Integrated Mars In Situ Propellant Production System
Publication: Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 26, Issue 1
Abstract
Pioneer Astronautics has developed a system that harvests CO2 from a simulated Martian atmosphere and reacts it with H2 into rocket propellant at a rate of 1 kg/day. A prototype system operated autonomously for 5 consecutive days, during which it maintained a 100% conversion rate (to detectable limits) of CO2 and H2 into products, maintaining a constant O2:CH4 ratio in the product stream with only minor adjustments. The integrated Mars in situ propellant production system (IMISPPS) uses a mixed catalyst bed to conduct the Sabatier methanation reaction and the reverse water gas shift in a single reactor. A recycle loop makes performance resistant to operational changes, with product ratios stable regardless of reactor temperature changes of as much as 100°C. An optimized IMISPPS is projected to produce 1 kg/day of O2:CH4 propellant and have a mass of 50 kg with a methane purity of 98+% while consuming 700 W of electrical power. With hydrogen from Earth, the system demonstrates a mass leverage of 18:1 in useful rocket propellant produced on Mars compared with imported feedstock.
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Acknowledgments
The work described in this article was funded under a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Kennedy Space Center Small Business Innovation Research Phase II program. The Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative at Kennedy Space Center was Jeanine Captain. Significant contributions to the research effort were also provided by Pioneer staff including Douwe Bruinsma, James Kilgore, Nick Jameson, Heather Rose, and Emily Bostwick-White.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 26 • Issue 1 • January 2013
Pages: 43 - 56
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 13, 2011
Accepted: Jan 9, 2012
Published online: Dec 15, 2012
Published in print: Jan 1, 2013
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