Work

Harnessing high-density pulsed plasma for sustained oxygen supply on Mars

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: A pulsed, non-equilibrium, high-density arc (magnetoplasma-dynamic type) exploits a bimodal electron energy distribution function (EEDF) to dissociate CO 2 under Martian pressures (1–5 Torr). The discharge sustains two distinct electron populations: a primary high-energy tail (T e ≈ 13 eV, n e ≈ 10 21 m −3 ) driving direct dissociation (∼74 % of O 2 yield via Franck–Condon splitting), and a secondary cooler population (T e ≈ 5 eV) enabling vibrational excitation (∼26 % via ladder climbing to auto-dissociative states). Within the studied voltage range (1–2 kV), the coaxial gun achieves maximum oxygen yield per input energy at 2 kV (0.03 g per 10 pulses, 3.0 × 10 −5 g/J) and peak energy efficiency at 1 kV (49 ± 7.35 Wh/g). In a repetitive, high-intensity regime with rapid capacitor charging, a production rate of 137 ± 13.7 g/hour is projected. This dual-channel physics enables efficient, low-temperature CO 2 splitting, making it highly suitable for scalable ISRU oxygen production on Mars.

Source: Energy Conversion and Management X

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecmx.2025.101495