New Mars Forums

Official discussion forum of The Mars Society and MarsNews.com

You are not logged in.

Announcement

Announcement: This forum is accepting new registrations by emailing newmarsmember * gmail.com become a registered member. Read the Recruiting expertise for NewMars Forum topic in Meta New Mars for other information for this process.

#1 Re: Life support systems » Atmospheric Revitalization for Mars Mission (for the brave?) » 2007-02-04 19:07:43

Could you point me in the direction of some research material with regards to the viability of plants for revitalizing the atmosphere? An ECLSS with a significant ecological component would be truly awesome... 

Same goes for the kiln and boiler setup. Any research material regarding it would be immensely helpful.

#2 Re: Life support systems » Atmospheric Revitalization for Mars Mission (for the brave?) » 2007-02-03 21:36:35

I am currently designing a Manned Mars Mission for an AIAA National student design competition, and am trying to cut corners on mass wherever possible. Thus I was dismayed when I learned that the current means of removing CO2 from the atmosphere requires cartridges that must be replaced at least twice per day (shuttle CO2 removal system). The total mass of these systems would be insignificant if it involved a shorter mission length.

However, given the long duration of a mars mission, the weight of these cartridges builds up to a grand total of approximately 6 metric tonnes and a storage volume space of 16 meters (given 900 day mission length plus 10% safety factor in number of cartridges). Luckily, the timeframe for this mission is around 2030, so we've been authorized to use any systems with a TRL of around 4-5.

If any of you know of any methods (current, experimental or proposed) for removing CO2 that would be more effective in both mass and volume PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!!

Board footer

Powered by FluxBB