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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 145 records · Page 8
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2016

An Integrated Economics Model for ISRU in Support of a Mars Colony - Initial Results Report

This database, the Mars Colony Architecture Model (MCAM), is then linked to a variety of “downsteam” analytic models. In particular, we integrated an Extraction Process (i.e., “Mining”) Model, an Infrastructure and Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) Model, and an Economics Integration Model. The Extraction Process Model focuses on the technologies associated with in situ resource extraction, processing, storage and handling, and delivery. For each mined resource, which may involve multiple cooperating In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) systems in a given architecture, the Extraction Process Model computes the production rate as a function of the systems’ technical parameters and the local Mars environment. As with our earlier work, this model focuses on the extraction and processing of Mars water/ice.

Shishko, Robert↗
NASA NTRS2019

Study of Sabatier Catalyst Performance for a Mars ISRU Propellant Production Plant

NASA is currently developing technologies for use in the field of in-situ resource utilization (ISRU). One of the technologies being advanced is the Sabatier, or methanation, reactor which converts carbon dioxide and hydrogen into methane gas and water at high temperatures. This paper discusses the catalyst life and performance issues for these reactors that would be expected on Mars and describes the test methods employed and observed results. The various catalysts were tested in their capacity for the continuous production of methane gas via the Sabatier reaction and the possible effects of launch vibration loads, exposure to liquid water, particulate contamination, and chemical contamination to the overall observed reaction efficacy of the catalysts evaluated.

Franco, Carolina↗
NASA NTRS2019

Study of Sabatier Catalyst Performance for a Mars ISRU Propellant Production Plant

NASA is currently developing technologies for use in the field of in-situ resource utilization (ISRU). One of the technologies being advanced is the Sabatier, or methanation, reactor which converts carbon dioxide and hydrogen into methane gas and water at high temperatures. This paper discusses the catalyst life and performance issues for these reactors that would be expected on Mars and describes the test methods employed and observed results. The various catalysts were tested in their capacity for the continuous production of methane gas via the Sabatier reaction and the possible effects of launch vibration loads, exposure to liquid water, particulate contamination, and chemical contamination to the overall observed reaction efficacy of the catalysts evaluated.

Franco, Carolina↗
NASA NTRS2019

Commercialization and Human Settlement of the Moon and Cislunar Space Using ISRU, Fission Surface Power, and Advanced In-Space Propulsion Systems

Over 50 years have passed since themovie 2001: A Space Odyssey debuted in April 1968. In the film, Dr. Heywood Floyd flies to a large artificial gravity space station orbiting Earth aboard a commercial space plane. He then embarks on a commuter flight to the Moon arriving there 25 hours later. Today, on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11lunar landing, the images portrayed in 2001 remain well beyond our capabilities and 2100: A Space Odyssey seems a more appropriate title for Kubrick and Clarke's film. This paper looks at the key technologies, systems, and supporting infrastructure (in-situ resource utilization (ISRU), fission surface power (FSP), nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP), andorbiting propellant depots), that could be developed by NASA and the private sector over the next 30years allowing the operational capabilities presented in 2001 to be achieved, albeit on a more spartan scale.

Borowski, Stan↗
NASA NTRS2017

Mars ISRU Pathfinder Atmospheric Processing and Regolith Operations Modeling, Testing, and Optimization

The Mars Pathfinder project sought to increase the technology readiness level of Mars ISRU technologies being developed at KSC. The ultimate goal of these technologies is to produce propellant on Mars from the carbon dioxide found in the atmosphere and water found in the regolith. This overall system requires many components to collect the resources, prepare them for processing and ultimately to produce methane and oxygen.

Anthony Muscatello↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

MIP: the First ISRU Flight Experiment

In 2020, the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) will fly to Mars as part of the Mars-2020 “Perseverance” rover’s experiment package, and for the first time will demonstrate the use of in-situ resources of another planet, by using the carbon dioxide atmosphere of Mars as a feedstock to produce oxygen. MOXIE, however, was not the first flight experiment proposed to test in-situ resource utilization (ISRU). The Mars ISPP Precursor, “MIP”, was a flight experiment on the 2001 Mars Surveyor Lander that was designed to demonstrate In-situ Propellant Production--ISPP--for the first time on Mars. The experiment was designed to show that it was possible to produce oxygen from the carbon dioxide atmosphere, and to demonstrate the individual technology components that would go into a full-scale production plant. The aim point of the oxygen production was to showcase the possibility of producing oxygen for use as rocket fuel, ultimately as an enabling technology for a future human expedition to Mars.

Geoffrey A Landis↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Advanced Alkaline Reversible Cell (AARC) for Production of Hydrogen and Oxygen from ISRU-Generated Water – ACO

NASA needs energy storage for lunar applications where night lasts up to 354 hours. Reversible fuel cell systems are potentially well-suited for long-duration storage but must have high reliability to last the 4-year maintenance cycle. Moving parts (compressors and blowers) are the primary limitation for high reliability fuel cell systems. Further, H2 and O2 have numerous ISRU applications, including propellant, life support, and chemical processes.

Paul Matter↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

ISRU Advanced Alkaline Electrolyzer (AAE) BAA

This poster presentation coveys the progress and status of the Advanced Alkaline Electrolyzer (AAE) activity to demonstrate efficient generation of gaseous oxygen from water feedstock containing likely contaminates found in unprocessed water from in situ resource utilization (ISRU) water sources.

Advanced Alkaline Electrolyzer↗
NASA NTRS2022

Characterization of Lunar Polar Volatiles for Curation and ISRU - Executive Summary

The goal of this project is to support lunar exploration by simulating and characterizing ice and volatile-rich materials expected to be found at the lunar poles. These materials are highly sensitive to heating, which could significantly alter their composition and prevent scientific studies on lunar samples. During FY19, we obtained materials for and designed a simulated lunar environment, within which volatile-rich simulant could be made. We also refined the procedure for moderate-fidelity lunar simulants at cryogenic temperatures. In FY20, we completed our test setup, and we can now reach cryogenic temperatures and near-lunar pressures with active compositional monitoring of volatiles in the vapor phase. For FY21, we: 1) progressed towards developing sample storage temperature requirements for volatile-rich samples by completing storage testing, along with materials testing for Artemis geologic sampling, 2) obtained instrumentation for solid sample monitoring to characterize solid species, and 3) progressed towards water extraction testing for ISRU. Our test results will directly feed into Artemis science requirements, hardware designs for sample return, vehicle requirements (HLS, Gateway, Orion), and operations planning for lunar exploration activities.

Julie L Mitchell↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

ISRU: Using Biology to Produce Food and Oxygen from Resources on Mars

Any crewed mission to Mars is a “biological” mission. As we move farther away from Earth, we will have to produce the required food, water and nutrient resources to sustain the crew in route or on the surface of other planetary bodies. Critical nutrients, like vitamins, have been shown to degrade in our current food system and represent a risk to long term crew health. One way to address this problem is by developing reliable Biological Life Support Systems (BLSS) that can provide fresh, nutrient-rich foods. Much work in this area will be done as we learn to live and work on the Moon. Systems developed for the Moon should also work on Mars, but will not be designed to take advantage of resources that Mars offers: CO2, more abundant water, and a day length similar to Earth’s. The photosynthetic portion of a BLSS can act as an ISRU element on Mars by providing human life support needs. There is an urgent need to understand how to build components of a fully functional BLSS. One Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG) goal relates to this area.

B. M. Link↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Design and Testing of a Prototype Electrodynamic Regolith Conveyor for Lunar ISRU

NASA’s Swamp Works Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory (ESPL) is developing a 4-phaseelectrodynamic regolith conveyor (ERC) that could convey regolith without the risk of rotating or vibratory actuation, which could jam or require regular maintenance due to the abrasive nature of lunar regolith. Another goal of electrodynamic conveying is the reduction of conveying power, which is important considering the limited capacity of early-stage lunar power systems. The current state of the art(SOA) for lunar regolith conveying is based on recent NASA system studies for oxygen production plants. These plant designs require conveying rates around 100 kg/hr, to produce 10 mT/yr of oxygen from the regolith. To accomplish this, conventional augers and vibratory spiral conveyors have been identified as the SOA or the leading candidates due to their extensive use in the terrestrial material handling industry. At NASA KSC, the use of dynamic electric fields, generated by alternating high voltage on electrodes, has been developed as a dust mitigation solution known as the Electrodynamic Dust Shield (EDS). The EDS is being developed for lenses, solar panels, radiators, fabric and seals and is scheduled for a technology demonstration mission on the Moon in 2023. ESPL researchers have shown the ability to move thin layers (~ a few mm) of dust with mW of power. In Academia, researchers have shown the ability to electrodynamically convey regolith up to ~1 kg/hr with a 4-phase EDS and electromagnetically convey particles that would suggest a lunar regolith conveying rate of ~25 kg/hr. This paper will describe the design and testing of a prototype ERC that could scale to support transporting regolith at ISRU relevant flow rates.

Aaron D S Olson↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

ISRU Pilot Excavator - Development of Autonomous Excavation Algorithms

The ISRU Pilot Excavator (IPEx) is a Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) Game Changing Development (GCD) project to develop a robotic excavator to demonstrate excavation of up to 10 metric tons of lunar regolith. IPEx is based on the Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot (RASSOR) excavator developed at NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and utilizes a counter rotating bucket drum concept to balance excavation forces for use on reduced gravity planetary bodies. To take advantage of the counter rotating bucket drum mechanism, work is being done to develop new autonomous excavation strategies and algorithms. Referred to as “Auto-dig”, these algorithms will allow IPEx to excavate, drive, and deliver its target mass of 10 metric tons of lunar regolith during an 11-day mission semi-autonomously. Due to bandwidth and latency constraints teleoperation will be kept to a minimum, with operators periodically confirming and verifying the excavator’s high-level tasks and operations. While the work to develop optimized autodig solutions is ongoing at KSC, early tests have yielded interesting results that have led to the discovery of additional risks that need to be mitigated in autonomous excavation. Testing has also encouraged the development of new software and visualization tools that provide real-time insight into excavation loads during operation, allowing faster development and helping build better intuition to the excavation process. These tools will help in the pursuit to develop fully optimized digging algorithms that are robust enough to handle hazards such as rocks or irregular terrain.

B. C. Buckles↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Lunar Helium-3: Mining Concepts, Extraction Research, and Potential ISRU Synergies

This paper describes various methods and designs specifically proposed for mining helium-3, and summarizes the methods, results and potential implications of recent research on helium extraction from lunar regolith simulant. This paper also touches on the potential synergy of lunar propellant production with helium-3 mining and some of the recent advancements in fusion technology related to future helium-3 fueled fusion reactors.

Lunar↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Lunar Helium-3: Mining Concepts, Extraction Research, and Potential ISRU Synergies

This paper describes various methods and designs specifically proposed for mining helium-3, and summarizes the methods, results and potential implications of recent research on helium extraction from lunar regolith simulant. This paper also touches on the potential synergy of lunar propellant production with helium-3 mining and some of the recent advancements in fusion technology related to future helium-3 fueled fusion reactors.

Lunar↗