SBIR Phase I: Protoflight Design and Validation of Molten Regolith Electrolysis Facility For Lunar In-Situ Resource Utilization

这一小型企业创新研究(SBIR)项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力将是推动空间工业化、探索和殖民。月球的土壤中有矿藏，开采很困难。拟议的项目将推进对提取可呼吸氧气、冶金级金属和半导体质量硅的潜力的分析。这一分析扩展了对提炼材料的超高效工艺的理解，特别是对太空中的先进操作。这项SBIR第一期项目建议推进熔融风化电解的转化，以提炼月球土壤。拟议的项目将：确定允许不间断电解的操作条件，开发熔融冰层电解设施的初步设计，并对在月球环境中提炼月球冰层的系统进行计算机模型。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project will be to advance space industrialization, exploration and colonization. The Moon has mineral deposits in its soil, and extraction is difficult. The proposed project will advance the analysis of the potential to extract breathable oxygen, metallurgical grade metals, and semiconductor quality silicon. This analysis extends the understanding of ultra-efficient processes for refining materials, particularly toward advanced operations in space. This SBIR Phase I project proposes to advance the translation of molten regolith electrolysis to refine lunar soil. The proposed project will: determine the operating conditions allowing uninterruptible electrolysis, develop preliminary designs of a molten regolith electrolysis facility, and conduct computer models of a system to refine lunar regolith in the lunar environment.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.