THERMAL SCIENCE

International Scientific Journal

Hua-Jun Hu

,

Lu-Si Wang

,

Guo-Xin Wang

,

Su-Ping Wang

,

Zhong-Xian Zhao

,

Zhong-Wang Yin

,

Hai-Chun Hao

,

Hai-Bin Yu

,

Xin-Xin Li

,

Jia-Bo Zhang

RESEARCH AND PROSPECT OF IN-SITU UTILIZATION OF LUNAR RESOURCES

ABSTRACT
Lunar in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) is critical for sustainable exploration. This review analyzes three core technologies: regolith processing, additive manufacturing, and oxygen extraction. Lunar regolith serves as the primary source for metals, volatiles (e.g., H, ³He), and construction materials. While carbothermal reduction and solar sintering have reached advanced development stages, challenges remain in scaling these technologies for efficient, autonomous operation under extreme lunar conditions. Future development must prioritize energy optimization, system automation, and closed-loop resource utilization to enable economically viable lunar exploration.
KEYWORDS
deep space exploration, Lunar resources, in-situ utilization, research and prospect
PAPER SUBMITTED: 2025-07-13
PAPER REVISED: 2025-10-11
PAPER ACCEPTED: 2025-12-18
PUBLISHED ONLINE: 2026-07-25
DOI REFERENCE: https://doi.org/10.2298/TSCI250713145H
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Research and prospect of in-situ utilization of lunar resources

© 2026 Society of Thermal Engineers of Serbia. Published by the Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence