Advantages of Sabatier for extended duration manned missions

As manned space missions become longer and go farther away (i.e., Mars missions), the cost of resupply missions becomes substantial and even impractical. In order to reduce the logistics penalty for air revitalization in manned spacecraft, breathing oxygen (O2) must be recovered from metabolic carbon dioxide (CO2). The Sabatier CO2 reduction system is a key component of an integrated air revitalization system. The heart of the Sabatier system is the chemical catalyst bed that reacts carbon dioxide with hydrogen to form methane and water. Product water from a Sabatier subsystem would positively affect the current International Space Station (ISS) water balance and Mars missions would also benefit from the use of product methane as a propellant. This article focuses on the potential benefits of using the Sabatier subsystem for ISS and potential Mars mission applications.