The Open University ’ s repository of research publications and other research outputs Accessing and assessing lunar resources with PROSPECT

Copyright and Moral Rights for the articles on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. For more information on Open Research Online's data policy on reuse of materials please consult the policies page. Introduction: A Package for Resource Observation and in-Situ Prospecting for Exploration, Commercial exploitation and Transportation (PROSPECT) is in development by ESA for application at the lunar surface as part of international lunar exploration missions in the coming decade, including the Russian Luna-27 mission planned for 2019. Establishing the utilization potential of resources found in-situ on the Moon may be key to enabling sustainable exploration in the future. The purpose of PROSPECT is to support the identification of potential resources, to assess the utilization potential of those resources at a given location and to provide information to help establish the broader distribution. PROSPECT will also perform investigations into resource extraction methodologies that maybe applied at larger scales in the future and provide data with important implications for fundamental scientific investigations on the Moon. Objectives: PROSPECT aims to assess the in-situ resource potential of lunar regolith at any given location on the Moon. In order to achieve this PROSPECT is required to: • Extract samples from depths of up to 2m. • Extract water, oxygen and other chemicals of