"Thermodynamic Modelling of Ultra-high Vacuum Thermal Decomposition for Lunar Resource Processing" - Shaw et al. (2021)

In this outstanding work my PhD student Matthew Shaw has explored ways to process the Moon’s surface (known as regolith) into its valuable metals and oxygen using concentrated sunlight. This technique, known as pyrolysis, can liberate these resources for use by NASA’s program Artemis and their return to the Moon in a framework called In Situ Resource Utilisation (ISRU). The efforts by Matt showed that the conditions of the moon, in particular the ultrahard vacuum, reduce the energy costs of liberating those resources making possible easier access for astronauts of resupplying and refuelling their mission from the Moon!