UK review maps lunar resource technologies and development gaps

(SpaceEnergy) A UK Space Agency-commissioned review has mapped British in-situ resource utilisation technologies, identifying lunar resource processing capabilities alongside funding, testing and technology-readiness gaps that could constrain development.

The independent review, led by Frazer-Nash Consultancy, assessed UK technologies across prospecting, excavation, beneficiation, processing and product purification, with lunar applications forming the strongest focus among surveyed organisations.

Most identified UK ISRU technologies remain at technology readiness level 5 or below. Respondents cited insufficient funding and difficulty accessing suitable testing facilities as principal development barriers, with the review identifying a marked decline in technologies reaching TRL 5 and above.

Mapped technologies include systems for extracting water from icy lunar regolith and processes producing oxygen, metals and silicon from regolith. A molten-salt electrolysis process developed with UK and European partners has previously achieved 96% oxygen extraction from lunar regolith simulant while producing a mixed metal alloy.

The review also identifies technologies for producing rocket propellant and manufacturing feedstocks. Frazer-Nash's HyPER concept uses hydrogen plasma to release oxygen from regolith, while Regolithix's RIPPLE system is designed to recover hydrogen and oxygen from contaminated lunar ice.

The study recommends further UK Space Agency assessment where domestic and international alternatives exist to determine areas in which Britain could establish technology leadership. It states that the work is informational and does not represent UK national policy.