Autonomous Rovers for Water Extraction on Lunar Poles

Initiating a sustainable and permanent presence on the moon requires obtaining and using the resources of the moon, particularly lunar ice to be processed for breathing, drinking, and/or rocket fuel. The objective of this mission is to prospect, excavate, and transport extracted lunar ice for eventual human use on the moon or elsewhere in the solar system. Recent mapping of the lunar surface has shown promising deposits of ice at the permanently shaded polar regions. To confirm the existence of these deposits, our proposed mission uses a multi-rover approach to confirm the existence of ice, collect it, and transport it to a future lunar base for further processing into useful materials. The rovers carry out these tasks autonomously during normal operations and have the capability to be remotely piloted during inter-crater movement as well as during emergencies. The prospecting rover scans for desired resources over the lunar surface where it directs itself to potential excavation sites, and the presence of ice is confirmed by a small sample extraction and analysis. Successful prospect location coordinates are then sent to the excavator rover. Subsequent to the receipt of the location data, the excavating rover navigates to the candidate site where it extracts and collects the regolith and lunar ice. It then hands off this mixture to the transportation rover in a collectible form. The transportation rover receives the coordinates of the excavation site and approaches it. Once there, it receives the regolith from the excavator and begins separating the ice from regolith, and then discarding what is left. Usage of a heating element allows refinement of the regolith and extraction of pure water using sublimation and deposition within a specified containment unit. To ensure that the heating element works, simulations of the harsh lunar environment were carried out on the rovers both thermally, and structurally. Different rover models, technical specifications and simulations are included. The use of autonomous mapping and movement with limited human intervention, use of thermal refinement, and multiple rovers provide a novel way to produce water for use on the moon that can support future human settlement.