NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) 19990025829: In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) Development Program

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by  NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

LPI Contmbution No. 955 89
IN-SITU RESOURCE UTILIZATION (ISRU)
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
Jerry Sanders
NASA Johnson Space Center
Why In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU)?
Make what you need there Instead of
bringing it all the way from Earth
"Living off the Land"
• Reduces Earth to orbit • Reduces number and
mass by 20 to 45% size ofEarth launch
vehicles
• Estimated 300 mffyr
,.'--°oitu "_',.a....d,,,•of
reduction in Earth logistics
Utilization
Resource
• Reduces dependence on •Increase Surface
Earth supplied logistics Mobility
• Enables self-sufficiency •Habitat construction
• Radiation Shielding •psuropppeolrlat,nt=,etc.life
•Develops material handling and
processing technologies
•Provides infrastructure to support
exploitation
•Earth & Low Earth orbit manufacturing
materlagloglsttcs (ores, He],etc)
Resources and ISRU Products
Regolith Wlltr Soil* Atmottpbere
Oxygen (45%) 0.Sto]% a_poles7 Silicon Dioxide (435%) Carbon Dioxide (955%)
Silicon (21%) Iron Oxide (182%) Nitrogen (27%)
Aluminum (13%) Sollr Wind Sulfur Trio_de (73%)
Argon (16%)
Calcium (I0%} Hydrogen (50 -IO0ppm) Aluminum Oxide (73%)
Iron (6%) Helium (3-50ppm) Magnesium Oxide (60%) Oxygen (01%)
Magnesium (4%) HeJ(4 -20ppb) Calcium Oxide (5.8%) Water (parts per million)
O|heT(I%)
Other (It.q)
Water (o)
Lunar Resources & Products Mars Resources & Products
-Lunar regolith contains 45"/o oxy_'n bymass that can be -The atmosphere contains >95% carbon dioxide that can be used
used for p_oputsion, power generati_, and crev, breathing Io make oxygen and fuels
- Lunar soil could be used for crc_v radiation protection - Atmospheric nilxogcn (N2) and argon [Ar) can be used for life
support, experiment carrie* gases, inflating structures, purging
- H_ and He (including H¢_) from the solar bind are dust from hardware, etc.
available at very low concentrations (parts per million)
for fllel producti0_ and flLsion rcsctors on Earth - Water inthe atmosphere and in the soil (if available) could be
extracted for use in life support, propulsion, and power generation
- Aluminum, iron, and magnesium can be used in constnlction
- Furlber information is required todetermine hov., best toextract
- Silicon can beused to produce solar cells for power gc.eratic_ and use Mars soil based resources, especially water content
- Joe inthe lunar regolit can beused for life supporl or tomake
propellants for propulsion and power generation
90 HEDS-UP Mars Exploration Forum
ISRU Term Definitions
• In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU)
- Covers all aspects of usingor processing local resources for the benefit of
robotic and orhuman exploration. Examples:
> Using dirt/regolithfor radiation shielding
> Making structures/habitats and solar cellsfrom processed resources
> Making propellants orother consumables
• In-Situ Consumables Production (ISCP)
Isa subset of ISRU that covers all aspects of producingconsumables from
local resources
Consumable products/needs include:
> Propellant for ascent, hoppers, orEarth return
> Reagents for fuel cells
> 02, H20, and N2for Environmental Control & LifeSupport System
(ECLSS) backup
> Gases for purging orinflatinghabitats/structures
> Heat for spacecraft/habitat thermal control
• In-Situ Propellant Production (ISPP)
- Isa subset of ISCP that coversallaspects ofproducing propellants from local
resources for the benefit of roboticand orhuman exploration
- ISPP requires the least amount of infrastructure to support and provides
immediate benefits to missionplans
Note: Most work performed to date isspecificto ISPP atthistime
ISCP Process Diagram
A
Lunar Regollth or Water :; ToSpacecraft and/or Environment
3_
Mars Atmosphere
• 95.5% CO2 _rj[ ThermaIControl ]_ Propulsion Om"tribut,on "
• 0.1 - 0.15 psi J i I t ECLSS. I & Use
,/ ;
--L-co,,.. , ,:
:1FilterLmJ cto a _ Ch.mi.lL._! P,=..t _ PreChiLll.J','i;lu_ot_. • L.J Cryog,,I.Ic
:_ "7 Conditioning I_!'-lProcessingF m-] Sel_a!,tlon _ Products __Boiloff ControlJ--_ Stoll ge I;
, • ;a • I ; ......
', I" ,e I' I t ;
Resource Processing Subsystems Chemical Processing Subsystem Liquefaction & Storage Subsyslern
Resource Processina_ Subsvstem,_: Collects and prepares in-situ resources for use in process subsystem
Filtration, and collection & conditioning using adsorption beds or compressors for gas resources
Shoveling, mining, sorting, sifting, and grinding for solid resources
Chemical Processin9 Subsystems: One or more chemical reactions and reactant/product separations to
change the collected resource into usable products.
The Chemical Processing Subsystem defines the ISCP products, Earth consumable needs, and the
system complexity and power charactedstics for the ISCP plant
• LiQuefaction & Storaqe Subsystems: Many in-situ products are gases. To efficiently store large quantities
of these in-situ products, liquefaction and storage as acryogenic liquid is required
LPI Contribution No. 955 91
Possible Consumable Interaction
Construction &
Manufacturing _i f Ascent
m, "Propulsion Commercial
Spacecraft Applications
Support • Medical &home care
•Autonomous mining
_. "% l t Thermal Energy ._ •&Rfeamrmoitneg fuel
Hydrocarbons for drugs &plastics "%"% Purge gases and/or tank pressurants •Gprloobdaulctiownarming gas
%. Ascent or hopper propellant /J/ reduction
Materials for concrete &metal structures_ "% "%
I I (02 or 02/fuel ) •Portable power .
storage & generation
"% In-Situ
Production
Thermal Energy
ISCP)
02and NJAr for Habitat & EVA suits Fuel cell reagents (O2and fuel)
Backup w_ter
Water from fuel cell
f J
Water and carbon products from ECLSS
Environmental
Fuel Cell
Control & Life
Power
Support System
Generation
(ECLSS)
ISCP Development Challenges
Chemical Process Development
Chemica/separationl conversion efficiency
> Earth supplied consumable limitations
Thermal integration and management
Complexity
Operational Environment/Surviviability
Autonomous control & failure recovery
> No crew for maintanance
> Non-continuous monitoring
Environmental compatibility [dust, temperature]
Long-life operation [months to years]
Support System Development
Power
> Advanced solar cells or RTG's for robotic
> Nuclear power for human
Product liquefaction and cryogenic storage [months toyears]
> Earth supplied Hydrogen
Cost
Technology/system synergism between Moon and Mars
Technology/system synergism with other systems [ECLSS, fuel cells]
Commercial viability of technology
92 HEDS-UP Mars Exploration Forum
Top-Level Mars ISPP Development Plan
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Mars ISPP [ i
Flight Systems Precursor p,
I
Launch
iA
PUMPP Predeploy
ISPP Technologies at TRL 5/6 PUMPP,_, o_. _,_,
MISRI I
Chemical Process Selected tyear I:.nor toMISR
long duration test start
Subsystem/System Testing
Shod Term SubsyStem/ resti :)syst_r
MulStiypsletemConTfelgsuticnagtlonosf Optimize _Pn_i__uc,taloonU'. Open
System Syste
Autonomous,Long-Term
Selectedi
ISPPSystemDemoon Earth Sel_ _
!
Flight Quai/Acceptance MIP _
_tPP R
ISPP Demo on Mars Surface Iiil!lNI!IIHII,Ilt l /
100to300J .7yTS
MIP * 7Frs I,'
MarsISPPMissionPhaseC/D ) ,1_ '
1_7 y PUMP_! I.? yr MISR Hums
2I/4 yr$I Retun 3yrs
Mars ISPP Precursor (MIP) Fli¢ht Experiment
MIP will incorporate five experiments from three NASA institutions;
Johnson Space Center (JSC), Lewis Research Center 0LeRC), andthe
Jet Propulsion Laboretor (JPL). JSC isalso reponsible for
integrating the experiments into the M1P flight demonstration unit
The llveMIP experiments are:
_-MAAC - Mars Atmosphere Acquisition andCompression (JPL)
DemonstratetheabilitytocollectandcompressMarsatmospheric
carbondioxde
)" MTERC -Mars Thermal Environment end Radiator
Characterization (J-PL)Provide datatodetermine theeffective sky
temperature andthelongtermeffect of theMarsenvironmcm on
radiatorperformance
> MATE -Mars solar Array Technology Experiment (LeRC)
Characterize advanced solar cell performance and obtaindata on
Mars surface environments thatcanimpact future solar
cell designs
Warm
DART -Dust Accumulation i Electronics m
Demonstrate techniques to mitigate dustaccumulation onsolarcells Box
(tilting and electrostatic repulsion) and characterize dustproperties
MIP Design Characteristics
and deposition rates j
/ > Mission Design Life =300 Mars days (sots)
OGS -Oxygen G__eneratorSubsystem (JSC) > Mass =7.5kg
Demonstrate theproduction ofoxygen from Marsatmospheric gases Dimensions =40cm Lx24cm Wx25eraH
intheMars environment
> Average Power; Day =15Watts*, Night =3Watts
=When producing oxygen; 9Watts average without oxygen
production =mr/
LPI Contribution No. 955 93
Mars ISCP Technology Development Coordination
Gov't/Industry SBIR/ACRP Univ.Partners &Grants
• MIP CO2adsorption pump • • Iwater vapor adsorption • GSRP -water vapor
experiment (JPL) pump (Adroit Sys) adworption material (Univ. of
• MISR scale CO2adsorption Washington/JSC/JPL)
pump (LMNJPL)
• Low-power CO2adsorption
pump (ARC)
Sabatier/Water Electrolysis (SWE) Zirconia CO2Electrolysis (ZCE) Zirconia CO2Electrolysis (ZCE)
• SWE breadboard (LMA/JSC) • _ II -02extractionlseparation • Radio Frequency CO2
• Methane conversion (JPL) (Nanomaterials Research) dissociation (Old
• COtolerant H2separation (JPL) • (I)I-02generation from Mars Dominion/JSC)
CO2(NexTech Materials) •ZCE cellstack development
• Methane pyrolysis (HS/LMA) Reverse Water Gas Shift (RWGS) (Univ. ofArizona/HS/JSC)
Zirconia CO2Electrolysis (ZCE)
• ACRP - RWGS &ethylene
• ZCE cell stack (AS/JPL) breadboard (Boulder Center
• Methanol/HC production Science &Policy)
breadbaord (JSC) • • II-RWGS &methanol
Support Hardware breadboard (Pioneering
Astronautics)
• COT sensor, separator, and
pump evaluation (JSC) • (t) I- Hydrocarbon fuel reactors
•Autonomous control &failure (Pioneering Astronautics)
recovery (JSC/ARC/KSC)
I-! NASA Cryogenic Working Group • q)I- Pulse tube cryocooler • H2transport toMars study
• Pulse-tube cryocooler (Mesoscopic Devices) (Utah State Univ/JSC/JPL)
(NIST/JSC)
Liquefaction &
•Cryogenic storage architecture
.Storage (JSC)
Mars ISRU System Technology (MIST) Objectives
• Characterize technology and subsystem performance for mission modeling and
technology funding planning
Advance multiple ISRU process options to same TRL for design flexibility
Verify performance/benefits(cid:0)risks associated with different process options
• Raise individual subsystem/component TRL by:
Providing low-cost testing for industry/university partnerships
Funding key technology development efforts
Work w/industry, universities, and other government organizations to focus
ISRU development and testing
• Reduce risk/concerns for sample return and human missions utilizing ISRU
Development and demonstration of autonomous control and failure recovery
hardware, operations, and logic
System level testing to understand subsystem interaction
System level testing to optimize processes
Long term testing to verify component/system operation robustness
• Demonstrate environmental suitability of ISRU components/processes/systems
Mars pressure, temperature, and atmospheric composition
Continuous versus day/night production cycles
Loads & vibration
Life cycles and contamination sensitivity
94 HEDS-UP Mars Exploration Forum __
MIST Facility Overview
Building 353
- Ambient test cells for subsystem and system testing
20 ft dia chamber for Full Mars environment testing
> Atmosphere (CO2, N2, or Mars mixture), pressure,
& temperature
> Designed for hazardous operation testing
(explosion and fire hazards)
> Solar flux & dust conditions
Office area for hardware providers while at JSC
Building 356
- 5ft dia. chamber for Partial Mars environment testing
> Atmosphere, pressure, & temperature
>>-300 to +300F
>>Vacuum to 10-6torr
>>Atmosphere at 6.5 torr & 100% CO2or N2,or
i
Mars mixture
> Night sky temperature simulation
- Facility will be used for Mars ISPP Precursor
development, qualification, and flight unit testing
Stage I Proof-of-Concept Demonstration Schedule
J 1997 ] 1998 I t999 I 2000
JI F|M|AIMI J | J I AI SlOl NI D] JIFIMIAIMI JIJIAISlOI NIo!JIFIUlAIMIJI JIAISlOINIOI JIFIMIAI
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_[- Flew-Through _l: MISR Flight-like
i
i
Multi-Tank 0z
Crvoaenic Fluid M0n,_qem_nt "'7k%--/%..llh,S(Gto-Mra•geI_mTLtsr.dbnl_
&LabDewar •,'_'_t LabDew'_r I
Chemical Processing Saballer/Waler B_s
=L -
_-__: M_el,l__an.o_ttH,C,Fu_ _,,
:'-!I'1 /11
System Breadboards
: Schedule Key
ta_Y_-_ I _ / _. Er,d-lo-e*_ SF-JC_-Reac_-
: • R_¢_I Iosuap_'t
dr,_lopm_nt ofofbaseline __.r_.[_. "-_- End4o-end SESteaex_l = I_o_r.Uon mass _a_o
: ISPPsysI_r,noplk)n _'_-,,_, *rfna2_:s10r,a,Jl_CoH, _'od_ -"--_ • II ,
: _" Compel_g ISPPct_erni¢_l
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