Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771 

ENGINEERING COLLOQUIUM 

Monday, September 28, 1998 / 3:30 PM, Building 3 Auditorium 

Paul Mueller

ABSTRACT --   In-situ resource utilization is a means to reduce cost of space missions, including robotic and human exploration of Mars.  By taking hydrogen to Mars and combining it with the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, propellants can be produced for the return trip.  This has the potential to greatly reduce the mass and cost of future missions.  The hardware required for such missions will be discussed, including hydrogen transport, Mars atmosphere acquisition, chemical reactors to produce the fuel and oxidizer, liquefaction and storage of the propellants, and design of the vehicle to lift off the Martian surface.  Both robotic and human missions will be discussed.  

SPEAKER:   Dr. Paul Mueller is an engineer with the Space Dynamics Laboratory of Utah State University in Logan, Utah.  He specializes in the storage of cryogenic fluids such as liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.  He worked on the liquid hydrogen ground system on the Space Shuttle launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, in the mid-80s.  He also worked in F-16 flight test at Edwards Air Force Base, California, accumulating almost 100 hours of back-seat flight time.  Most recently, he completed his PhD in Mechanical Engineering at Utah State University, conducting research on hydrogen storage during a trip to Mars as part of a robotic sample return mission.  He is a native of Virginia.