Melt Collection Vessel
Heated Insulated Liquid Water Reservoir
The melt collection vessel is an insulated 100-liter reservoir that collects melted water and supplies a buffered feed to downstream purification systems at rates up to 10 liters per hour. Fabricated from 316L stainless steel and wrapped in multilayer insulation, the 12-kilogram unit must prevent freezing during extreme lunar cold-soak conditions, utilizing 50-watt polyimide heater patches to maintain the liquid inventory above 4 °C. Pressure build-up is mitigated via a vent to vacuum, while an internal ultraviolet-C sterilizer controls microbial growth without chemical disinfectants, and an integrated diaphragm metering pump eliminates mechanical shaft-seal failure modes.
Insulated heated reservoir collecting melted water and providing buffered feed to purification.
Purpose
Insulated heated reservoir collecting melted water and providing buffered feed to purification.
Context
Child of L2-WTR-MELT in L1-WTR water processing chain
Principles
- ▸Insulated tank with internal heater maintains liquid water above 4 C
- ▸Mass gauge tracks inventory via capacitance probe or load cell
- ▸Vent to vacuum prevents pressure build-up
- ▸Diaphragm metering pump eliminates shaft-seal failure mode
- ▸ISO Class 7 cleanliness internal surfaces
Typical implementations
- ▸ISS Water Storage Assembly heritage
- ▸Apollo/Shuttle potable-water reservoirs
- ▸NASA Glenn LADI collection tanks
Lunar considerations
- ▸Freeze protection during cold-soak drives heater duty cycle
- ▸UV-C sterilizer prevents microbial growth without chemical disinfectant
- ▸Robotic quick-disconnect for L1-MNT replacement
Specifications
Functional
| primary function | Insulated heated reservoir collecting melted water and providing buffered feed to purification. |
| reservoir volume l | 100 |
| max outflow lph | 10 |
Physical
| mass kg | 12 |
| materials | 316L SS reservoir, Polyimide heater patch, MLI insulation |
| vacuum compatibility | True |
Operational
| power consumption w | 50 |
| thermal range c | -40, 70 |
| lifetime years | 25 |
| mtbf hours | 150000 |
Interfaces
Provides
- Metered water to purification
Requires
- Melted water input
- Heater + pump (~50 W)
Cite this entry
Lunar Ark Codex. "Melt Collection Vessel" (L3-WTR-MELT-COLL). Retrieved 10 September 2026, from https://lunarark.com/entry/L3-WTR-MELT-COLL
Licensed CC-BY-SA 4.0. You may reuse and adapt this entry with attribution, under the same licence.