Integrated modeling and optimization of lunar In-Situ Resource Utilization systems

The production of oxygen from lunar regolith, a form of In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), is a mission-enabling technology that can break the supply logistics chain from Earth to support sustained, affordable space exploration. We present the development of an integrated ISRU system model to study and optimize the system mass and power requirements, a critical development in understanding the proper application of ISRU systems. The integrated model includes subsystem models for a Molten Regolith Electrolysis (MRE) reactor, an excavator, a hopper and feed system, the power system, and an oxygen liquefaction and storage system. A hybrid genetic-algorithm/gradient-based optimization scheme is implemented to optimize the ISRU system design across a range of production levels. Lower oxygen production levels (<;1500 kg/yr) are best managed with a single reactor operating at a traditional temperature of 1900 K and a batch time of 2-3 hrs. Larger oxygen production levels are best met with multiple reactors that each produce ~2500 kg/yr, operate at 2200 K, and have a batch time around 1 hr. It is found that an MRE reactor can generate the entire ISRU system´s mass worth of oxygen in as little as 52 days at a rate of 7 kg of oxygen annually per kilogram system mass.