ISRU Development Strategy and Recent Activities to Support Near and Far Term Missions

Abstract

The practical expansion of humans beyond low Earth orbit into near‐Earth space and out into the solar system for exploration, commercialization, tourism, and colonization will require the effective utilization of whatever indigenous resources are available to make these endeavors economically feasible and capable of extended operations. This concept of “living off the land” is called In‐Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU). The resources available for ISRU applications vary widely, depending upon the location. However, there are resources, technologies, and processes that are common to multiple destinations and ISRU‐related applications. These resources range from carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapor found in human habitats (surface & spacecraft) and in the Martian atmosphere, to water (ice and hydrated minerals) and various oxygen, carbon, and metal‐bearing resources found on comets and asteroids, and in planetary surface materials at numerous destinations of interest (Moon, Mars, Titan, and Europa). Many parties are investigating the common technologies and processes to effectively extract and use these resources. This paper will discuss how ISRU is enabling for both near and far term human exploration missions, and present a summary of recent and on‐going ISRU work sponsored by the NASA/Johnson Space Center. Technology development activities that will be described in detail include an advanced CO2 freezer acquisition system, a multi‐fluid common bulkhead cryogenic storage tank, and a variety of microchannel chemical reactor concepts. Recent advanced Sabatier reactor concept development activities in preparation for later, end‐to‐end system testing will be described as well. This paper will also discuss an ISRU‐based strategy to enable extensive robotic and human surface exploration operations and a related on‐going demonstration program for a fuel cell based power plant for rover applications. Technology commonalities between ISRU, life support systems, and Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA), applications will also be presented.