System Architecture for Lunar Oxygen Production from Regolith Using a Model-Based System Engineering Approach

Sammanfattning: Technologies for production and utilisation of space resources are still in the early phases of development. Oxygen in particular is an interesting resource for both life-support and as propellant, and can be widely found on the lunar surface embedded in metallic oxides in the lunar soil. Many extraction processes exist and are currently being developed to separate the oxygen from the metallic elements composing regolith. The vacuum pyrolysis using solar concentration has been understudied compared to other techniques even though it offers a simple physical process with relative low energy consumption as the sun provides most of the heating energy. The lunar environment still poses significant challenges and knowledge gaps need to be solved before this technology can be used, even for a demonstration mission. In this paper, this extraction technique is being analysed in terms of process, system operational requirements and system architecture using a model to represent and connect all these aspects, and a model-based system engineering methodology is followed to obtain all of these elements. The few previous designs proposed using such a process are being re-investigated and adapted using new technologies and knowledge in order to fill the technological gaps preventing such a system to be used on the moon. Finally, this approach allows to identify areas where knowledge is still missing especially in the behaviour of the vaporisation and condensation of regolith.