Lightweight and Low Stow Volume Solar Concentrator for Lunar Based In-Situ Resource Utilization

The objective of the proposed Phase II effort is to further develop a lightweight and low stow volume solar concentrator for use in lunarnbsp;in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) applications, specifically for oxygen extraction from lunar regolith. In the Phase I effort, anbsp;design of a full scale solar concentrator was created, and analysis showed the solar concentrator meeting NASA performance requirements. Also small scale prototypes were fabricated and deployment test successfully demonstrated the stowage andnbsp;deployment concept. In the Phase II effort, we will optimize the design of the solar concentrator as well develop the overall ISRU system, fabricate a demonstration-level prototype, characterize the solar concentration performance, and perform environmental test to understand how performance is affected.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;