A novel auger-based system for extraterrestrial in-situ water resource extraction

Abstract

The future of crewed space exploration will rely heavily on resources in extraterrestrial objects. In-situ resource utilization technology enables the acquisition of potential local resources. Water is a vital in-situ resource because it is necessary to sustain life and functions as a raw material for rocket fuel. In this work, water extraction experiments in vacuum conditions based on a novel auger-based scheme were performed. The water extraction process and the water yield under different conditions were analyzed. The results showed that the phase transition process of the ice in the pores of the frozen lunar regolith simulants was “solid-liquid-gas.” The temperature of the frozen lunar regolith simulants gradually increased, and there was a turning point at 0 °C. The pressure in the reaction vessel rose exponentially due to the continuous generation of vapor. For hydrous lunar regolith simulants of 10% initial water content, the water yield was 22.5 g/(kW·h) after heating for 1 h at 400 W. The yield could be improved by increasing the heating power and duration, though the screw pitch of the auger has less of an effect on the yield. The results of this work prove the effectiveness of the proposed novel auger-based water extraction method and verify the system's performance.