In Situ Resource Utilization
Goals of the LSIC-ISRU Focus Group (FG) include identifying current technologies, critical challenges and technology development needs related to In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) related to water-ice and other materials in lunar Permanent Shadowed Regions (PSRs) and extracting O2 and metals (or metalloids) from regolith in the illuminated terrain.
LSIC-ISRU currently concentrates on facilitating communications between FG members, dissemination of information into the FG and between members. NASA and private industry perspectives are melded for enabling FG members to develop a clearer path for the development and deployment of their lunar ISRU technologies.
Because the lunar environment is so diverse and these differences drive specific engineering requirements. As such, the LSIC-ISRU has formed four standing, but temporary, subgroups:
Subgroup | Lead | Institution |
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O2 and Metal | TBD | TBD |
Water-ice prospecting and mining | Jeff Plate | WGM |
Value Networking | Kartik Kumar | SatSearch | Modularity & Interoperability | TBD | TBD |
ISRU meetings occur on the third Wednesday of the month at 3:00 PM ET. For meeting information and agendas, please use the LSIC Wiki on Confluence and/or sign-up for the "ISRU" Listserv.
O2 and Metals (Lead: tbd)
Oxygen in dry regolith can be used for life support and for propellant. Metals in dry regolith can be used for construction, shielding, and as rocket propellant. Furthermore, no prospecting campaign is necessary. The O2/Metals subgroup is a forum to discuss, network, and announce technologies related to the extraction of useful volatiles and metals directly from the non-polar regolith.
Waterice Prospecting and Mining (Lead: Jeff Plate)
Waterice in permanently shadowed regions offers a potentially relatively easy to extract and process resource for human consumption and propellant. NASA and industry are developing technologies and strategies for extracting and processing it if it is confirmed that sufficient water ice exists in locations sufficiently assessible to enable extraction. This breakout group will focus on the prospecting for the water ice, answering questions such as 'What makes a resource a reserve?", "How well does the water ice need to be characterized (abundance, distribution, physical form)", "What considerations should be made for the location of any reserved with respect to the potential Artemis landing sites", and other important metrics, to be determined, related to prospecting.
Value Networking (Lead: Kartik Kumar)
"One person's output is another's input."
Let’s develop the path towards true commercialization within the (cis)lunar economy!
We are mapping out the ecosystem of organizations that self-identify as part of the lunar economy, and characterizing their products and services at a “micro” level. Based on this characterization, we find connections with others by looking at matching inputs and outputs. “Organic” discovery of potential relationships between organizations will inform collaborations and funding for lunar-related products and services.
Crowd-sourcing via this community-driven effort is key to making this work, so the more people are hands on, the better the anticipated results!
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1AxV0-ueLwej2fgu1NgoX-BS-ANNU0e77XAXLMc6Xrq0/edit#gid=1673813611 is the link; email Kirby.Runyon@jhuapl.edu for an Excel version of this if you cannot access the Google Spreadsheet.
Modularity & Interoperability (Lead: tbd)
The ISRU Modularity/Interoperability Subgroup is dedicated to exploring modularity, interoperability, open-systems architectures, and maintenance/repair related to lunar ISRU. This subgroup is cross-Focus Group applicable, and we are leveraging the existing efforts in LSIC that are dedicated to modularity, such as the Interoperability Working Group, the Surface Power Interoperability subgroup, and the Excavation & Construction Maintenance & Repair subgroup.The goals of the ISRU Modularity/Interoperability Subgroup are to:
May 2023 Telecon
ISRU - Monthly FG Meeting
November 2022 Telecon
November 2022 Telecon
LSIC Fall Meeting
October 2022 Telecon
In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) - Monthly FG
September 2022 Telecon
In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) - Monthly FG
August 2022 Telecon
NASA-APL ISRU Technology Review
June 2022 Telecon
ISRU - Monthly FG
May 2022 Telecon
LSIC Spring Meeting
April 2022 Telecon
ISRU - Monthly FG
April 2022 Telecon
MOSA Working Group
March 2022 Telecon
ISRU - Monthly FG
February 2022 Telecon
Regolith to Rebar: ISRU - E&C Metal Workshop
December 2021 Telecon
ISRU + SP Joint Meeting
November 2021 Telecon
LSIC ISRU Monthly FG
November 2021 Telecon
Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium Fall Meeting
July 2021 Telecon
ISRU Monthly FG
June 2021 Telecon
LSIC's ISRU Networking Focus Group Meeting
October 2020 Telecon
Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium Virtual Fall Meeting
September 2020 Telecon
ISRU Supply and Demand Workshop
February 2020 Telecon
Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium National Kickoff Meeting
Open to LSIC members only.
To request access, please contact lsic-wiki-admins@listserv.jhuapl.edu.
LSIC WikiComplete survey to request access.
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