(upbeat music)
- [Narrator] Since you're watching this,
you most likely know there are several companies focused
on the exploration of the planets in our solar system.
In this video, we get the opportunity to look a bit above
an overhead crane system for a second
and see how Mazzella Companies
was able to take part in the research
of an application focused on solving one
of the biggest challenges with interstellar travel,
ridiculously high gas prices.
The cost of launching something out of Earth's atmosphere
is roughly $10,000 per pound of payload.
So take a second and think about how heavy your suitcase
would be if you were heading to Mars
for vacation or probably for scientific research.
If that suitcase runs a minimum of 50 pounds,
you're looking at a checked bag fee of $500,000.
Now, add the weight of all the other equipment
and other people that need to go to Mars with you
and you're looking at a pretty hefty fee.
Aside from the cost of fuel per pound of payload,
there is another looming problem that NASA
and their partners are working to solve,
ensuring that future interstellar Pioneers
have enough fuel to come back home.
And beyond that, perhaps having a source of fuel
and resources that would allow us to start using
our neighboring lunar and Martian surfaces
as a kickoff point to explore the planets
beyond the Asteroid Belt.
Now you might think the quick fix would be
to build bigger rockets with larger fuel storage capacities
so you can take even more fuel with you, however,
that solution doesn't help the price per pound
of payload issue, or the sustainability
of the space exploration.
But what if you didn't need to take any extra fuel with you?
What if, instead of needing fuel for the entire trip,
you could refuel from the International Space Station
using fuel produced from resource material on the Moon?
And what if the fuel you were going to use
to either get back home or to explore even further,
was already waiting for you on Mars?
NASA'S Moon to Mars initiative is focused
on learning how to live away from Earth by utilizing
the available resources on the
other planets in our solar system.
Because of that, several divisions of NASA
and other private companies like SpaceX and Boeing,
are researching ways to live and thrive
beyond Earth's atmosphere, specifically
for this project, on Mars.
Two problems that NASA scientists and engineers
are working through are the creation and storage
of oxygen and the creation and storage
of a viable fuel source.
For the oxygen issue, NASA has already
been practicing the baseline process
In-Situ Resource Utilization, or ISRU for short, on Mars.
It's the process that produces oxygen
out of the resources available on the Martian surface.
For the fuel issue, that's where the team
at NASA's Glenn Research Center and our team
here at Mazzella Companies, both based in Cleveland, Ohio
come into this story.
The NASA team is proposing that one could
use the process of Liquefaction
on the Oxygen created by ISRU,
to create a brand new storable fuel source.
NASA plans to demonstrate how the liquefaction
of oxygen would work either on a Lunar or a Martian surface,
helping move forward the mission to Mars and beyond.
Their plan is to create and store the fuel for up
to two years, allowing Martian explorers
to leave our atmosphere with a decreased mass of fuel,
reducing cost of lift off while providing
a method to refuel and come home.
NASA's engineers have been hard at work designing
and specifying several components that would be used
in the Liquefaction and Storage system,
but those components needed to be tested to ensure
they hold up in various hazardous environments.
To do that, NASA needed to establish a working load limit
on the weakest part of one specific component,
a Clevis hook manufactured by them,
that would connect to and lift the fuel tank
into position for use.
The Clevis hook was taken to Mazzella Companies Headquarters
where our engineers were tasked with using the fabricating
grommet sling with an eyebolt, to allow our testers
to simulate the approximate forces
it would experience on the Martian surface.
Since the tank would be filling up with fuel,
it was important that NASA's clevis hook could withstand
an array of forces inflicted upon it
without bending or breaking.
During the break test, it wasn't the Clevis hook
or the pin that broke, it was the steel plate
used to connect the two Clevis hooks
after reaching 14,000 pounds.
The pin of the Clevis hook did show signs of bending
and deformation, but also exceeded NASA's expectations.
The purpose of these tests was to establish
and certify a working load limit of NASA's clevis hooks
so they could be used in the fabrication
of their Liquefaction Fuel Storage system.
With the testing completed
and NASA's clevis hooks certified,
their engineering department can now focus
on the fabrication, testing, and demonstration
of their fuel systems.
Those demonstrations are planned
to take place late summer or early fall of 2019.
When two companies start working together to a common goal,
there is nothing that cannot be achieved.
So if you need help with your lifting
and rigging application, or just have a few questions
to ask, don't hesitate to reach out
or head to our website and schedule a free consultation.
(upbeat music)