Lunar Oxygen and Silicon Beneficiation Using Only Solar Power

The Phase I effort conceived a novel method for ISRU oxygen extraction and liquefaction from lunar regolith, repre-senting a significant advance in the state of the art. The approach uses solar photovoltaics as a power source to heat and extract oxygen with highly favorable system metrics, capable of achieving TRL 3 during a Phase II effort and TRL 6 in earth gravity during Phase III. Autonomy of operation is straightforward with simple robotics. Annual oxygen output is calculated to be many times the system mass. Projections of engineering development indicate the potential to be flight-ready for lunar operations by the time a lunar outpost is established, followed by commercial lunar operations.