FY17 IRTD: Mars ISRU Pathfinder Atmospheric Processing and Regolith Operations Modeling, Testing, and Optimization

Completed TRL 5 (started at 3, targeting 5)

Description

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. This project culminated in an integrated demonstration that combined:

KSC RASSOR 2.0 – a subsystem that collects and delivers regolith
KSC Hopper – a subsystem that sorts regolith
KSC Water Cleanup Module (WCM) – a subsystem that receives and cleans water that came from the regolith and the APM
KSC Atmospheric Processing Module (APM) – a subsystem that collects carbon dioxide and reacts it with hydrogen to produce methane and water
KSC Lander Mock-up – the operations base

This showed how regolith operations, water generation from regolith and its cleanup, and carbon dioxide collection and conversion into methane operate as a system. This report is divided into sections describing the integrated demonstration, advances made to individual subsystems, and a model of the system and highlights are given here.

Benefits

Propellant made with ISRU technologies developed by NASA can be made on the Moon and asteroids, leading to a commercial product which will kick start the space economy. Other ISRU technologies will then allow manufacturing in space which will also advance economic activity and human prosperity. Commercially, the ability to convert CO2 into methane has a wide ranging applicability as a green technology by converting CO2 from chemical or power plants, or metabolic CO2 from closed loop environmental life support systems into methane to be used as fuel or for power. On the Moon, ISRU systems could use in situ CO and water to provide methane/oxygen propellant in LEO for commercial satellites and spacecraft.

Details

Technology area	Propulsion Systems
Program	Center Independent Research & Development: KSC IRAD (KSC IRAD)
Lead organization	Kennedy Space Center, Kennedy Space Center, FL
Start date	2017-03-01
End date	2018-03-31

Project contacts

Listed on TechPort itself — the most direct way to ask about this specific project.

Anthony C Muscatello — anthony.c.muscatello@nasa.gov
Andrew J Nick — andrew.j.nick@nasa.gov
Anne J Meier — anne.meier@nasa.gov
Gabor J Tamasy — gabor.j.tamasy@nasa.gov
Ivan I Townsend
James D Kania — james.d.kania@nasa.gov
Jason M Schuler — jason.m.schuler@nasa.gov
Jill L Giles — jill.l.giles@nasa.gov
Jon A Bayliss — jon.a.bayliss@nasa.gov
Kurt W Leucht — kurt.leucht@nasa.gov
Laurent Sibille — laurent.sibille-1@nasa.gov
Paul E Hintze — paul.e.hintze@nasa.gov
Rene Formoso — rene.formoso@nasa.gov
Robert P Mueller — rob.mueller@nasa.gov
Rolando J Nieves — rolando.j.nieves@nasa.gov

How to get involved

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 5) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.