Heating Methods for Deployment of CHEM Foam Structures

In this paper, the advantages and disadvantages of many methods for deployment of CHEM foam structures are discussed. The best heating method is determined to be the use passive solar heating via a thermal blanket due to its simplicity, minimal payload and spacecraft requirements, and cost. An initial theoretical model of this heating method is presented and explored for a thermal blanket with an absorptance to emittance ratio of 15. The model found this heating method to be feasible for deploying up to 10 cm thick structures on the Mars surface and up to 15 cm thick structures in a solar orbit at a solar distance of 1 AU.