Lunar Oxygen and Silicon Beneficiation Using Only Solar Power, Phase II

The Phase I effort conceived a novel method for ISRU oxygen extraction and liquefaction from lunar regolith, repre-senting a significant advance in the state of the art. The approach uses solar photovoltaics as a power source to heat and extract oxygen with highly favorable system metrics, capable of achieving TRL 3 during a Phase II effort and TRL 6 in earth gravity during Phase III. Autonomy of operation is straightforward with simple robotics. Annual oxygen output is calculated to be many times the system mass. Projections of engineering development indicate the potential to be flight-ready for lunar operations by the time a lunar outpost is established, followed by commercial lunar operations.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.