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In the design of a thermal protection system (TPS) for atmospheric reentry, aerothermodynamic heating presents the biggest challenge owing to large uncertainties in chemical reactions taking place at the surface. Supercatalycity, the assumption that all dissociated species recombine to the freestream composition, is the most conservative approach and leads to an increased TPS mass. Computational and experimental work is underway to better characterize the mechanism of surface catalycity in the plasma boundary layer with the goal of designing more efficient means of thermal protection, specifically for entry into the Mars atmosphere. Measurements of recombining species above a catalytic surface are performed using laser diagnostics and a new 30 kW inductively coupled plasma torch facility.

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