Research and Technology Needs for Chemical Processes and Operations on Mars

Abstract

Utilization of extra-terrestrial resources is vital to making affordable space exploration missions a practical reality. Almost all present NASA plans and studies to explore the Moon and Mars rely heavily on the use of local resources and emphasize In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) as a key enabling capability. Indigenous resources can be used in both robotic and crewed missions for enhancing the science returns, generating power and producing propellants needed for the return part of the mission. In crewed missions ISRU can also be used for construction of habitats, radiation and thermal protection shields, and generation of oxygen, water, food and other crew consumables. Achieving these goals requires an understanding of the available extra-terrestrial resources and the mining and chemical processes that will be used to generate the necessary consumables in a mass and energy efficient manner. These processes involve chemical reactions, multiphase flows, and phase change, the scaling laws for which are often not well understood even for our terrestrial environment. Focused research studies, therefore, are needed to develop models, scaling laws, and experimental data that will qualify the use of these processes for applications on the Moon and Mars. This paper presents an overview of some of the processes required to generate oxygen, water, and propellant and the key challenges faced by the designers and engineers for Mars missions. A companion paper on the issues related to lunar exploration is forthcoming.