Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer
Planetary Volatiles Extractor for In Situ Resource Utilization, Phase I
Project Description
Under previous SBIR Phase 1, we demonstrated MISME system to TRL 3. This system can be used on Mars, the Moon, as well as Asteroids (a Spider concept with self- anchoring approach was developed). We propose to focus this Phase I on the two approaches of water extraction: Sniffer and Corer. At the end of the Phase 1, we will trade all 3: Sniffer, Corer, MISME and select one for further development in Phase 2. After the Sniffer and the Corer tests, a trade study will be conducted to compare Sniffer vs Corer vs MISME approaches. The trade study will include figure of merits (e.g. extraction efficiency etc), potential for scaling production up, easy of deploying on more than one planetary body, as well as mission implementation challenges and risks. During this time we will also work closely with our COTR to determine mission preferences. The end result will be selection of the best approach. During this trade study we will also consider different properties of planetary regoliths as well as environmental conditions that would affect excavation and processing (e.g. poorly sorted particle size distribution and agglutinates on the Moon which make regolith very cohesive, perchlorates and clays on Mars which make soil very sticky etc).
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Anticipated Benefits
NASA applications would satisfy goals of HEOMD and SMD. In particular, Planetary Volatiles Extractor could be initially used as a reconnaissance tool to map and characterize volatiles distribution around the area before deploying ISRU plant. Depending on the required water (or other volatiles) production per day, the PVEx could be used to extract water to support human habitats or for LOX/LH2 propulsion system to enable return of humans or samples back to Earth or a journey to outer reaches of Space. Because of the system flexibility, the PVEx could be deployed on any extraterrestrial body that contains volatiles or hydrated minerals: Mars, the Moon, Europa, Enceladus, Asteroids, Comets, Phobos and Deimos. For example if the system were to be deployed on the Moon or Near Earth Objects, the water produced by the system could be returned to ISS. The system could be used by several commercial companies that are interested in In Situ Resource Utilization for financial gain. These include Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries targeting Asteroids and Shackleton Energy Corp, targeting the Moon. Brining water from the Moon or NEOs could be very profitable given that launching water from space costs ~$20,000/liter. The major market for water could be human consumption (e.g. once Bigelow Space Hotels are established) or refueling of existing satellites. The latter is of particular interest, since satellites come to the end of their life not because of electronics, or power, but because there are running out of fuel for station keeping. NASA and industry have been developing in space refueling technology, the first step in enabling refueling of satellites in space. Other non-NASA applications include robotic acquisition of volatiles as well as soil and liquid samples from hazardous environments – chemical spills, nuclear waste, oil spills.
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Project Library
Primary U.S. Work Locations and Key Partners
| Organizations Performing Work | Role | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honeybee Robotics, Ltd. | Lead Organization | Industry | Pasadena, California |
Johnson Space Center
(JSC)
|
Supporting Organization | NASA Center | Houston, Texas |
Primary U.S. Work Locations
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New York
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Texas
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