LUWEX Preliminary Results: Water Extraction, Capturing, and Purification from Lunar Icy Regolith Simulant

Kurzfassung

Lunar water extraction is a key technology for In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), enabling the production of life support consumables and propellants from lu-nar resources. Water ice deposits in permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) are a primary target for fu-ture lunar missions, as they could reduce reliance on Earth-based resupply. Extracting, capturing, and puri-fying water from these deposits is a complex process requiring specialized techniques that can function under extreme environmental conditions. The LUWEX project was designed to experimen-tally validate a complete end-to-end water extraction process in a simulated lunar PSR environment. Unlike previous studies that focused on individual steps, LUWEX integrated thermal extraction, vapor transport, cold trapping, liquefaction, and purification into a single system. The primary goals were to assess extraction efficiency, validate system scalability, and analyze water purity for electrolysis and potential human consumption.