ISRU Activities Across the UK
In Situ Resource Utilisation related activities are being carried out across the UK. Here we highlight some of those organisations and the work they're doing. If your organisation would like to be included, please message us through the Contact Us page.
The Open University
The Open University is involved in developing space flight mass spectrometers to measure volatiles throughout the solar system, e.g. Mars, comets and the Moon. Recently it has focussed on developing ISRU missions, ProSPA, LUPEX, and ISRU Demo Mission. ISRU research has been led by PhD projects e.g. extract oxygen from simulants by hydrogen reduction, extraction of water from icy simulants by microwaves, and oxygen purification of gas from molten salt electrolysis. The OU Open STEM labs, incorporates operation of spaceflight hardware in its undergraduate program.
University of Glasgow
The SPADE laboratory at the University of Glasgow provides a space for the assembly and test of drilling rigs up to 6m tall, alongside ultrasonic and vibratory systems. Our dirty-vacuum chamber permits large-scale regolith experiments, and our research activities include plume-regolith interactions and compliant mechanisms for dusty environments.
AVS
AVS is heavily involved in the design and testing of several ISRU mechanisms with a range of academic partners and state sponsored entities. This includes thermo-mechanical modelling and manufacturing of prototype oxygen and metal extraction systems.
University of Leicester
At the University of Leicester, ISRU is introduced in the graduate program in Space Exploration Systems. Research groups in Physics and Engineering who have been historically involved in space instrumentation, are now looking at applications related to ISRU. The Space Nuclear Power group are also investigating applications of radioisotope power to enable ISRU activities.
University of Manchester
The space systems laboratory facilities include passive and active low gravity platforms and a lunar mechanical analogue sandpit for testing the operation and performance of mechanisms and systems in simulated lunar conditions. Additionally the group has access to high performance computational facilities for simulated performance using discrete element methods (DEM) and other simulation techniques.
London Institute of Space Policy and Law
Exploitation of space resources, including ISRU, strongly feature in ISPL programmes such as its annual Space Policy and Law Course for practitioners. Members of ISPL faculty regularly contribute to the continuing debate on the legality of ISRU and policy positions relating to it.
Thales Alenia Space
Thales Alenia Space in the UK is the prime contractor for the ISRU Demonstration Mission contract. They are leading a team of specialists to develop Europe's system to extract oxygen from lunar regolith.
Metalysis
Metalysis, as a world-leader in reducing lunar regolith to its constituent oxygen and metals has longstanding partnerships with the UK’s space agency, the European Space Agency and the private sector to demonstrate a Metalysis Gen 1 reactor on the lunar surface – capable of producing grammes of oxygen, per reactor, per year – but also has a more ambitious space strategy to accelerate timelines and outputs – and is working with private sector partners to place a larger Gen 2 reactor on the lunar surface – so being able to produce kgs of oxygen per year, per reactor – and within a shorter timeline.
Frazer-Nash Consultancy
Frazer-Nash Consultancy, a KBR company, have recently led a trade study of the methods to extract Oxygen from Regolith. They are now utilizing their experience with novel processes, hostile environments and hazardous materials to develop an innovative technology for Lunar Oxygen extraction.
University of Surrey
The Surrey Space Centre at the University of Surrey is leading the investigation of microwave heating of lunar regolith/simulant to fabricate construction components and development of the Microwave Heating Demonstrator (MHD) payload and the Microwave heating-based 3D Printing (Mi3DP) platform. The research also includes the measurement of material properties of lunar simulants to improve the microwave heating simulation, as well as 3D printing path generation and the construction process utilising the concept of the ESA’s Moonlight constellation, with support from Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL).