Dust tolerant, high pressure oxygen quick disconnects will be critical to future exploration missions beyond LEO. Such an interface will find extensive applications in EVA systems designed to operate on the surface of Mars, the Moon, or in the particulate torus around planetary moons and near-Earth objects. The dust-tolerant, high pressure oxygen quick disconnect commercial applications may include resource prospecting and long-term human settlement. The same interface used in an oxygen quick disconnect can also be used for other fluid transfers in dusty environments, including potable or cooling water, or waste CO2, for extended EVA operations. The dust tolerant QD can also be used for fuel; rovers or other vehicles that require liquid recharge of consumables, as would be the case with fuel cell-powered systems, will require a dust-tolerant fueling QD interface. This interface could be integrated into manual or autonomous recharge systems.
Future commercial space missions into LEO or beyond will require life support equipment for all travelers, and requirements for an oxygen quick disconnect interface will likely be similar to NASA standards. Currently, no commercial dust tolerant, high pressure oxygen quick disconnect system exists, and development of this technology will be attractive to commercial entities that need high-reliability life support systems for crewed missions. This includes any lunar exploration or settlements that seek to harvest resources from the moon. Beyond direct interfacing with primary life support systems for human exploration, a dust tolerant, cryogenic fluid repeatable mate/de-mate interface could find use in fuel transfer for planetary vehicles. Rovers, whether autonomous or for human transport, may require refueling to recharge consumables, such as in the case of fuel cell-powered vehicles. Finally, autonomous spacecraft may require a dust tolerant interface to transfer fluid such as fuel, coolant, or other cryogenic fluids during on-orbit docking. This type of mating will likely be required for future modular spacecraft that are assembled on-orbit.
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