NASA'S IN-SITU RESOURCE UTILIZATION PROJECT: A PATH TO SUSTAINABLE EXPLORATION

摘要

The Space Exploration Policy of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration calls for humans to return to the moon by the end of the next decade and the eventual human exploration of Mars. The lunar exploration architecture that is currently taking shape is markedly different than the Apollo program of the past. We only stayed on the moon three days at a time during Apollo. The new lunar program is intended to establish a sustained presence on the moon with missions lasting up to 180 days. A key capability to enable these missions is the ability to use resources found at the destination to reduce, and eventually eliminate, the need for life support consumables resupply from earth.Under NASA's Exploration Technology Development Program a robust project is underway to develop the capabilities needed to produce most of the consumables required from resources found on the moon. This paper will provide an in-depth look at NASA's In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) project and how the technologies under development will support and impact the planned lunar architecture. Each of the major technology areas under development and the rationale for them will be presented: Regolith Excavation, Oxygen Production, Fuel & Water Production, Precursor Mission Payloads, and In-Situ Construction. The current status of each technology area as well as the hardware development and test results to date will be detailed. In addition, the Project's efforts to include both International and Commercial partners in the project will be discussed. Finally, the ISRU project's schedule for integrated hardware demonstrations in lunar analog environments that will ultimately lead to flight testing on the moon will be presented.