A Miniature Compressor for In-Situ Resource Utilization on Mars

A key objective for NASA's next rover mission to Mars is the demonstration of oxygen production from atmospheric carbon dioxide. Such a technology demonstration may pave the way for a future sample return mission to the Red Planet as well as possibly a future manned mission to Mars. A necessary component in such a demonstration system is a blower or compressor that can deliver the necessary carbon dioxide mass flow to a production plant. Creare proposes the development of a radial flow compressor that is capable of a mass flow rate of more than 400 g/hr. The compressor will be a turbomachine based on our space qualified vacuum pump technology currently operating on the Curiosity rover in the SAM instrument on Mars. In Phase II, we propose to design, build, test, and deliver a compressor that is qualified to TRL 6 and ready for integration into a flight system.