The rich resources and unique environment of the Moon make it an ideal location for human expansion and the utilization of extraterrestrial resources. Oxygen, crucial for supporting human life on the Moon, can be extracted from lunar regolith, which is highly rich in oxygen and contains polymetallic oxides. This oxygen and metal extraction can be achieved using existing metallurgical techniques. Furthermore, the ample reserves of water ice on the Moon offer another means for oxygen production. This paper offers a detailed overview of the leading technologies for achieving oxygen production on the Moon, drawing from an analysis of lunar resources and environmental conditions. It delves into the principles, processes, advantages, and drawbacks of water-ice electrolysis, two-step oxygen production from lunar regolith, and one-step oxygen production from lunar regolith. The two-step methods involve hydrogen reduction, carbothermal reduction, and hydrometallurgy, while the one-step methods encompass fluorination/chlorination, high-temperature decomposition, molten salt electrolysis, and molten regolith electrolysis (MOE). Following a thorough comparison of raw materials, equipment, technology, and economic viability, MOE is identified as the most promising approach for future in-situ oxygen production on the Moon. Considering the corrosion characteristics of molten lunar regolith at high temperatures, along with the Moon's low-gravity environment, the development of inexpensive and stable inert anodes and electrolysis devices that can easily collect oxygen is critical for promoting MOE technology on the Moon. This review significantly contributes to our understanding of in-situ oxygen production technologies on the Moon and supports upcoming lunar exploration initiatives.

Bio-inspired strategies for robotic sensing are essential for in situ manufactured sensors on the Moon. Sensors are one crucial component of robots that should be manufactured from lunar resources to industrialize the Moon at low cost. We are concerned with two classes of sensor: (a) position sensors and derivatives thereof are the most elementary of measurements; and (b) light sensing arrays provide for distance measurement within the visible waveband. Terrestrial approaches to sensor design cannot be accommodated within the severe limitations imposed by the material resources and expected manufacturing competences on the Moon. Displacement and strain sensors may be constructed as potentiometers with aluminium extracted from anorthite. Anorthite is also a source of silica from which quartz may be manufactured. Thus, piezoelectric sensors may be constructed. Silicone plastic (siloxane) is an elastomer that may be derived from lunar volatiles. This offers the prospect for tactile sensing arrays. All components of photomultiplier tubes may be constructed from lunar resources. However, the spatial resolution of photomultiplier tubes is limited so only modest array sizes can be constructed. This requires us to exploit biomimetic strategies: (i) optical flow provides the visual navigation competences of insects implemented through modest circuitry, and (ii) foveated vision trades the visual resolution deficiencies with higher resolution of pan-tilt motors enabled by micro-stepping. Thus, basic sensors may be manufactured from lunar resources. They are elementary components of robotic machines that are crucial for constructing a sustainable lunar infrastructure. Constraints imposed by the Moon may be compensated for using biomimetic strategies which are adaptable to non-Earth environments.

With the implementation of the Chang'E-5 mission in 2020,the three phases of China lunar exploration program,namely orbiting,landing and returning,have been completed.Next,the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS)will be established at the lunar south pole by 2030,and a lunar base will be planned later.It is a new era of exploitation and utilization of the Moon,in which a vast tasks should be completed.In this paper,we summarized some important progresses of investigation of lunar resources in the past,including lunar resource exploration,analysis of lunar volatiles,mineral extraction,and material construction by 3D printing of lunar regolith.Then,we proposed future tasks for the exploitation of the lunar resources.The main challenges of the Moon,such as the extreme lunar environment,unique properties of lunar regolith,and autonomous control of the process,were considered.The views in this paper can be referenced for future scientific researches and engineering tasks in the field.

The Permanently Shadowed Regions (PSRs) of the lunar south pole have never been directly sampled. To explore and discover lunar resources, the Chinese lunar south pole exploration mission is scheduled to land in direct sunlight near the PSR, where sampling and analysis will be carried out. The selection of sites for lunar landing sampling sites is one of the key steps of the mission. The main factors affecting the site selection are the distribution of PSRs, lunar surface slopes, rock distribution, light intensity, and maximum temperature. In this paper, the main factors affecting site selection are analyzed based on lunar multi-source remote sensing data. Combined with previous engineering constraints, we then propose a comprehensive multi-factor fuzzy cognition and selection model for the lunar south site selection. An analytical model based on a fuzzy cognitive map algorithm is also established. Furthermore, to make a preliminary landing area selection, we determine the evaluation index for the candidate landing areas using fuzzy reasoning. Using the proposed model and combined scoring index, we also verify and analyze the prominent impact craters at the lunar south pole. The scores of de Gerlache (88.48 degrees S 88.34 degrees W), Shackleton (89.67 degrees S 129.78 degrees E), and Amundsen (84.5 degrees S, 82.8 degrees E) craters are determined using fuzzy interference as 0.816, 0.814, and 0.784, respectively. Moreover, using our proposed approach, we identify feasible landing sites around the de Gerlache crater close to the PSR to facilitate discovery of water ice exposures in future missions. The proposed method is capable of evaluating alternative landing zones subject to multiple engineering constraints on the Moon or Mars based on the existing data.

Water ice is expected to be trapped in permanently cold regions near the lunar poles. Other ices (super-volatiles) are trapped at lower temperatures, close to the lowest temperatures measured within the lunar permanently shadowed regions (PSRs). Here, the thermal stability of solid carbon dioxide in the south polar region is determined by analysis of 11 years of temperature measurements by Diviner, a radiometer onboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Sublimation rates averaged over a draconic year are far lower than peak sublimation rates. Small spatially contiguous pockets of CO2 ice stability are found in the craters Amundsen, Haworth, de Gerlache, and others, over a cumulative area of roughly 200 km(2). The LCROSS probe impacted one of those pockets and released CO2, serving as validation of the thermal stability calculations. Future surface missions can utilize this highly localized resource for the production of fuel, steel, and biological materials. Plain Language Summary Carbon-bearing species would be essential for sustained robotic or human presence on the Moon, for use in rocket fuel and biological materials. Various volatiles can be cold-trapped in permanently shadowed craters near the lunar poles. The existence of carbon dioxide cold traps has previously been surmised, but the required temperatures are near the lowest surface temperatures that have been reliably measured. Extensive and improved analysis of 11 years of orbital surface temperature measurements establishes the existence of carbon dioxide cold traps on the Moon, which potentially host high concentrations of solid carbon dioxide. Large CO2 cold traps are rare, however, and the geographic concentration of the resource will have policy implications. Key Points Time-dependent sublimation rates for CO2 are calculated based on 11 years of Diviner temperature measurements Extensive data analysis establishes the existence of carbon dioxide cold traps in the south polar region of the Moon Solid carbon dioxide is expected to be highly localized

There is a small finite upper bound on the amount of easily accessible water in near-Earth space, including water from C-type NEAs and permanently shadowed lunar craters. Recent estimates put this total at about 3.7 x 10(12) kg. Given the non-renewable nature of this resource, we should begin thinking carefully about the regulation of near-Earth water sources (NEWS). This paper discusses this issue from an ethical vantage point, and argues that for the foreseeable future, the scientific use of NEWS should be prioritized over other potential uses of NEWS. (C) 2016 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The recent evidence of water in the lunar crater Cabeus from the LCROSS mission (Colaprete et al., 2010) provides confirmation of a valuable resource on the lunar surface. To understand this resource and the impact it can have on future exploration, further information is needed on the distribution and availability of the water ice. The Lunar Advanced Volatile Analysis (LAVA) subsystem is a part of the Regolith & Environment Science and Oxygen & Lunar Volatile Extraction (RESOLVE) payload, designed to provide ground truth to the volatile distribution near the permanently shadowed regions on the lunar surface. The payload is designed to drill and extract a regolith core sample, heat the regolith to drive off the volatiles, and identify and quantify the volatile resources. The LAVA subsystem is specifically responsible for processing and analyzing the volatile gas sample from the lunar regolith sample. The main objective of this paper is to provide insight into the operations and hardware for volatile analysis developed and deployed at the 2012 RESOLVE Field Test on the slopes of Mauna Kea. The vision of employing Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) and modified COTS hardware to lower the cost for mission-enabling field tests will be highlighted. This paper will discuss how the LAVA subsystem hardware supported several high level RESOLVE mission objectives to demonstrate the challenging lunar mission concept proposed. Published by Elsevier Ltd. on behalf of COSPAR.