Water Is Life — Why It Is on the Moon
Of ~382 kg of Moon rock returned by Apollo, samples heated to 50°, 150° and 1,000°C indicate they are “surprisingly wet” — important for Artemis missions; research published 16 Dec 24 concludes most water is from Moon’s formation, some from comets, and theory of “solar wind as the dominant source for lunar water” is invalid; NASA-led Artemis landing humans NET 2027 plan Moon as gateway to the Solar System using Moon water, which is “among the rarest and most precious commodities in space”; China pledges to land humans before 2030
Proposals for excavation / conveyance of ice-containing regolith from Moon Permanently Shadowed Regions, supporting long-duration human activity receiving US$500k through NASA Centennial Challenge; Redwire Space (Jacksonville FL) receives first place / $125k for Lunar Regolith Excavator (L-Rex) and Lunar Transporter (L-Tran); Colorado School of Mines (Golden CO) second place / $75k for Lunar Ice Digging System (LIDS); Austere Engineering (Littleton CO) third place / $50k; PRIME-1 ice drill to be delivered on CLPS IM-2, Q4 2022; CNSA Chang’e-6 to retrieve MSP sample 2024
Fundamental and Applied Lunar Surface Research in Physical Sciences is focus of LSSW 10, with plenary talks including Artemis update from (L-R) Julie Robinson, NASA HEOMD Chief Scientist; A.V. Zakharov, Astronomer with Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences to present on Luna-25 instrument PmL, planned to conduct Lunar Near-Surface Dusty Plasma Investigations; S. Bandyopadhyay to expound on NIAC-awarded farside Lunar Crater Radio Telescope (LCRT) concept, C.J. Collins invited to speak on Instrumenting the Moon as a Spherical Gravitational Wave Detector
Oxygen, Key Element For Sustaining Human Life And Powerful Source Of Propulsion Fuel, May Be Refined From Moon Regolith Using ISRU Version Of Electrolysis Process Currently Employed In Earth Mining; ESA Contracted Rotherham-Based Metalysis To Develop Method Tailored For Lunar Surface; Composition Of Regolith Estimated 45% Oxygen By Weight; Process Requires 950°C Molten Salt Bath; Iron, Titanium Extraction Byproducts Useful For 3D Printed Construction; ESA Materials Engineer Advenit Makaya, Project Lead, Indicates Extraction Technology Demonstration Is Oxygen Plant Precursor
Latest NASA Centennial Challenge Phase 1 Runs 25 Sep To 25 March 2021; Seeks Original, Innovative Plans To Store / Distribute Thermal And Electrical Energy From Hypothetical 10kW Power Plant Located Outside Of Permanently Shadowed Region (PSR) To Resource Extraction Worksites: Regolith And Water Collectors Inside PSR, Oxygen Plant In Lit Region; Competition Offers Up To US$500K For First Phase – $100K Per Each Of 3 Mission Areas With 4 Prizes Of $50K For Runners-Up; $4.5M Prize Purse For Second Phase Starting June 2021
