Imagining Sustainable Human Ecosystems with Power-to-x in-situ Resource Utilisation Technology

Abstract

Extensive in-situ resource utilisation (ISRU) will be essential to enable long-duration stays on Luna and Mars and reduce reliance on resupply from Earth. Early development of ISRU technologies has focused on standalone capabilities for specific targets related to life support and ascent propellant. An unexplored opportunity remains for greatly expanding the scope of materials that can be supplied by ISRU, and for integrating various technology platforms into a larger system. Recent advances in power-to-X technology aimed at decarbonising the global economy have made it possible to drive key chemical processes using electricity with small-scale, modular reactor. This paper proposes a vision for an integrated system of ISRU processes based on power-to-X technology to produce oxygen, hydrogen, water, methane, polymers, metal alloys, and synthetic fertilisers, using Martian regolith, atmosphere, and ice. A ‘building block’ strategy is adopted to convert raw materials into versatile intermediaries, which can then be combined to form essential products. A wider range of raw materials are available on Mars compared to Luna, suggesting greater opportunity for ISRU deployment to compensate for the greater time and cost requirements for a Mars resupply mission.

Continuous empowering with laser power transmission technologies for ISRU moon assets: CIRA approach

“…The term ISRU (In-Situ Resource Utilization) refers to the use and processing of local resources directly found on the Moon, or other planetary bodies, to obtain raw materials supporting robotic and/or human space exploration missions. ISRU technologies aim at creating products or services fundamental for lunar and Mars long-term stays, also reducing the need for continuous resupply from the Earth, [1], with an unavoidable huge impact on the dynamics of the New Space Economy.…”