Resource investigation in the lunar poles is important to the potential impact of in-situ resource utilization (ISRU). The Regolith and Environment Science and Oxygen and Lunar Volatile Extraction (RESOLVE) project aims to develop a payload that will investigate the permanently shadowed areas of the lunar poles and demonstrate ISRU technology. As a part of the RESOLVE project, the regolith volatile characterization (RVC) subsystem will examine the release of volatiles from sample cores. The volatile sample will be introduced into the lunar water resource demonstration (LWRD) subsystem where the released hydrogen and water will be selectively captured. The water will be condensed to form a droplet and electrolyzed to produce hydrogen and oxygen. This process will demonstrate small scale ISRU techniques. This paper will present the challenges, characteristics, and development of the RVC and LWRD. The experiments performed to evaluate adsorption methods will be discussed. Based on these experiments, it has been decided that a salt hydride will be used to capture water vapor and a metal hydride will be used to capture hydrogen from the sample.

来源平台：SPACE TECHNOLOGY AND APPLICATIONS INTERNATIONAL FORUM - STAIF 2007