Extracting Water from Lunar Regolith via Intelligent Drilling

초록

As the Artemis program accelerates the prospect of long-term human habitation on the Moon, securing water ice through In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) has become a top priority. Water is essential not only for life support but also as a source of hydrogen and oxygen for rocket propellants. However, extracting resources in the lunar environment is challenging due to extreme sub-zero temperatures that cause conventional hydraulic systems to fail through fluid freezing or leakage. To address these challenges, this study developed a remotely operated, mid-scale drilling and water extraction system optimized for cryogenic conditions. The system is controlled via a Raspberry Pi 5 microcontroller and utilizes a pneumatic mechanism instead of a hydraulic one to ensure mechanical reliability at low temperatures. The drilling unit integrates a rotary hammer-type drill with a linear actuator to enhance penetration into hardened lunar regolith. Experimental validation was conducted using the KLS-1 lunar regolith simulant under a sustained environmental condition of –20 ℃. The process involved drilling into the simulant, transferring the collected material to an extraction module, and isolating water vapor through controlled heating and condensation. The results demonstrate the operational feasibility and environmental resilience of the pneumatic drilling system, providing a practical technological foundation for future autonomous water harvesting missions on the lunar surface. © 2026 SPIE.

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