Solar Thermochemical Processing for the Production of Propellants on Mars and Fuels for the Earth

3, NASA Glenn Research Center Mars and the Earth each have the basic materials for the production of propellants and fuels. Hydrocarbon fuels and oxygen can be produced using concentrated solar energy by making use of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen from indigenous resources through the application and integration of compact microchannel process technology with other process equipment. For Mars, this approach will dramatically reduce the mass of what must otherwise be brought from the Earth, by 20 to 45%, making future human and robotic missions, including near-term sample return missions, more affordable. Variations on the technologies that would make propellants on Mars can likewise use solar energy and terrestrial feedstocks to produce alternative transportation fuels for the Earth. For each location, solar energy is converted to chemical energy through thermochemical processes. If biomass or other feedstocks are used that bring chemical energy into the system, the overall productivity and economic viability of the approach is enhanced in proportion to the feedstock’s chemical energy. This is particularly important for the Earth, where there is a significant interest in producing affordable, alternative transportation fuels that provide energy independence along with reductions in net emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.