McGill University|Université McGill

Purpose

The exploration of the Moon will have to rely on the In-situ resource utilization (ISRU) of Lunar material. This is particularly true for propellants, whose transport from Earth is too expensive. Lunar rocks present a cheap and abundant source of propellant mixtures, as the oxidizer (oxygen) and fuels (metal alloys) can be relatively easily extracted with existing technologies. The purpose of the project is to advance the design of a propulsion technology, based on the combustion of ISRU-derived metal alloy/liquid oxygen propellants. The main objective of the study consists in providing experimental parameters for the conceptual design of a corresponding rocket engine. The project will benefit Canada by giving it a unique edge in the development of a cheap and practical technology for Lunar transportation. It will also provide crucial data for the development of the Earth-based concept of metal powders as sustainable zero-carbon carriers of clean energy.