An international team of scientists, including researchers from the Wrocław University of Technology, has developed technology for extracting water from lunar regolith under laboratory conditions. This is a key step in supporting exploration of the Solar System.
The LUWEX project (“Validation of Lunar Water Extraction and Purification Technologies for In-Situ Propellant and Consumables Production”) began in November 2022 and lasted two years. The work was led by researchers from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Bremen. The group also included researchers from the Technical University of Braunschweig (Germany) and Wrocław University of Technology, as well as representatives from Liquifer Systems Group (Austria), Thales Alenia Space (Italy) and Scanway Space (Poland).
The aim of the project was to develop an innovative technology for extracting, purifying and monitoring the quality of water from lunar regolith. The water thus extracted can be easily stored and directly used as a means of consumption.
The regolith is, in simple terms, a weathered, loose rock that covers the Earth and other rocky planets and moons. It is formed through the effects of long-term physical and chemical processes. To simulate lunar regolith containing ice, scientists created in the lab a mixture combining synthetic lunar regolith with ice particles. The ice used in the experiment was created by flash-freezing tiny droplets of water in liquid nitrogen. The result was spherical particles with an average radius of 2.4 micrometers – about one-twentieth the thickness of a human hair.
A device for producing granular ice. The piezoelectric element is visible in the background, with the water mist in the foreground. Source: www.pwr.edu.pl The entire water extraction and purification process was verified experimentally at the Comet Physics Laboratory in Brunswick, a unique facility designed to replicate conditions on the lunar surface.
Researchers from Wrocław University of Technology and specialists from Thales Alenia Space were responsible for purifying the extracted water so that its quality met the stringent requirements for human use and rocket fuel production.
The PWr team’s participation consisted of designing and manufacturing the water quality analysis subsystem and integrating it into the overall system. The measurement is made/taken/ at two points: before and after the water treatment system giving information on the performance of the treatment subsystem but also acting as a real-time water quality monitoring system.
The LUWEX project was funded under the European Union’s Horizon Europe framework program, and its value of nearly €1.5 million represents an important milestone in research on the use of lunar resources.
The project was carried out in cooperation with JUMO. The research utilized JUMO BlackLine CR-EC conductivity sensors, JUMO ecoline NTU digital turbidity probes, JUMO tecline pH electrodes and JUMO AQUIS touch P multi-channel liquid analyzers, among others.
