Implementation of In-situ Resource Utilization for the Development of a Moon Village

In-situ resource utilization (ISRU) is considered to be an essential element to enable the sustainability of future long-term exploration missions. Sustainable construction, operation and maintenance of a permanent human settlement will require the use of local resources, to gradually reduce the dependence on shipments from Earth and the associated mission cost and complexity. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA) and faculty in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), are working on developing material and processes technologies that will be integrated into civil engineering and architectural applications for a permanent human settlement on the lunar surface.
In this paper, we propose a gradual strategy for the development of the ISRU capabilities through the stages of the settlement�s evolution and describe the infrastructure required to support the volume of activities corresponding to the various development phases. The spatial layout of the ISRU elements is developed in coordination with the Moon Village masterplan, which is documented in earlier publications. Aspects which can benefit from ISRU include oxygen and water production for propellant and life support, construction and hardware elements, energy generation and storage, as well as re-use and recycling of materials brought from Earth. This proposed strategy highlights areas where technology development goals are identified which maximize opportunities for the implementation of ISRU in the context of a lunar settlement.