Getting astronauts to the Moon—and eventually Mars—is about more than building bigger rockets. One of the biggest engineering challenges is storing and transferring super-cold cryogenic propellants after a spacecraft reaches orbit.
In this episode, I explore NASA's upcoming Liquid Oxygen Flight demonstration (LOXSAT), a technology mission that will test 11 critical cryogenic fluid management systems, including reducing fuel boiloff, maintaining tank pressure, measuring propellant levels, and transferring liquid oxygen in microgravity. If the mission succeeds, it could pave the way for orbital "gas stations" that allow spacecraft to refuel in space, making longer, more ambitious human missions practical while supporting NASA's Artemis program and future journeys to Mars.
