De-risking ISRU production in chambers versus on-Mars flight tests

Identify which steps of in situ resource utilization (ISRU) production chains for engineered aerosol particles can be effectively de-risked using Mars environmental chambers on Earth and which require on-Mars flight testing, to guide sequencing of technology maturation.

Background

Scaling engineered aerosol production will require complex ISRU processes (e.g., element extraction, particle synthesis). The authors propose phased testing but note uncertainty about what must be validated in Mars conditions versus what can be reliably simulated on Earth.

Resolving this will shape timelines, costs, and risk profiles for any pilot factory and subsequent climate process experiments.