European project tests groundbreaking water extraction from lunar dust for the first time.
LUWEX laboratory, TU Braunschweig, photo: LUWEX consortium
European Union-backed project LUWEX develops a pioneering system that enables the extraction of water from lunar regolith, a crucial step in advancing space exploration and sustaining human presence on the Moon.
Under the lead of the German Aerospace Center Bremen, LUWEX has engineered a comprehensive process that not only extracts water from icy regolith but also purifies it to supply rocket fuel and drinking water for astronauts stationed on the lunar surface.
These groundbreaking tests will unfold at the TU Braunschweig, specifically at the Institute of Geophysics and Extraterrestrial Physics. Central to these tests is a meticulously implemented laboratory setup that mirrors the conditions found in the shadowed regions of the moon’s south pole using icy lunar regolith simulant. This material is not real lunar regolith but synthesized on earth and resembles lunar dust to a very high degree.
Click here to download the LUWEX press release 2