In situ resource utilization

In situ resource utilization (ISRU) is the collection and use of materials found at an exploration destination to support missions, reducing supplies launched from Earth.

Lunar water extraction: The recovery of water from lunar soil or ice deposits for use as a mission resource. It illustrates how local deposits can become usable supplies for lunar missions.
Lunar habitation: The design and operation of facilities that support people living on the Moon. Local water, oxygen, and building materials could reduce the supplies required for lunar bases.
Lunar regolith: The loose layer of dust, soil, and fragmented rock covering the Moon’s surface. It is the most widespread lunar feedstock considered for extraction and construction.
Earth-supplied logistics: The delivery of mission supplies from Earth or Earth orbit to an exploration destination. It is the alternative to producing those supplies from local materials.
Lunar Prospector: A NASA lunar orbiter that mapped the Moon’s elemental composition and searched for polar hydrogen. Its measurements helped motivate interest in polar water resources relevant to ISRU.
Regolith oxygen extraction: Processes that separate oxygen from oxygen-bearing minerals in lunar or planetary soil. Oxygen can support life and serve as an oxidizer for locally produced propellant.
Space resource utilization: The use of resources found beyond Earth to support space activities. ISRU is a mission-focused form of the broader practice of using space resources.
Lunar water ice: Water ice preserved in some permanently shadowed regions and other cold lunar settings. Its presence could supply water, oxygen, and hydrogen-bearing propellant ingredients.
Space mining: The extraction of useful materials from asteroids, the Moon, or other bodies in space. Mining describes resource extraction, while ISRU emphasizes using the resource to support exploration.
LCROSS: A NASA mission that struck a lunar polar crater in 2009 and analyzed the resulting plume. Its observations provided evidence of water and other volatiles in a permanently shadowed crater.

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