From lunar regolith to oxygen and structural materials: an integrated conceptual design

Abstract

To enable a long-term presence of humans in space, it is essential to use extraterrestrial raw materials to reduce the need for transporting resources or produced materials from Earth. In recent years, a lot of research has been conducted on different ISRU processes, such as regolith excavation, mineral processing and the extraction of oxygen using metallurgical processes. However, it is not sufficient to just focus on a single process but also to focus on how the different processes interact. Therefore, RWTH Aachen’s Integrated Conceptual Design presents a novel concept for the production of oxygen and high-quality metal materials. To meet the challenges of mining in space, selective mining is used to provide the best possible blend based on the original material of the deposit. This process is followed by mineral processing to provide a high-quality ilmenite-rich concentrate, the input material for metallurgical processes. Using the novel MOSARI technique, consisting of molten salt electrolysis and metallothermic reduction, oxygen and metal materials can be recovered. Furthermore, this represents a zero-waste approach for the complete utilization of the material.