Concept for a SSTO MAV with AWESOM rover for water collection and PV blanket for power. (AWESOM = Autonomous Water Extraction from the Surface Of Mars) This design is very crude and basic, purely intended to convey a general approach. Many things arent shown such as the cryocooling system for the propellant tanks, water pump(s) and heater, and sub-sections of the ISPP module such as the electrolysis unit and Sabatier reactor. How it works: The MAV lands a couple hundred metres from the surface hab about 26 months before the crew arrive, or 20 months before they depart Earth. A door opens in the base of the vehicle, creating a ramp, down which the AWESOM rover rolls. The end of the PV blanket is attached to the back of the rover. It drives directly away from the MAV until the PV blanket is fully deployed, then detaches the blanket. Then the rover begins its program of traversing the terrain around the MAV extracting water from the regolith. It has solar panels as well as an Stirling Radioisotope Generator (SRG) which provides heat and electrical energy. The electrical energy is converted to microwave radiation which helps to liberate the water. Each sol, the rover delivers its water to the MAV, which then combines it with CO2 extracted from the Martian atmo to make methalox propellant. The goal is to make all the propellant for Mars ascent within a 20 month window before the crew leave Earth, for maximum peace of mind. While on Mars, the crew detach and remove the PV blanket, water tank, ISPP module and AWESOM rover and transport all these back to the surface hab for repurposing. Some external panels of the MAV may also be removed. This lightens the MAV - most of the internals are now empty except for the engines and fuel tanks. This is what makes SSTO possible, along with very light nanostructured materials for the vehicle structure.
Posted on: Sat, 23 Aug 2014 01:59:29 +0000
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