NASA’s New Cryogenic Fuel System Could Make Manned Trip to Mars Feasible

What Happened?

In a new demonstration, research teams at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, are testing an innovative approach to achieve zero boiloff storage of liquid hydrogen using two stages of active cooling which could prevent the loss of valuable propellant. 

The new technique, known as ‘tube on tank’ cooling, integrates two cryocoolers, or cooling devices, to keep propellant cold and thwart multiple heat sources. Helium, chilled to about minus 424 degrees Fahrenheit, circulates through tubes attached to the outer wall of the propellant tank.

Why it Matters

‘Technologies for reducing propellant loss must be implemented for successful long-duration missions to deep space like the Moon and Mars,’ said Kathy Henkel, acting manager of NASA’s Cryogenic Fluid Management Portfolio Project, based at NASA Marshall. For shorter missions like those to Earth orbit or the moon, propellant loss is less of an issue, but for long range manned missions like a trip to Mars, propellant loss is a major problem.

The reason is simple physics. Super cold, or cryogenic fluids like liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen are the most common propellants for space exploration. Despite its chilling environment, space has a ‘hot’ effect on these propellants because of their low boiling points – about minus 424 degrees Fahrenheit for liquid hydrogen and about minus 298 for liquid oxygen – putting them at risk of boiloff.

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For short trips of only a few days duration, the amount of fuel lost to boiloff is relatively low. But for trips that can take months, like a manned mission to Mars, the amount of fuel lost to boiloff becomes so great it becomes an impediment to completing the mission. Without enough fuel a manned crew would be unable to return home, which would be mission failure. 

The new cryogenic system aims to solve this problem by reducing fuel boiloff to zero. By constantly keeping the liquid propellant at its ideal storage temperature, boiloff can be prevented. Otherwise, the amount of fuel that would have to be carried would be so large existing designs cannot accommodate it. Current designs for short range missions carry more fuel than needed to allow for losses due to boiloff, but that would be impossible for a month-long mission to Mars. 

To date, cryogenic fuels have only been used for missions lasting less than a week. The new system at NASA, if successful, could allow for much longer missions that could be measured in months instead of weeks.

How it Affects You

A manned mission to Mars has long been the stuff of science fiction, but thanks to research and development efforts like the new cryogenic fuel system being tested by NASA, such a trip is becoming science fact. When the technical problems for a manned mission to Mars are solved, the only remaining barriers will be funding, and the will to apply the necessary resources to make the trip a reality.