Design of a Second Generation Electrostatic Precipitator for Martian Atmospheric Dust Mitigation of ISRU Intakes

James R. Phillips, Michael Johansen, Jerry Wang, Jaysen Mulligan, Carlos Calle
2018 2018 AIAA SPACE and Astronautics Forum and Exposition   unpublished
A second generation electrostatic precipitator for use in the Martian environment has been developed by the Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory (ESPL) at NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC). This new system was designed to be modular and has three interchangeable test sections, each with a variety of replaceable high voltage electrodes, enabling optimization of the dust collection efficiency of the precipitator. It has the ability to maintain an increased atmospheric flow rate and provide
more » ... more accurate dust delivery into the test section than was available in the previous prototypes. A majority of the controls for the system are provided by a software package developed to maintain a constant flow rate, low pressure, and electrode current to enable long duration performance characterization. This allows for testing of the technology in a relevant environment similar to those expected to be found in an atmospheric In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) plant on Mars.
doi:10.2514/6.2018-5126 fatcat:3j3sbeqcwzhypbctr4f5zlh2qm