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Putting humans on Mars has been one of NASA\u2019s driving missions for years, but they are still in the early stages of deciding what exactly that mission architecture will look like. One major factor is where to get the propellant to send the astronauts back to Earth. Advocates of space exploration often suggest harvesting the necessary propellant from Mars itself \u2013 some materials can be used to create liquid oxygen and methane, two commonly used propellants. To support this effort, a group from NASA\u2019s COMPASS team detailed several scenarios of the infrastructure and technologies it would take to make an in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) system that could provide enough propellant to get astronauts back to a Mars orbit where they could meet up with an Earth return vehicle. However, there are significant challenges to implementing such a system, and they must be addressed before the 8-9-year process of getting the system up and running can begin.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n To understand these challenges, it\u2019s first essential to understand some of the requirements the team was trying to meet. The goal was to provide 300 tons of liquid oxygen and liquid methane to a Mars Ascent and Landing Vehicle (MALV) being developed at other parts of NASA. That much propellant is necessary to get a crew of astronauts back into orbit, where they can be met by an orbiting Earth return vehicle.<\/p>\n Creating liquid oxygen and methane requires many ISRU systems, such as pumps, electrolyzers, dryers, scrubbers, and significant power systems, to run all these machines. Some raw materials, such as CO2, can be pulled from the Martian atmosphere. However, the system will also require 150 tons of water, which could be trucked in from Earth or harvested from Mars.<\/p>\n \n