Future crewed missions to the Martian surface will have substantial propellant requirements for a return journey. To reduce architecture costs and maximize useful payload fraction, there is an effort to utilize the resources on Mars. Research into In-Situ Resource Utilization has prompted development of the Atmospheric Processing Module, which comprises two subsystems: the CO_2 Acquisition system and the Sabatier Reactor. Mars' atmosphere is approximately 95% CO_2 with the rest being argon, nitrogen, and other residual gases in a much smaller quantity. The CO_2 Acquisition system captures the CO_2 and stores it for use in the Sabatier Reactor system, which will produce methane to be used as fuel. This paper will discuss the experimental CO_2 Acquisition system and the design philosophy of the cold surface which will actually capture the CO_2.
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