Mars CO2 Capture using Sorbent Fiber Materials for In-situ Resource Utilization (ISRU)

Determine the amount of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) that is adsorbed (in moles) under simulated Mars atmospheric conditions per unit mass of sorbent fiber material as a milestone. This study also investigate the capture of CO2 that sublimates during heating inside an excavation tool such as a regolith excavator's bucket drum. Also addressed the potential use of other sorbent fiber materials designed to capture water vapor during ISRU operations to extract water from hydrated or icy regolith. Achieve high CO2 uptake at very low CO2 concentrations, reversibly bound is a major challenge. Develop CO2 sorbent fiber materials. Demonstrate ability to adsorb CO2 from a CO2 atmosphere at Mars pressure (7 torr). The vacuum chamber will be purged of the CO2 atmosphere, and a residual gas analyzer (RGA) will be used to monitor CO2 release into the vacuum chamber as the sorbent fiber material receives sufficient energy through heating.

Demonstrate a simple, low-power, non-mechanical method of capturing Carbon Dioxide (CO2) using novel sorbent fibers under Mars atmospheric conditions and then releasing to enable the production of methane and oxygen. The State of the Art for capturing CO2 from the Martian atmosphere involves either condensing CO2 as a solid on a surface at a temperature below the sublimation temperature of CO2 (cryo-cooling), or else mechanically pumping the CO2 atmosphere into a pressure vessel.

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