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Phase II Final Report - NASA's Institute for Advanced Concepts

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Planetary Exploration Using Biomimetics<br />

An Entomopter <strong>for</strong> Flight on Mars<br />

the same mass. The following system components will be evaluated <strong>for</strong> producing hydrogen<br />

peroxide fuel from the atmospheric gases and stored hydrogen:<br />

• Hydrogen storage system<br />

• Zirconia oxygen generator<br />

• Sorption compressor<br />

• Hydrogen peroxide reactor<br />

• Power source<br />

3.5.3.1 Hydrogen Storage System<br />

Hydrogen is the only component of the potential fuels identified that cannot be obtained from<br />

the material found on Mars. There<strong>for</strong>e, if fuel is to be produced utilizing the in situ resources<br />

available on Mars, hydrogen will need to be brought from Earth. The main issue with storing<br />

and using hydrogen is its very low density. At ambient conditions, 1 liter of hydrogen contains<br />

only 10.7 KJ of energy. Even in its liquid state, the volumetric energy density of hydrogen (8.4<br />

MJ/liter) is less then half that of other fuels (natural gas 17.8 MJ/liter, gasoline 31.1 MJ/liter).<br />

Storing a sufficient amount of it <strong>for</strong> use requires a large volume. There<strong>for</strong>e, to make it practical<br />

the storage method must increase the hydrogen density as much as possible.<br />

The first step in evaluating the fuel production system is to determine the best method <strong>for</strong> storing<br />

hydrogen. Conventional methods of storage are as a compressed gas or as a cryogenic liquid.<br />

Work is being done in these areas that would make them more applicable to a space mission by<br />

reducing storage tank weight (carbon composite tanks) or increasing the density of cryogenic<br />

hydrogen (gelled or slush hydrogen). In addition, new storage methods are being devised that<br />

may be capable of storing hydrogen without the need <strong>for</strong> high-pressure tanks or the need to manage<br />

a cryogenic liquid (carbon nanotubes, carbon fullerenes, and hydrides).<br />

Hydrogen can be stored as either a gas or liquid. However, the stored hydrogen is only one part<br />

of the fuel system. The hydrogen must be reacted with oxygen to <strong>for</strong>m hydrogen peroxide,<br />

which is the fuel chosen <strong>for</strong> production on Mars. The layouts <strong>for</strong> each of these storage and production<br />

systems are given in Figures 3-160 and 3-161. Aside from the storage tank and its associated<br />

components, the description and analysis of the remaining components is common to both<br />

systems.<br />

3.5.3.1.1 Gaseous Hydrogen Storage<br />

3.5.3.1.1.1 Pressure Tank<br />

High pressure hydrogen storage is the most conventional type of hydrogen storage. As the storage<br />

pressure increases, the density of the hydrogen gas will also increase. This relationship is<br />

shown in Figure 3-147. This figure represents the change in density (ρ) of hydrogen gas at various<br />

temperatures and pressures. This figure is based on the ideal gas law with a compressibility<br />

180<br />

<strong>Phase</strong> <strong>II</strong> <strong>Final</strong> <strong>Report</strong>

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