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Completed TRL 5 (started at 4, targeting 5)
The production of liquid H2 and O2 propellants from ice-laden regolith available from permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) on the lunar surface will require robust, integrated electrolysis systems that can effectively integrate thermal and chemical processing of very low-temperature H2O. In the Lunar Ice Processing Tipping Point (Ice-TP) Project, OxEon Energy and the Colorado School of Mines (Mines) will team to integrate OxEon’s high-temperature solid-oxide electrolysis (SOXE) stack technology with an effective and reliable balance-of-plant system that processes recovered ice and separates product H2 and O2 that can then be cooled into viable propellants for LH2/LOx-fueled cislunar transport.
Production of liquid H2 and O2 propellants (LH2/LOx) from the ice-laden regolith found in permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) on the lunar surface meets NASA’s long-term goal to produce H2 and O2 from lunar water for use as propellant
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