LOG ENTRY: SOL 198 (May 27, 2036)
I’ve had a breakthrough with the Oxygenator!
I spent most of the day looking at the specs. It heats CO2 to 900C, then passes it over a zirconia electrolysis cell to yank the carbon atoms off. Heating the gas is what takes most of the energy. Why is that important? Because I’m just one guy and the Oxygenator was made for six. 1/6th the quantity of CO2 means 1/6th the energy to heat it.
The spec said 44.1pn, but all this time it’s only been using 7.35 because of the reduced load. Now we’re getting somewhere!
Then there’s the matter of the Atmospheric Regulator. The regulator samples the air, figures out what’s wrong with it, and corrects the problem. Too much CO2? Take it out. Not enough O2? Add some. Without it, the Oxygenator is worthless. The CO2 needs to be separated in order to be processed.
The regulator analyzes the air with spectroscopy, then separates the gasses by supercooling them. Different elements turn to liquid at different temperatures. On Earth, supercooling this much air would take ridiculous amounts of energy. But (as I’m acutely aware) this isn’t Earth.
Supercooling is done by pumping air to a component outside the Hab. The air quickly cools to the outdoor temperature, which ranges from -150C to 0C. When it’s warm, additional refrigeration is used, but cold days can turn air to liquid for free. The real energy cost comes from
heating it back up. If it came back to the Hab unheated, I’d freeze to death.
“But wait!” You’re thinking, “Mars’s atmosphere isn’t liquid. Why does the Hab’s air condense?”
The Hab’s atmosphere is 90 times as dense, so it turns to liquid at much higher temperatures. The regulator gets the best of both worlds. Literally. Side note: Mars’s atmosphere does condense at the poles. In fact, it solidifies into dry ice.
Problem: the regulator takes 21.5pn. Even adding some of the Hab’s power cells would barely power the regulator for a sol, let alone have juice to drive.
More thinking is required.
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