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NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Thermochemical Interactions of Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia and Molten Lunar Regolith Simulants

Oxygen produced from lunar resources through in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) is critical to maintaining a permanent human presence on the lunar surface. Molten regolith electrolysis and carbothermal reduction are two promising ISRU techniques for generating oxygen directly from lunar regolith, which is primarily a mixture of oxide minerals; however, both processes require operating temperatures of 1600C to melt lunar regolith and dissociate the molten oxides. These conditions limit the use of many oxide refractory materials, such as Al2O3 and MgO, due to rapid degradation resulting from reactions between the refractory materials and molten lunar regolith. Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) is a promising refractory oxide to provide containment of molten regolith while demonstrating limited reactivity. This work focuses on corrosion studies of YSZ powders and dense YSZ crucibles in contact with molten lunar mare and highlands regolith simulants at 1600C. The interactions between YSZ and molten regolith are characterized using SEM/EDS, XRD, and EBSD with an emphasis on elemental and microstructural analysis to assess reactivity and degradation of YSZ. Due to lunar regolith’s similar composition to calcium-magnesium-aluminosilicates (CMAS) and YSZ’s usage as a thermal barrier coating, these interactions can serve to inform YSZ/CMAS behavior by simulating cases of elevated CMAS/YSZ ratios and for higher than intended gas turbine temperatures.

Kevin Yu↗

NASA NTRS2011

Oxygen Extraction from Regolith Using Ionic Liquids

No abstract available

Barrios, Elizabeth↗

NASA NTRS2023

Mini Roxy: the Next Step Towards an Efficient Method for Oxygen Extraction From Regolith

Space exploration will be enabled by ISRU provided that ISRU processes meet the following viability criteria: the mass of resources produced must exceed the mass of ISRU plant that produces them, and the mass of resources produced per unit time must significantly exceed the mass of consumables or spare parts per unit time that are required to maintain the production process

A. Seidel↗

NASA NTRS2009

Oxygen Production from Lunar Regolith using Ionic Liquids

The objective of this work and future follow-on work is to develop a safe, efficient, and recyclable method for oxygen and/or metals extraction from lunar regolith, in support of establishing a manned lunar outpost. The approach is to solubilize the oxides that comprise lunar regolith in media consisting of ionic liquids (ILs) and/or their mixtures at temperatures at or below 300 C. Once in solution, electrolysis can either be performed in-situ to generate oxygen at the anode and hydrogen and/or metals (silicon, iron, aluminum, titanium, etc.) at the cathode. Alternatively, the water that is generated during the solubilization process can be distilled out and condensed into a separate IL and then electrolysized to produce hydrogen and oxygen. In the case of lunar regolith, this method could theoretically produce 44g oxygen per 100g of regolith. The oxygen can be used for human life support and/or as an oxidizer for rocket fuels, and the metals can be used as raw materials for construction and/or device fabrication. Moreover, the hydrogen produced can be used to re-generate the acidic medium, which can then be used to process additional regolith, thereby making the materials recyclable and limiting upmass requirements. An important advantage of IL acid systems is that they are much "greener" and safer than conventional materials used for regolith processing such as sulfuric or hydrochloric acids. They have very low vapor pressures, which means that they contain virtually no toxic and/or flammable volatile content, they are relatively non-corrosive, and they can exhibit good stability in harsh environments (extreme temperatures, hard vacuum, etc.). Furthermore, regolith processing can be achieved at lower temperatures than other processes such as molten oxide electrolysis or hydrogen reduction, thereby reducing initial power requirements. Six ILs have been synthesized and tested for their capability to dissolve lunar simulant, and for electrochemical and thermal stability. The results showed that ILs can be very efficient electrolytes; in particular IL/phosphoric-acid mixtures appear extremely promising for solubilizing lunar simulant. Results from preliminary experiments for distillation of water produced from the oxygen within the metal oxides of the simulant and the hydrogen from the acid indicates that over 75% of the oxygen from the simulant can be harvested as water at a temperature of 150 C. A method for collection of oxygen from electrolysis of the water derived from solubilizing simulant was developed by using a liquid nitrogen trap to liquefy and collect the oxygen. Although precise quantification of the liquid oxygen trapped is difficult to obtain, the amount of hydrogen and oxygen collected from electrolysis of water in this system was greater than 98%. This set-up also included a portable mass spectrometer for the identification of gases released from electrolysis cells. Regeneration of ILs through re-protonation was also demonstrated. Four sequential re-generations of an IL following solubilization of simulant showed no significant differences in amounts of simulant dissolved. Follow-on work for this project should include more studies of IL/phosphoric acid systems. Also, much more work is necessary for defining methods for electrolysis and purification of metals from regolith solubilized in ILs, and for developing a system to use the produced hydrogen to regenerate the spent IL. Finally, design and development of flight breadboard and prototype hardware is required.

Paley, Mark Steven↗

NASA NTRS2015

RESOLVE - Regolith and Environment Science and Oxygen and Lunar Volatile Extraction

The Regolith & Environment Science and Oxygen & Lunar Volatile Extraction (RESOLVE) payload is an exploration system designed to be placed on a rover and driven over the surface of the moon for 9 days to map the distribution of the water ice and other useful compounds seen on previous missions. RESOLVE will drill into the lunar surface and heat the material collected in order to measure the amount of water vapor and other compounds that are present, thus showing how future missions could gather and then use these valuable resources. Future missions will benefit from this analysis tool and others because it will be more cost-effective to mine water components, fuel, and other compounds at the point of destination rather than transport them from Earth. NASA is packaging the RESOLVE payload in the Resource Prospector mission targeted for launch in 2020. NASA continues to explore mission solutions by leveraging partnerships across NASA, industry, other nations and academia.

RESOLVE↗

NASA NTRS2010

Multiphysics Modeling for Dimensional Analysis of a Self-Heated Molten Regolith Electrolysis Reactor for Oxygen and Metals Production on the Moon and Mars

Dominguez, Jesus↗

NASA NTRS2010

Multiphysics Modeling for Dimensional Analysis of a Self-Heated Molten Regolith Electrolysis Reactor for Oxygen and Metals Production on the Moon and Mars

The technology of direct electrolysis of molten lunar regolith to produce oxygen and molten metal alloys has progressed greatly in the last few years. The development of long-lasting inert anodes and cathode designs as well as techniques for the removal of molten products from the reactor has been demonstrated. The containment of chemically aggressive oxide and metal melts is very difficult at the operating temperatures ca 1600 C. Containing the molten oxides in a regolith shell can solve this technical issue and can be achieved by designing a self-heating reactor in which the electrolytic currents generate enough Joule heat to create a molten bath. In a first phase, a thermal analysis model was built to study the formation of a melt of lunar basaltic regolith irradiated by a focused solar beam This mode of heating was selected because it relies on radiative heat transfer, which is the dominant mode of transfer of energy in melts at 1600 C. Knowing and setting the Gaussian-type heat flux from the concentrated solar beam and the phase and temperature dependent thermal properties, the model predicts the dimensions and temperature profile of the melt. A validation of the model is presented in this paper through the experimental formation of a spherical cap melt realized by others. The Orbitec/PSI experimental setup uses an 3.6-cm diameter concentrated solar beam to create a hemispheric melt in a bed of lunar regolith simulant contained in a large pot. Upon cooling, the dimensions of the vitrified melt are measured to validate the thermal model. In a second phase, the model is augmented by multiphysics components to compute the passage of electrical currents between electrodes inserted in the molten regolith. The current through the melt generates Joule heating due to the high resistivity of the medium and this energy is transferred into the melt by conduction, convection and primarily by radiation. The model faces challenges in two major areas, the change of phase as temperature increases, and the dominance of radiative heat flux as heat transfer mechanism within the melt the change of phase concerns the regolith itself which is present in states ranging from a fine grain regolith with low thermal conductivity and low density to a vitrified melt with much higher thermal conductivity, and higher density. As the regolith is heated, it starts to soften around 1300 C the melt iS very viscous and evolving gas bubbles out in thick, lava-like fashion. By 1600 C the regolith is completely melted and the viscosity is low The second challenge resides in the proper modeling of the radiative heat flux requiring the addition of the computing-demanding radiative-heat-transfer function to the general heat transfer equation. The model Includes temperature-dependent properties (density, thermal conductivity, heat capacity, and viscosity, and absorption coefficients) and solves the radiative heat flux equation assuming gray (fine grains) and semi-transparent (melt) media and using an absorption coefficient spectral found in the literature for terrestrial minerals similar in composition to those of lunar regolith simulant

Dominguez, Jesus A.↗

NASA NTRS2018

Solar Wind Implantation Into the Lunar Regolith: Monte Carlo Simulations of H Retention in a Surface With Defects and the H2 Exosphere

The solar wind implants protons into the top 20–30 nm of lunar regolith grains, and the implanted hydrogen will diffuse out of the regolith but also interact with oxygen in the regolith oxides. We apply a statistical approach to estimate the diffusion of hydrogen in the regolith hindered by forming temporary bonds with regolith oxygen atoms. A Monte Carlo simulation was used to track the temporal evolution of bound OH surface content and the H2 exosphere. The model results are consistent with the interpretation of the Chandrayaan-1 M3 observations of infrared absorption spectra by surface hydroxyls as discussed in Li and Milliken (2017). Themodel reproduced the latitudinal concentration of OH by using a Gaussian energy distribution of f(U(o) = 0.5eV, U(w) = 0.078 – 0.1 eV) to characterize the activation energy barrier to the diffusion of hydrogen in space weathered regolith. In addition, the model results of the exospheric content of H2 are consistent with observations by the Lyman Alpha Mapping Project on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Therefore, we provide support for hydroxyl formation by chemically trapped solar wind protons.

O. J. Tucker↗

NASA NTRS2018

Solar Wind Implantation Into the Lunar Regolith: Monte Carlo Simulations of H Retention in a Surface With Defects and the H2 Exosphere

The solar wind implants protons into the top 20–30 nm of lunar regolith grains, and the implanted hydrogen will diffuse out of the regolith but also interact with oxygen in the regolith oxides. We apply a statistical approach to estimate the diffusion of hydrogen in the regolith hindered by forming temporary bonds with regolith oxygen atoms. A Monte Carlo simulation was used to track the temporal evolution of bound OH surface content and the H2 exosphere. The model results are consistent with the interpretation of the Chandrayaan‐1 M3 observations of infrared absorption spectra by surface hydroxyls as discussed in Li and Milliken (2017, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1701471). The model reproduced the latitudinal concentration of OH by using a Gaussian energy distribution of f(U0 = 0.5 eV, UW = 0.078–0.1 eV) to characterize the activation energy barrier to the diffusion of hydrogen in space weathered regolith. In addition, the model results of the exospheric content of H2 are consistent with observations by the Lyman Alpha Mapping Project on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Therefore, we provide support for hydroxyl formation by chemically trapped solar wind protons.

O J Tucker↗

NASA NTRS2018

Solar Wind Implantation Into the Lunar Regolith: Monte Carlo Simulations of H Retention in a Surface With Defects and the H2 Exosphere

The solar wind implants protons into the top 20–30 nm of lunar regolith grains, and the implanted hydrogen will diffuse out of the regolith but also interact with oxygen in the regolith oxides. We apply a statistical approach to estimate the diffusion of hydrogen in the regolith hindered by forming temporary bonds with regolith oxygen atoms. A Monte Carlo simulation was used to track the temporal evolution of bound OH surface content and the H2 exosphere. The model results are consistent with the interpretation of the Chandrayaan‐1 M3 observations of infrared absorption spectra by surface hydroxyls as discussed in Li and Milliken (2017, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1701471). The model reproduced the latitudinal concentration of OH by using a Gaussian energy distribution of f(U(sub 0) = 0.5 eV, U(sub W) = 0.078–0.1 eV) to characterize the activation energy barrier to the diffusion of hydrogen in space weathered regolith. In addition, the model results of the exospheric content of H2 are consistent with observations by the Lyman Alpha Mapping Project on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Therefore, we provide support for hydroxyl formation by chemically trapped solar wind protons.

Tucker, O. J.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Development of the Volatile Monitoring Oxygen Measurement System

Extracting resources from the Lunar Regolith for oxygen production is a primary focus for the NASA in-situ resource utilization technology developments for the Artemis missions. The need to identify, separate, and purify extracted resources continuously evolves around state-of-the-art technology research and development and will also enable more sustainable space human exploration. A research team at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center comprised of the Applied Chemistry Laboratory and the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Laboratory have developed a versatile system able to focus on the extraction and quantification of oxygen. The system, Volatile Monitoring Oxygen Measurement System (VMOMS), can identify extracted oxygen from regolith processing technologies such as molten regolith electrolysis. The technology can quantify oxygen levels from a few parts per million, ppm, up to a 95% oxygen environment and detect other volatiles.

D. E. Essumang↗

NASA NTRS2009

Development of a Reactor for the Extraction of Oxygen and Volatiles From Lunar Regolith

The RESOLVE (Regolith and Environment Science, Oxygen and Lunar Volatiles Extraction) Project, aims to extract and quantify useful resources from lunar soil. The reactor developed for RESOLVE is a dual purpose system, designed to evolve both water, at 150 C and up to 80 psig, and oxygen, using hydrogen reduction at 900 C. A variety of laboratory tests were performed to verify its operation and to explore the properties of the analog site soil. The results were also applied to modeling efforts which are being used to estimate the apparent thermal properties of the soil. The experimental and numerical results, along with the analog site tests, will be used to evolve and optimize future reactor designs.

Kleinhenz, Julie↗

NASA NTRS2009

Lunar Water Resource Demonstration (LWRD)

Lunar Water Resource Demonstration (LWRD) is part of RESOLVE (Regolith and Environment Science & Oxygen and Lunar Volatile Extraction). RESOLVE is an ISRU ground demonstration: (1) A rover to explore a permanently shadowed crater at the south or north pole of the Moon (2) Drill core samples down to 1 meter (3) Heat the core samples to 150C (4) Analyze gases and capture water and/or hydrogen evolved (5) Use hydrogen reduction to extract oxygen from regolith

Muscatello, Anthony C.↗

NASA NTRS2008

RESOLVE Projects: Lunar Water Resource Demonstration and Regolith Volatile Characterization

To sustain affordable human and robotic space exploration, the ability to live off the land at the exploration site will be essential. NASA calls this ability in situ resource utilization (ISRU) and is focusing on finding ways to sustain missions first on the Moon and then on Mars. The ISRU project aims to develop capabilities to technology readiness level 6 for the Robotic Lunar Exploration Program and early human missions returning to the Moon. NASA is concentrating on three primary areas of ISRU: (1) excavating, handling, and moving lunar regolith, (2) extracting oxygen from lunar regolith, and (3) finding, characterizing, extracting, separating, and storing volatile lunar resources, especially in the permanently shadowed polar craters. To meet the challenges related to technology development for these three primary focus areas, the Regolith and Environment Science and Oxygen and Lunar Volatile Extraction (RESOLVE) project was initiated in February 2005, through funding by the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. RESOLVE's objectives are to develop requirements and conceptual designs and to perform breadboard concept verification testing of each experiment module. The final goal is to deliver a flight prototype unit that has been tested in a relevant lunar polar environment. Here we report progress toward the third primary area creating ways to find, characterize, extract, separate, and store volatile lunar resources. The tasks include studying thermal, chemical, and electrical ways to collect such volatile resources as hydrogen, water, nitrogen, methane, and ammonia. We approached this effort through two subtasks: lunar water resource demonstration (LWRD) and regolith volatile characterization (RVC).

Source record↗

NASA NTRS2012

Joule-Heated Molten Regolith Electrolysis Reactor Concepts for Oxygen and Metals Production on the Moon and Mars

Sibille, Laurent↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Development of a Cold-Walled Molten Regolith Electrolysis Reactor for Lunar Oxygen Production

On the lunar surface, production of commodi-ties to support human presence, such as water, food and oxygen, and sustain the growth of a per-manent outpostwill likely require the use oflocal resources. The moon is covered almost entirely withfragmented oxide minerals known as regolithhundreds of meter thick.As a resource, it is rich in oxygen (> 42 wt.%) bound in a solid state with a variety of metals. The molten regolith electrolysis (MRE)reactor is a promising technology for the production of gaseous oxygen from the lunar reg-olithin a simple, single-stepreaction that requires minimalconsumable materials, produces oxygen and metals with high electrical efficiency and high yields from any regolithcomposition.This process involvesmelting regolith to~1600°C then electro-lyzing the molten pool to separate metal and oxy-gen ions that are then collected as liquid metal and gaseous oxygen at the respective electrodes. Lab-scale demonstrations of the MRE technology have previously reliedon external heating sources to bring the entirety of the reactor up to the operating temperaturewhich creates corrosive interfaces be-tween the molten regolith and the containment ma-terial in the reactor, limiting the overall lifespan of a reactor[1]. The Gaseous Lunar Oxygen from Regolith Electrolysis (GaLORE) project is focused on the development of a “cold-walled” or “Joule-heated” reactor design in which an internal heating source is used to selectively melt a pool of regolith between the electrodes of the reactor, leaving a shell of solidified regolith between the molten pool and the containment vessel of the reactor. This next generation reactor concept has been under development as molten oxide electrolysis (MOE) by MIT and Boston Metal for the production of iron from pure ores for terrestrial application [2]. The GaLORE project in engaged in early development of the technology for use with varying lunar regolith compositionsin the lunar environment. Thermal modelling of a proposed cold-walledreac-tor design were used as a scaffold to develop pa-rameters for a feasible reactor shape and size as well as target energy consumption[3]. The current development effort for the cold-walled reactor de-sign will be presented as a trade study of the most promising techniques for melting regolithwithin the constraints imposed by the lunar environment.Heater devices are designed to accommodate lim-ited electrical power availabilityon the moon, a wide range of regolith compositions that may be seen on the moon, limited metals available for re-placing consumed parts,and the low thermal con-ductivity of granular regolith in vacuum.Heater de-vices will be down-selectedbased on performance measurements within the above operationalcon-straints,and selected devices will be integrated into a reactor with electrodes to begin producing oxygen. [1]Sibille,L.,Sadoway, D.R.,Sirk, A., Tripathy,P.,Melendez, O., Standish, E., Dominguez, J. A., Stefanescu, D.M.,Curreri, P.A., Poizeau,S.,2009. “Recent Advancesin Scale-up Development of Molten Regolith Electrolysis for Oxygen Production in support of a Lunar Base.”AIAA 2009-659, 47th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, 5 -8 January 2009, Orlando, FL. [2] Boston Metal, https://www.boston-metal.com/moe-technology/#moe-process[3]Schreiner, S.S.,Sibille, L., Dominguez, J.A., Hoffman, J.A., 2016. "A parametric sizing model for Molten Regolith Electrolysis reactors to pro-duce oxygen on the Moon." Advances in Space Research 57.,7,1585-1603.

K D Grossman↗

NASA NTRS2012

Joule-Heated Molten Regolith Electrolysis Reactor Concepts for Oxygen and Metals Production on the Moon and Mars

The maturation of Molten Regolith Electrolysis (MRE) as a viable technology for oxygen and metals production on explored planets relies on the realization of the self-heating mode for the reactor. Joule heat generated during regolith electrolysis creates thermal energy that should be able to maintain the molten phase (similar to electrolytic Hall-Heroult process for aluminum production). Self-heating via Joule heating offers many advantages: (1) The regolith itself is the crucible material, it protects the vessel walls (2) Simplifies the engineering of the reactor (3) Reduces power consumption (no external heating) (4) Extends the longevity of the reactor. Predictive modeling is a tool chosen to perform dimensional analysis of a self-heating reactor: (1) Multiphysics modeling (COMSOL) was selected for Joule heat generation and heat transfer (2) Objective is to identify critical dimensions for first reactor prototype.

Sibille, Laurent↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Carbothermal Reduction Demonstration: Laser Driven Reaction in a Thermal-Vacuum Environment and Project Status

Introduction: Lunar regolith is approximately 45% oxygen by mass. The majority of the oxygen is bound in silicate minerals. The carbothermal reduction process has been proven to be effective at removing oxygen from lunar regolith simulants [1]. The Carbothermal Reduction Demonstration (CaRD) project aims to increase the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of a combined solar concentrator and carbothermal reduction systemin order to demonstrate this technology on the lunar surface. The CaRD project is divided into two design cycles, a brass board and prototype. The status of both design cycles will be discussed, as well as concepts for how this technology can be applied to the Artemis program in the future. Brassboard Vacuum Test: For the brassboard demonstration, a 2 kW Nd-YAG laser was used to heat lunar regolith simulant within a carbothermal reactor developed by Sierra Space. The reactor was placed inside of a 15 ft thermal vacuum chamber at the Johnson Space Center. The resulting reaction products were analyzed using both a gas chromotograph and mass spectrometer provided by Kennedy Space Center. Thermal data was also collected. Prototype Design: For the prototype, the CaRD team will perform another thermal vacuum test at JSC using the same interfaces and assets developed for the brassboard but will test a new carbothermal reactor design that Sierra Space is developing through the Carbothermal Oxygen Production Reactor (COPR) Tipping Point project that will include a means to autonomously move regolith in and out of the reactor. In addition, a deployable solar concentrator is being developed by Glenn Research Center using mirrors produced by Carbon Mirror Applications. The solar concentrator will be used to deliver solar energy into a carbothermal reactor to melt regolith and extract oxygen. Avionics and software for the concentrator are being developed by Kennedy Space Center. Future Concepts: An ongoing task within the CaRD project is to update models that can be used to determine the mass, power, and size of In-Situ Resource Utilization concepts at various scales. These models can now be used to analyze alternatives for future applications based on the latest available data.

A J Paz↗