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In-Situ Resource Utilization Gap Assessment Report

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In-Situ Resource Utilization Gap Assessment Report IN-SITU RESOURCE UTILIZATION GAP ASSESSMENT REPORT International Space Exploration 4/21/2021 Coordination Group In-Situ Resource Utilization Gap Assessment Report Page intentionally left blank Page 2 In-Situ Resource Utilization Gap Assessment Report Contents GAP ASSESSMENT TEAM MEMBERSHIP .............................................................................. 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................ 6 BACKGROUND .................................................................................................................. 12 STUDY GOALS AND OBJECTIVES ...................................................................................... 13 APPROACH ....................................................................................................................... 14 IN-SITU RESOURCE UTILIZATION (ISRU) OVERVIEW ........................................................ 15 What is In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU)? ....................................................................................... 15 ISRU Mission and Architectures Impacts and Benefits ...................................................................... 16 Lunar Resources ....................................................................................................................................... 17 Mars Resources ........................................................................................................................................ 19 ISRU Strategic Knowledge Gaps (SKGs) ........................................................................................... 19 TAXONOMY ...................................................................................................................... 23 ISRU Functional Breakdowns ................................................................................................................. 23 In-Situ Propellant and Consumable Production ................................................................................. 23 In-Situ Construction .................................................................................................................................. 24 In-Space Manufacturing with ISRU-Derived Feedstock ................................................................... 26 ISRU Functional Flow Diagram.............................................................................................................. 27 ISRU IN MOON/MARS HUMAN EXPLORATION ................................................................ 32 Human Lunar Exploration: Global Exploration Roadmap and Artemis ....................................... 32 Human Lunar Exploration Objectives .................................................................................................. 32 Human Lunar Exploration Phases .......................................................................................... 33 Human Mars Surface Exploration ........................................................................................................ 41 ISRU Resources, Products, and Applications ...................................................................................... 45 TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT ............................................................................................. 48 TEST FACILITY ASSESSMENT .............................................................................................. 51 REGOLITH SIMULANT ASSESSMENT .................................................................................. 60 GAP ASSESSMENT ............................................................................................................. 64 Destination, Reconnaissance, and Resource Assessment .................................................................. 65 Resource Acquisition, Isolation, and Preparation .............................................................................. 66 Resource Processing for Production of Mission Consumables ......................................................... 67 Resource Processing for Production of Manufacturing and Construction Feedstock.................. 68 Civil Engineering and Surface Construction ....................................................................................... 68 In-Space Manufacturing ........................................................................................................................ 69 CROSSCUTTING CHALLENGES ........................................................................................... 71 GROUND DEVELOPMENT AND FLIGHT MISSIONS ............................................................ 74 PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES ........................................................................................ 76 Page 3 In-Situ Resource Utilization Gap Assessment Report Why Partnerships are Important ......................................................................................................... 76 Collaborative Approaches .................................................................................................................... 76 Agency Partnership Opportunities ...................................................................................................... 77 PRIVATE SECTOR INVOLVEMENT...................................................................................... 80 Examples of Potential Spin-ins and Spin-offs ................................................................................... 82 Private Sector Involvement Through Prize Challenges .................................................................... 84 POLICY/REGULATORY CHALLENGES ................................................................................ 88 KEY FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...................................................................... 89 REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................... 91 APPENDICES ...................................................................................................................... 92 APPENDIX A: ACRONYMS .................................................................................................................... 92 APPENDIX B: TECHNOLOGY CAPTURE BY WBS AND COUNTRY/AGENCY ............................ 94 Page 4 In-Situ Resource Utilization Gap Assessment Report GAP ASSESSMENT TEAM MEMBERSHIP ASI: Hyu-Soung Shin Marta Del Bianco DLR: Kyeong Ja Kim Orietta Lanciano Matthias Sperl Roberto Bertacin LSA: Sara Piccirillo ESA: Joseph Mousel Advenit Makaya CNES: Aidan Cowley NASA: Alexis Paillet Brigitte Lamaze Amy McAdam Pierre Boutte David Binns Gerald Sanders (co-chair) James Carpenter Julie Kleinhenz CSA/NRCan: Jorge Alves (co-chair) Robert Moses Ernest Tan Michael Schmidt Martin Picard UAESA: Michael Floyd JAXA: Khalfan Al Remeithi Minh On Hiroshi Ueno Mohamed Salem Jun Shimada CSIRO: Satoshi Hosoda UKSA: Chad Hargrave Paul Smith Jonathon Ralston KARI/KICT/KIGAM: Robert Hough Gwanghyeok Ju The ISRU Gap Assessment Team would like to acknowledge additional key contributors to this report. Their support and assistance were invaluable in conducting the gap assessment and completing this report. CSA/NRCan: Caroline-Emmanuelle Morisset, Christian Lange, David Haight, Leona Lau, Zaid A. Rana DLR: Oliver Angerer ESA: Adam McSweeney, Richard Fisackerly NASA: John Hogan, John Vickers, Nikolai Joseph, Raymond (Corky) Clinton, Robert Mueller UAESA: Khaled Al Hashmi Page 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In 2019, the Technology Working Group (TWG) of the International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG) established a Gap Assessment Team (GAT) for the topic of In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU). The ISRU GAT Assessment is intended to examine and identify technology needs and inform the ISECG on technology gaps that must be addressed in order to implement foreseen missions. Ultimately, this initiative intends to create international dialogue among experts and inform agency decisions when considering investments is specific exploration technologies, while identifying potential collaboration opportunities. The following sections are an executive summary of the main sections of the full report. Strategic Knowledge Gaps Definition To help ensure that plans for human exploration of the Moon would be successful, an assessment was made to determine the state of human exploration technologies and capabilities. Where insufficient knowledge and/or capability was found, a statement of need was created. From this effort, a list of what became known as Strategic Knowledge Gaps (SKGs) was created in three broad themes of exploration, of which ISRU is relevant to the first and third theme. Since then, the SKGs have been reviewed and used to guide and prioritize development and flight activities for human exploration of the Moon. At the start of this effort, the In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) Gap Assessment team reviewed the last approved SKG list with respect to ISRU technologies, capabilities, and operations in four major resource/function areas (polar water, solar wind volatiles, oxygen/metals from regolith, and construction and manufacturing) and the overall operation of any ISRU capability. From this effort, a table was created that establishes the potential impact the SKG has on each of the 4 major resource/function areas and ISRU operations, how/where the SKG will be closed, and when in the three-phase human lunar exploration architecture the SKG needs to be closed.
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