In-Situ Resource Utilization

In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) involves any hardware or operation that harnesses and utilizes in-situ' resources (natural and discarded) to create products and services for robotic and human exploration. Local resources include natural' resources found on extraterrestrial bodies such as water, solar wind implanted volatiles (hydrogen, helium, carbon, nitrogen, etc.), vast quantities of metals in mineral rocks and soils, and atmospheric constituents, as well as human-made resources such as trash and waste from human crew, and discarded hardware that has completed its primary purpose. The most useful products from ISRU are propellants, fuel cell reactants, life support commodities (such as water, oxygen, and buffer gases), and feedstock for manufacturing and construction. ISRU products and services can be used to i) reduce Earth launch mass or lander mass by not bringing everything from Earth, ii) reduce risks to the crew and/or mission by reducing logistics, increasing shielding, and providing increased self-sufficiency, and/or iii) reducing costs by either needing less launch vehicles to complete the mission or through the reuse of hardware and lander/space transportation vehicles. Since ISRU systems must operate wherever the resource of interest exists, technologies and hardware will need to be designed to operate in harsh environments, reduced gravity, and potential non-homogeneous resource physical, mineral, and ice/volatile characteristics. This year's solicitation will focus on critical technologies needed in the areas of Resource Acquisition and Consumable Production for the Moon and Mars. The ISRU focus area is seeking innovative technology for: Novel Silicate Reduction Methods Noncontact High Temperature Measurement Regolith Feed/Removal Systems and Mineral Measurement for Oxygen Removal Non-Water Volatile Capture Regolith/Ice Crushing Size-Sorting Beneficiation of Water Ice Mineral Beneficiation Metal Production As appropriate, the specific needs and metrics of each of these specific technologies are described in the subtopic descriptions.