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Designs for future exploration of Mars that include the use of resources obtained on the martian surface can greatly expand the range of exploration compared with those that reply only on material carried from Earth. In addition, the use of in situ resources provides a step in the direction of a self-sufficient settlement. The key resources are: O2, H2O and buffer gas (either N2 or N2/Ar). Promising laboratory scale prototypes are already under development and the production of oxygen may be practical even on near-term robotic missions. Preliminary calculations suggest that water will be difficult to produce on Mars. This detriment is partially offset by the ease of storage of water. Buffer gas is a requirement for a breathable gas mixture and either N2 or N2 /Ar gases can be produced from the martian atmosphere.

Technologies that can be used to extract oxygen and other useful products from the Martian atmosphere for exploration missions will require compression of the low-pressure Martian gas. One technique that appears ideally suited for this application is temperature-swing adsorption, which can produce purified and compressed CO2 in a virtually solid-state process whose energy requirements can be met mainly through the diurnal temperature cycle. This paper focuses on material selection and sensitivity of this adsorption process to variations in Mars surface conditions. Experimental results indicate that, of the zeolite and carbon materials studied, a NaX zeolite is a superior adsorbent in terms of the amount of pressurized gas it can produce per unit mass of sorbent.

A fundamental question for Astrobiology is the question of the ability of life to expand beyond its planet of origin. Introducing life on Mars is the likely near-term step in addressing this question. Making Mars more suitable for life (terraforming) involves altering the martian environment so that microorganisms and plants from Earth could survive there. We define two principal goals: 1) determine the minimal change in pressure, gas composition, and temperature on Mars that would allow for growth of plants from arctic and alpine biomes. 2) Determine the characteristics of plant growth at 0.38 g. This paper reviews martian environmental factors in the context of plant survival, and discusses the use of Space Station as a hypogravity testbed.