Mars Oxygen and Methane System (MOMS)

Main objectives of proposed work: • Continuation of SBIR Phase II redox tolerant cathode materials development to improve stack robustness and performance stability • Long-term SOXE stack testing for materials qualification (5,000-10,000 hours of operation) • Performance mapping of stack operation for conversion and coking limits in co-electrolysis mode • Process modelling of pre and post system stream handling Design, fabricate, and relevant condition test a breadboard system capable of producing 1-3 kg/hour high purity O2 (>99.6%) and associated methane, at pressures of 1-4 bar, with a CO2 to CH4 conversion yield >60 and up to 80% This work will be accomplished via a continuation of the Phase II SBIR redox tolerant cathode materials development coupled with qualification testing. Long term testing will target 5,000-10,000 hours operation. Short term testing will be used to map coking behavior of the cathode material. Both will be combined with simulation modeling to perform tradestudies to optimize the design of the deliverable hardware. Both the SOXE stack and methanation reactor subsystems will undergo individual commissioning and demonstration testing, prior to full system integration. Integrated system testing will be done in a terrestrial environment at OxEon and under Mars relevant conditions. The final deliverable to NASA will be the integrated Mars ISRU breadboard system, capable of producing O2 and CH4 from CO2 and H2O.

Potential NASA Applications Due to the operational flexibility of the SOXE device, the work proposed can be applied to ISRU propellant production in both a Lunar and a Mars environment, supporting NASA's Moon to Mars objectives. The proposed work addresses Recurring Tenets (RTs) LI-7 for industrial scale ISRU capabilities to support a Lunar economy and continual human lunar presence, TH-1 for production of fuels to support cislunar systems, and OP11 to reduce the mass required to be transported from Earth by using commodities available from planetary surfaces. Potential Non-NASA Applications OxEon has several Non-NASA private and government funded projects that integrate several technologies to enable crosssector energy conversion. The SOXE work proposed supports fuel production using renewable energy. SOXE technology can be used to produce synthesis gas from bio-CO2 or Direct Air Capture (DAC) CO2, which can then be converted to liquid hydrocarbons via Fischer Tropsch synthesis.

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