crystalline faujasite (FAU) zeolite and rubbery polymers such as silicone rubber (PDMS) that have been shown in the literature and via molecular simulation to favor adsorption and permeation of CO2 over nitrogen and argon. Pure gas permeation tests using commercial PDMS membranes have shown that both CO2 permeance and the separation factor relative to other gases increase as the temperature decreases, and low (Delta)P(Sub CO2) favors higher separation factors. The ideal CO2/N2 separation factor increases from 7.5 to 17.5 as temperature decreases from 22 C to -30 C. For gas mixtures containing CO2, N2, and Ar, plasticization decreased the separation factors from 4.5 to 6 over the same temperature range. We currently synthesize and test our own Na(+) FAU zeolite membranes using standard formulations and secondary growth methods on porous alumina. Preliminary tests with a Na(+) FAU membrane at 22 C show a He/SF6 ideal separation factor of 62, exceeding the Knudsen diffusion selectivity by an order of magnitude. This shows that the membrane is relatively free from large defects and associated non-selective (viscous flow) transport mechanisms. The Membrane Test Facility (MTF) has been developed to measure membrane permeance over a wide range of temperature and pressure. The facility uses two volume compartments separated by the membrane that are instrumented to measure temperature, delta pressure across the membrane, and gas composition. A thermal shroud supports and encloses the membrane, and provides temperature control. Methods were developed to determine membrane permeance using the first order decay of the pressure difference between the sealed compartments, using the total pressure for pure gases, and partial pressure of each species in gas mixtures. The technique provides an end-to-end measurement of gas permeance that includes concentration polarization effects. Experiments have shown that in addition to membrane permeance properties, the geometry and design of associated structures play an important role in how membrane systems will function on Mars.

Mason, Larry W.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Program for the Increased Participation of Minorities in NASA-Related Research

The goal of this program is to increase the participation of minorities in NASA related research and "Science for the Nation s Interest". Collaborative research projects will be developed involving NASA-MSFC, National Space Science and Technology Center (NSSTC), other government agencies, industries and minority serving institutions (MSIs). The primary focus for the MSIs will be on Alabama A&M University and Tuskegee University, which are in partnership with the NSSTC. These schools have excellent Ph.D. programs in physics and materials science and engineering, respectively. The first phase of this program will be carried out at Alabama A&M University in the "Research and Development Office" in collaboration with Dr. Dorothy Huston, Vice President of Research and Development. The development assignment will be carried out at the NSSTC with Sandy Coleman/ RS01 and this will primarily involve working with Tuskegee University.A portion of the program will be devoted to identifying and contacting potential funding sources for use in establishing collaborative research projects between NASA-MSFC, other government agencies, NSSTC, industries, and MSIs. These potential funding sources include the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute of Health (NIH), Department of Defense (DOD), Army, Navy, and Air Force. Collaborative research projects will be written mostly in the following research areas: a. Cosmic radiation shielding materials b. Advanced propulsion material c. Biomedical materials and biosensors d. In situ resource utilization e. Photonics for NASA applications

Source record↗

NASA NTRS2003

Materials Science

The Materials Science Program is structured so that NASA s headquarters is responsible for the program content and selection, through the Enterprise Scientist, and MSFC provides for implementation of ground and flight programs with a Discipline Scientist and Discipline Manager. The Discipline Working Group of eminent scientists from outside of NASA acts in an advisory capacity and writes the Discipline Document from which the NRA content is derived. The program is reviewed approximately every three years by groups such as the Committee on Microgravity Research, the National Materials Advisory Board, and the OBPR Maximization and Prioritization (ReMaP) Task Force. The flight program has had as many as twenty-six principal investigators (PIs) in flight or flight definition stage, with the numbers of PIs in the future dependent on the results of the ReMaP Task Force and internal reviews. Each project has a NASA-appointed Project Scientist, considered a half-time job, who assists the PI in understanding and preparing for internal reviews such as the Science Concept Review and Requirements Definition Review. The Project Scientist also insures that the PI gets the maximum science support from MSFC, represents the PI to the MSFC community, and collaborates with the Project Manager to insure the project is well-supported and remains vital. Currently available flight equipment includes the Materials Science Research Rack (MSRR-1) and Microgravity Science Glovebox. Ground based projects fall into one or more of several categories. Intellectual Underpinning of Flight Program projects include theoretical studies backed by modeling and computer simulations; bring to maturity new research, often by young researchers, and may include preliminary short duration low gravity experiments in the KC-135 aircraft or drop tube; enable characterization of data sets from previous flights; and provide thermophysical property determinations to aid PIs. Radiation Shielding and preliminary In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) studies work towards future long duration missions. Biomaterials support materials issues affecting crew health. Nanostructured Materials are currently considered to be maturing new research, and Advanced Materials for Space Transportation has as yet no PIs. PIs are assigned a NASA Technical Monitor to maintain contact, a position considered to be a 5 percent per PI effort. Currently 33 PIs are supported on the 1996 NRA, which is about to expire, and 59 on the 1998 NRA. Two new NRAs, one for Radiation Shielding and one for Materials Science for Advanced Space Propulsion are due to be announced by the 2003 fiscal year. MSFC has a number of facilities supporting materials science. These include the Microgravity Development Laboratory/SD43; Electrostatic Levitator Facility; SCN Purification Facility; Electron Microscope/Microprobe Facility; Static and Rotating Magnetic Field Facility; X-Ray Diffraction Facility; and the Furnace Development Laboratory.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS2003

Life support approaches for Mars missions

Life support approaches for Mars missions are evaluated using an equivalent system mass (ESM) approach, in which all significant costs are converted into mass units. The best approach, as defined by the lowest mission ESM, depends on several mission parameters, notably duration, environment and consequent infrastructure costs, and crew size, as well as the characteristics of the technologies which are available. Generally, for the missions under consideration, physicochemical regeneration is most cost effective. However, bioregeneration is likely to be of use for producing salad crops for any mission, for producing staple crops for medium duration missions, and for most food, air and water regeneration for long missions (durations of a decade). Potential applications of in situ resource utilization need to be considered further. c2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd on behalf of COSPAR.

NASA Discipline Life Support Systems↗

NASA NTRS2002

Toward Martian agriculture: responses of plants to hypobaria

The recent surge of interest in human missions to Mars has also generated considerable interest in the responses of plants to hypobaria (reduced atmospheric pressure), particularly among those in the advanced life support community. Potential for in situ resource utilization, challenges in meeting engineering constraints for mass and energy, the prospect of using lightweight plant growth structures on Mars, and the minimal literature on plant responses to low pressure all suggest much needed research in this area. However, the limited literature on hypobaria combined with previous findings on plant responses to atmospheric composition and established principles of mass transfer of gases suggest that some plants will be capable of tolerating and growing at pressures below 20 kPa; and for other species, perhaps as low as 5-10 kPa. In addition, normal and perhaps enhanced growth of many plants will likely occur at reduced partial pressures of oxygen (e.g., 5 kPa). Growth of plants at such low and partial pressures indicates the feasibility of cultivating plants in lightweight, transparent "greenhouses" on the surface of Mars or in other extraterrestrial or extreme environment locations. There are numerous, accessible terrestrial analogs for moderately low pressure ranges, but not for very low and extremely low atmospheric pressures. Research pertaining to very low pressures has been historically restricted to the use of vacuum chambers. Future research prospects, approaches, and priorities for plant growth experiments at low pressure are considered and discussed as they apply to prospects for Martian agriculture.

NASA Discipline Life Support Systems↗

NASA NTRS2004

Human Support Technology Research, Development and Demonstration

The Human Support Technology research, development, and demonstration program address es the following areas at TRL: Advanced Power and Propulsion. Cryogenic fluid management. Closed-loop life support and Habitability. Extravehicular activity systems. Scientific data collection and analysis. and Planetary in-situ resource utilization.

Joshi, Jitendra↗

NASA NTRS2004

A Bootstrap Approach to Martian Manufacturing

In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) is an essential element of any affordable strategy for a sustained human presence on Mars. Ideally, Martian habitats would be extremely massive to allow plenty of room to comfortably live and work, as well as to protect the occupants from the environment. Moreover, transportation and power generation systems would also require significant mass if affordable. For our approach to ISRU, we use the industrialization of the U.S. as a metaphor. The 19th century started with small blacksmith shops and ended with massive steel mills primarily accomplished by blacksmiths increasing their production capacity and product size to create larger shops, which produced small mills, which produced the large steel mills that industrialized the country. Most of the mass of a steel mill is comprised of steel in simple shapes, which are produced and repaired with few pieces of equipment also mostly made of steel in basic shapes. Due to this simplicity, we expect that the 19th century manufacturing growth can be repeated on Mars in the 21st century using robots as the primary labor force. We suggest a "bootstrap" approach to manufacturing on Mars that uses a "seed" manufacturing system that uses regolith to create major structural components and spare parts. The regolith would be melted, foamed, and sintered as needed to fabricate parts using casting and solid freeform fabrication techniques. Complex components, such as electronics, would be brought from Earth and integrated as needed. These parts would be assembled to create additional manufacturing systems, which can be both more capable and higher capacity. These subsequent manufacturing systems could refine vast amounts of raw materials to create large components, as well as assemble equipment, habitats, pressure vessels, cranes, pipelines, railways, trains, power generation stations, and other facilities needed to economically maintain a sustained human presence on Mars.

Dorais, Gregory A.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Separation of Carbon Monoxide and Carbon Dioxide for Mars ISRU

The atmosphere of Mars has many resources that can be processed to produce things such as oxygen, fuel, buffer gas, and water for support of human exploration missions. Successful manipulation of these resources is crucial for safe, cost-effective, and self-sufficient long-term human exploration of Mars. In our research, we are developing enabling technologies that require fundamental knowledge of adsorptive gas storage and separation processes. In particular, we are designing and constructing an innovative, low mass, low power separation device to recover carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide for Mars ISRU (in-situ resource utilization). The technology has broad implications for gas storage and separations for gas-solid systems that are ideally suited for reduced gravitational environments. This paper describes our separation process design and experimental procedures and reports results for the separation of CO2 and CO by a four-step adsorption cycle.

Walton, Krista S.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Low Gravity Materials Science Research for Space Exploration

On January 14, 2004, the President of the United States announced a new vision for the United States civil space program. The Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has the responsibility to implement this new vision. The President also created a Presidential Commission 'to obtain recommendations concerning implementation of the new vision for space exploration.' The President's Commission recognized that achieving the exploration objectives would require significant technical innovation, research, and development in focal areas defined as 'enabling technologies.' Among the 17 enabling technologies identified for initial focus were advanced structures; advanced power and propulsion; closed-loop life support and habitability; extravehicular activity system; autonomous systems and robotics; scientific data collection and analysis; biomedical risk mitigation; and planetary in situ resource utilization. The Commission also recommended realignment of NASA Headquarters organizations to support the vision for space exploration. NASA has aggressively responded in its planning to support the vision for space exploration and with the current considerations of the findings and recommendations from the Presidential Commission. This presentation will examine the transformation and realignment activities to support the vision for space exploration that are underway in the microgravity materials science program. The heritage of the microgravity materials science program, in the context of residence within the organizational structure of the Office of Biological and Physical Research, and thematic and sub-discipline based research content areas, will be briefly examined as the starting point for the ongoing transformation. Overviews of future research directions will be presented and the status of organizational restructuring at NASA Headquarters, with respect to influences on the microgravity materials science program, will be discussed. Additional information is included in the original extended abstract.

Clinton, R. G., Jr.↗