Mining Lunar Polar Ice for LO2/LH2 Propellant

Water ice and other volatiles at the poles of the Moon present a vast supply of resources for lunar and cislunar activities, prime among them is the production of propellant. LO2/LH2 is the most powerful chemical propellant and is readily produced by the electrolysis of water. For these reasons, several lunar polar water ice mining concepts have been developed in recent years. The viability of mining methods are highly dependent on polar ice deposit disposition in the lunar surface, including concentration profile with depth, geotechnical property of the surface, and location in the lunar permanently shadowed regions. In this paper, the Thermal Mining lunar ice mining architecture will be reviewed and a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of this and other lunar polar ice mining concepts will be discussed.