Mars Atmosphere Resource Recovery System (MARRS) - idea

[Marco2001]

Mars Atmosphere Resource Recovery System (MARRS)

The Mars Atmosphere Resource Recovery System (MARRS) is a process that extracts oxygen and other minor components from the Martian surface atmosphere. The thin atmospheric gases are compressed, the carbon dioxide (CO2) is liquefied, and the lighter components are recovered and purified. Energy as heat re-expands the CO2 to produce the electrical and mechanical power need to compress and capture the atmosphere. MARRS takes unique advantage of the low ambient temperature on the Martian surface to separate oxygen and water from the bulk CO2 in an efficient, lightweight package. The availability of liquid CO2 in unlimited amounts enables efficient, open-cycle processes for reserve and emergency power, transportation and industrial uses. Together with a nuclear heat source, MARRS can satisfy many of the requirements for consumables and propellants for a human or large robotic presence on Mars.

-©2001 American Institute of Physics.
[http://scitation.aip.org/getabs/servlet/GetabsServlet?prog=normal&id=APCPCS000552000001000010000001&idtype=cvips&gifs=yes&ref=no]

[...]large amounts of nitrogen (liquid and gas), argon gas and liquid carbon dioxide (CO2) remain available as by-products for use as respiratory agents, refrigerants, propellants, propellant precursors and working fluids for emergency or backup power, transportation, and surface operations such as drilling.

-©2006 American Institute of Physics
http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006AIPC..813.1138E



Device schemat: http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/4171/marrs2.jpg

Article: http://www.niac.usra.edu/files/studies/abstracts/483England.pdf

Personal note:
It creates O2 which is always useful.
It creates little H2O which is aslo always useful.
It creates N2 which is needed to mix it with O2 and make breathable air.
It creates CO which can be use to make fuel or in some specific processes (like plastic creation).
It creates large quantity of preasurized liquid CO2 which is stored in a container and can be released when night/dust-storm to generate power.  

[profit004]

just so you know.... This is a VERY energy intensive proccess. Using the same electricity of maybe 500 of our current solar panels or the output of a tiny nuclear reactor to do anything worthwhile with....

Filling a single 70 gallon tank of compressed atmosphere with an RTG would take a month or two if it was a 500 watt RTG. 50 watts which is the standard size? maybe a year.

Not that it will not be usefull as heck.  Just want you to know what it will be likely limited to... They will probably drop one of these 3 years before manned exploration and in that time it will gather enough atmosphere to inflate several habitation domes with some to spare and have gathered maybe 40 gallons of water... Just without a nuclear reactor power source dont see these doing anything in colony time.

[Hyper]

I agree prof.. I have a nuke in progress, should have it in next version of the game.