Beneficiation of Regolith and Mobile Excavation: Space Resources Challenge and next steps

Abstract

As space exploration advances toward a sustained human presence on the Moon and beyond, the availability of local resources becomes a critical enabling factor. Future lunar habitats and Moon-to-Mars missions will rely on in-situ resource utilisation (ISRU) to reduce dependence on Earth-supplied materials. To support the development of key ISRU technologies, the European Space Agency (ESA) organises the Space Resources Challenge, with each edition focusing on a specific process step within a future lunar ISRU infrastructure. The 2nd Space Resources Challenge, held in 2025, focused on the excavation and beneficiation of lunar regolith as a prerequisite for downstream resource extraction. The challenge scenario was defined in the context of a future human lunar mission requiring oxygen for life support and other systems. For feasible field testing, the scenario was scaled down to the excavation of 15 kg of regolith and its beneficiation into controlled particle size distributions suitable for in-situ oxygen production processes. The primary target feedstock was the 100–500 µm particle size fraction. Additional constraints included strict limits on system mass, energy consumption, and operational time. This poster presents the solution developed by Team Beneficiation of REgolith and Mobile ExcavatioN (BREMEN), a collaboration between researchers from DFKI, DLR e.V., and the University of Bremen. The proposed approach consists of two independent systems working together: a mobile excavation system and a stationary beneficiation system. The mobile system performs regolith excavation and delivery, while the stationary system processes the material into the required particle size fractions. The technologies were validated during a field test at the LUNA lunar analogue facility in Cologne, Germany. Team BREMEN’s system successfully fulfilled all essential challenge requirements and was awarded first place. The poster concludes with an outlook on future research directions supporting the ESA Space Resources Strategy.