Quest MultiEnvironmental MLI Mars surface liquefaction system midscale test successful
Quest Thermal has designed, built and tested a novel Mars surface liquefaction insulation system. Demonstrated on a 400L 30" diameter tank, MultiEnvironmentMLI (MEMLI) offers low heat flux in-air, during in-space cruise, and on Mars surface. Discrete spacers support 10mil to 16mil Al vacuum shells, allowing a 10layer MEMLI system to have a heat leak of 0.233W/m2 (90K LOX, 210K, Mars ambient pressure) with a low mass of 1.8kg/m2. NASA's Mars surface liquefaction team heat flux goal was1.5W/m2. MEMLI is a lightweight, effective, high performance thermal insulation system that operates well in soft vacuum such as on Mars. It offers reduced mass, lower heat flux and predictable performance for Mars ISRU surface liquefaction and storage and Mars Ascent Vehicles.