Automation of Bosch reaction for CO2 reduction

System for collecting excess carbon dioxide in space cabin is described. System collects carbon dioxide exhaled by human inhabitants and decomposes gas into carbon and water by reaction with hydrogen in presence of catalyst. Diagram of equipment involved in reaction is included

Catalyst cartridge for carbon dioxide reduction unit

A catalyst cartridge, for use in a carbon dioxide reducing apparatus in a life support system for space vehicles, is described. The catalyst cartridge includes an inner perforated metal wall, an outer perforated wall space outwardly from the inner wall, a base plate closing one end of the cartridge, and a cover plate closing the other end of the cartridge. The cover plate has a central aperture through which a supply line with a heater feeds a gaseous reaction mixture comprising hydrogen and carbon dioxide at a temperature from about 1000 to about 1400 F. The outer surfaces of the internal wall and the inner surfaces of the outer wall are lined with a ceramic fiber batting material of sufficient thickness to prevent carbon formed in the reaction from passing through it. The portion of the surfaces of the base and cover plates defined within the inner and outer walls are also lined with ceramic batting. The heated reaction mixture passes outwardly through the inner perforated wall and ceramic batting and over the catalyst. The solid carbon product formes is retained within the enclosure containing the catalyst. The solid carbon product formed is retained within the enclosure containing the catalyst. The water vapor and unreacted carbon dioxide and any intermediate products pass through the perforations of the outer wall

Oceanic wave measurement system

An oceanic wave measured system is disclosed wherein wave height is sensed by a barometer mounted on a buoy. The distance between the trough and crest of a wave is monitored by sequentially detecting positive and negative peaks of the output of the barometer and by combining (adding) each set of two successive half cycle peaks. The timing of this measurement is achieved by detecting the period of a half cycle of wave motion

Interaction of gases with lunar materials

The surface properties of lunar fines were investigated. Results indicate that, for the most part, these properties are independent of the chemical composition and location of the samples on the lunar surface. The leaching of channels and pores by adsorbed water vapor is a distinguishing feature of their surface chemistry. The elements of air, if adsorbed in conjunction with water vapor or liquid water, severely impedes the leaching process. In the absence of air, liquid water is more effective than water vapor in attacking the grains. The characteristics of Apollo 17 orange fines were evaluated and compared with those of other samples. The interconnecting channels produced by water vapor adsorption were found to be wider than usual for other types of fines. Damage tracks caused by heavy cosmic ray nuclei and an unusually high halogen content might provide for stronger etching conditions upon exposure to water vapor

First ozone reanalysis on Mars using SPICAM data

To further our understanding of important photochemical processes in the Martian atmosphere, a synthesis can be used to investigate the temporal and spatial agreement between model and observations and determine any possible causes of identified differences. In this study [1], we have assimilated, for the first time, total ozone into a Mars Global Circulation model (GCM) to study the ozone cycle

Remote sensing of atmospheric winds using a coherent, CW lidar and speckle-turbulence interaction

Speckle turbulence interaction has the potential for allowing single ended remote sensing of the path averaged vector crosswind in a plane perpendicular to the line of sight to a target. If a laser transmitter is used to illuminate a target, the resultant speckle field generated by the target is randomly perturbed by the atmospheric turbulence as it propagates back to the location of the transmitter-receiver. When a cross wind is present, this scintillation pattern will move with time across the receiver. A continuous wave (cw) laser transmitter of modest power level in conjunction with optical heterodyne detection was used to exploit the speckel turbulence interaction and measure the crosswind. The use of a cw transmitter at 10.6 microns and optical heterodyne detection has many advantages over direct detection and a double pulsed source in the visible or near infrared. These advantages include the availability of compact, reliable and inexpensive transmitters, better penetration of smoke, dust and fog; stable output power; low beam pointing jitter; and considerably reduced complexity in the receiver electronics

A carbon dioxide reduction unit using Bosch reaction and expendable catalyst cartridges

Catalytic carbon dioxide reduction cartridge for oxygen recovery in life support systems of long term manned space flight

Bosch CO2 Reduction System Development

Development of a Bosch process CO2 reduction unit was continued, and, by means of hardware modifications, the performance was substantially improved. Benefits of the hardware upgrading were demonstrated by extensive unit operation and data acquisition in the laboratory. This work was accomplished on a cold seal configuration of the Bosch unit

Interaction of gases with lunar materials

The surface chemistry of Apollo 17 lunar fines samples 74220 (the orange soil) and 74241 (the gray control soil) has been studied by measuring the adsorption of nitrogen, argon, and oxygen (all at 77 K) and also water vapor (at 20 or 22 C). In agreement with results for samples from other missions, both samples had low initial specific surface areas, consisted of nonporous particles, and were attacked by water vapor at high relative pressure to give an increased specific surface area and create a pore system which gave rise to a capillary condensation hysteresis loop in the adsorption isotherms. In contrast to previous samples, both of the Apollo 17 soils were partially hydrophobic in their initial interaction with water vapor (both samples were completely hydrophilic after the reaction with water). The results are consistent with formation at high temperatures without subsequent exposure to significant amounts of water