A dual-use agreement produced this TESA 2000 portable version with benchtop strength of the 1960s solar absorptance and emittance apparatus. The demonstration served as an initial test of technology that will be aboard the Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander, scheduled to launch in 2001 and land on Mars in 2002. The Lander is expected to provide essential insights into how to conduct successful, cost-effective human missions to Mars. Its primary science goal is to explore the mineralogy of its landing site. In-Situ Propellant Production Precursor, an experimental device, inside a chamber that simulates Martian temperatures and atmospheric pressures.
Carbon dioxide is absorbed on one side of platinum electrodes and converts to oxygen.
Only oxygen is allowed to penetrate to the other side. Producing oxygen using materials readily available on Mars would be an important step toward reducing the costs and risks of an eventual human mission to Mars. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars exploration program. For more information, contact Kelly Humphries at Johnson Space Center. Or contact Mary Harden at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.