[Mars] production plant - was - Re: Post conference

[Mars related topics]

Thanks!

It's been a busy week.  

Yes, time... never seems to be enough :)

The propellant production plant sounds cool..  I'm not familiar with 
Zurbin's design.  Do you have a reference I might look up?

I'm working on lots of stuff right now, but if there's anything that 
I might be able to help with I'm most willing.

What kind of environment were you looking for to operate the system?
I'm guessing cold, low atmosphere eventually?  

one thing to consider -- 

 to design/build where people, machines and resources are readily available,
 then move the device to a place replicating martian environment 
  -or-
 to design/build in the closest thing we can get to a similar environment

Do you think making the instrument(s)/system is likely to have a semi-parallel
use on Earth?  Maybe to help with current energy problems, or come up with 
viable alternative energy possibilities here on earth?  If there is, even
in a minor way - we might be able to find some people willing to fund the 
effort?  maybe NSF, NASA, DOE, or maybe even some private industry?

If we can get something working 100% on earth (and useful to earthlings) that's 
90+% of the way to working on mars...

1) we can get earth people/monies to fund (earth) prototypes... 

2) we can get earth people/monies to fund (earth) manufacturing and production...

3) we can get profit from earth people/monies based on these products..

   TO FUND THE NEXT 10% to make it work on MARS...

I have some ideas, but I'm in the process of wading through a significant amount of 
red tape to implement my own ideas.

At this point I could volunteer time and knowledge,  on projects not my own, but
resources and money I'm lacking...  

Scott, do you have my email address? 

Thank you for your patience,
-Roy Nielsen
(amrobot at mindspring.com)


-----Original Message-----
>From: Mars related topics <mars at mackintoshweb.com>
>Sent: Sep 25, 2006 7:01 PM
>To: Mars related topics <mars at mackintoshweb.com>
>Subject: Re: [Mars] Post conference
>
>Good to hear from you Roy.
>
>The recruiting ideas are good, when I was in MI we went to several events and set up a table to promote the Mars Society.  Every little bit helps, it just takes people willing to invest the time.  I belong to AIAA and follow their conferences and events.
>
>An idea I have for a MDRS research project is to build and operate an ini-situ propellant production plant.  Zurbin and others have designed one years ago and tested it in the lab.  It would be interesting to test one in a Mars like environment, try to produce fuel, oxygen and water.  We would learn a lot trying operate and repair it in a space suit.  Anyone else interested?
>
>Scott
> 
>