Planetary Volatiles Extractor (PVEx) for Prospecting and In Situ Resource Utilization

摘要

In situ resource utilization (ISRU) is a term given to any activity that uses local resources to offset or enable the cost of bringing all the resources from Earth. A low hanging fruit with respect to ISRU is volatiles and in particular water, which can be used as rocket fuel (LOX/LH2), and oxidizer (LOX), feedstock for fuel cells, and support human activities. In a conventional mining approach, feedstock is mined, transported to a processing plant, and valuable resource is extracted. This process is energy intensive and requires significant surface assets to perform different functions. Here, we present an alternative approach. Planetary volatiles extractor (PVEx) is an approach that combines mining and extraction into one step and eliminates energy intensive and time consuming "transport" step. We investigated four PVEx approaches: Sniffer, Porcupine, Auger, and Corer, and determined that volatile capture is the most difficult step in the ISRU chain. Only the Auger and Corer proved to be viable since both systems enclosed the feedstock before heating and extracting of volatiles.