In-Situ Resources Utilization (ISRU)

The most formidable obstacle to our excursion from Earth into Space are the tremendously onerous costs of transportation of humans, materiel and resources into Space. Even intermediate steps to the industrial development of Space such as facilities in geo-synchronous orbit beyond the “tiny” communications- and other satellite platforms of today warrant and necessitate the support of resources “already in Space” – first and foremost resources of and on the Moon.

Of additional interest for the robotic and human exploration are the uses of the myriad Lunar resources for trips beyond into the Solar System.

At some point the vision of Peter Glaser (Solar Power Satellite concept of 1968) and the initial “High Frontier” enthusiast of the 1970’s and beyond the ”Sun-Disk” visions at the Earth-Sun L1 point and Freeman Dyson’s “Sphere” assume the use of the “in-situ” resources already “In Space” – rather than their transport from the “deep g-wells” from Earth.

The obvious and only immediate place for the RDT&E and actual use of such resources will be the Moon, Earth’s “satellite” already placed in Space, the ideal location for exploring and demonstrating the variety of possible resources and their uses, including water, hydrogen, oxygen and most elements, with the exception – as of our current knowledge – of nitrogen.