Reliability Optimization of a Mars Oxygen Production Plant

What is it about?

Future astronauts visiting Mars will require large amounts of oxygen, not just for breathing, but as rocket propellant to bring them back home to Earth. An in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) plant can be sent to Mars to produce this oxygen from the atmosphere of Mars, which is primarily made of carbon dioxide. When designing this oxygen-production plant, the system must be made to have a low amount of risk so that the astronauts can be confident it will succeed in making their oxygen. To aid in this endeavor, this paper describes a way to predict, quantify, and optimize risk when designing the Mars oxygen-production plant.

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