Problem Statement
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Mars contains vast underground reserves of hydrated minerals—rocks that chemically trap water molecules. The goal of this project was to build a proof-of-concept device that extracts usable water from these hydrates, helping enable:​
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Human settlement and colonization
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In-situ water generation via heat transfer, thermodynamics, and mechanical design
Working of System
The system uses electric heating and mechanical transport to extract water from Martian soil simulant:
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Hydrate Input: Hydrated minerals are loaded into a 3D-printed hopper
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Transport: A stainless-steel auger (rotating screw) moves the hydrates through a heating pipe.
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Heating: The steel pipe is wrapped in resistive heating tape, raising the temperature to ~218°C.
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Vaporization & Condensation: Water vapor escapes through 5 side tubes and condenses (or freezes) into a stainless-steel tank.Storage:
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Storage: ​Water is stored as ice using Mars’ ambient -70°C temperature.
Engineering Contributions
Mechanical Design & CAD Modeling:
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Designed components of assembly in SolidWorks, including:
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Auger, shaft adapter, bearing mounts
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Heating tube system with multi-material insulation
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36L stainless-steel water storage tank
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Thermal & Mass Transfer Calculations
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Performed energy balance, fin conduction, and lumped capacitance modeling to size the heater and optimize hydration time.
Insert Figure 13: Cooling tube temperature plot
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Material Selection & Safety Analysis
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Selected 304 stainless steel for its high creep resistance and corrosion stability at elevated temperatures.
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Designed insulation layers using ceramic wool and Kapton foil, minimizing heat loss and meeting NASA’s <30 W/m² emission protocol.
Prototyping & Testing
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Fabricated parts using welding, waterjet cutting, shear bending, and machining.
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Ran trials using Martian soil simulant and hydrated copper sulfate to validate vapor release and condensation.
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Integrated Arduino-based sensors for temperature and humidity tracking.
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