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

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力旨在开辟月球资源开采的道路，创建太空制造业，允许在月球上永久存在，并扩大探索太阳系内行星的能力。这项技术可能会使人类有能力在太空中活动和生活：建设最先进的研究基础设施，探索太阳系，创造独立于地球的太空经济，并将陆地制造和发电转移到太空。这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目可能会为电解提供新的见解金属氧化物原料，特别是月球风化层模拟物，通过高温电解产生氧气和金属。此外，所提出的技术将解决阳极稳定性和推进新型铂族金属阳极的研究。该团队将使用多物理模型来模拟高温电解和低重力和月球真空环境。该项目可能导致从月球风化层中提取氧气和原金属的能力，推动空间资源提取工作的研究。这种知识的进步可能有助于材料科学、无机化学和冶金学领域的研究和开发工作，这可能导致地球上钢和其他金属的无碳生产、用于高温电解的新阳极材料、用于电解精炼原料的新电化学工艺，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响进行评估，被认为值得支持审查标准。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project seeks to open the path for resource extraction on the Moon, creating an in-space manufacturing industry, allowing for a permanent presence on the Moon, and expanding the ability to explore the inner planets of the solar system. The technology may result in the ability of humans to operate and live in space: building state-of-the-art research infrastructure, exploring the solar system, creating a space economy independent of Earth, and moving terrestrial manufacturing and power generation into space.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project may provide new insights into electrorefining metal oxide feedstocks, specifically lunar regolith simulants, through high-temperature electrolysis to yield oxygen and metals. Additionally, the proposed technology will address anode stability and advance studies in novel platinum group metal anodes. The team will use multi-physics modeling for high-temperature electrolysis and for modeling low gravity and lunar vacuum environments. The project may result in the ability to extract oxygen and raw metals from lunar regoliths advancing research in space resource extraction efforts. This advancement in knowledge may aide in the research and development efforts in the fields of materials science, inorganic chemistry, and metallurgy which could result in the carbon-free production of steel and other metals on Earth, new anode materials for high-temperature electrolysis, new electrochemical processes for electrorefining raw feedstocks, and the ability to source oxygen and metals from the Moon and other planetary bodies.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.