About SolarISRU
SolarISRU studies the energy economics of space resource extraction. Our core question: can we actually power the resource extraction systems that lunar and planetary missions depend on?
Every plan to mine the Moon or produce propellant on Mars starts with an energy assumption. We test those assumptions against physics.
What We Do
We build energy budget models for in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) processes. Our work quantifies the kilowatt-hours required per kilogram of extracted resource — oxygen, water, metals — under realistic surface conditions, not laboratory ideals.
Our research spans four areas:
1. Energy benchmarking for extraction processes 2. Solar yield modeling across the lunar surface 3. Economic analysis of transport-vs-manufacture tradeoffs for energy infrastructure 4. Energy delivery architectures for permanently shadowed regions
How We Work
We are a research institution, not a hardware company. We publish energy analyses grounded in experimental data. We do not build extractors or solar panels — we build the models that tell you how many you need, where to put them, and whether the math works.
Who Our Work Serves
- Space agencies planning sustained surface operations
- Commercial ventures designing ISRU mission architectures
- Policy analysts evaluating the economics of off-world resource programs
- Investors assessing the viability of space resource ventures
Founding Note: The Energy Assumption
Published March 2026
The Gap
Producing one kilogram of liquid oxygen from lunar regolith requires approximately 24.3 kilowatt-hours of energy — roughly equivalent to one day of electricity consumption for an average American household. This figure, established by a 2025 study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, accounts for the full production chain: excavation, transportation, beneficiation, hydrogen reduction, water electrolysis, liquefaction, and zero boil-off storage.
Now consider scale. A sustained lunar base needs hundreds of tonnes of oxygen per year — for breathing, for propellant, for industrial processes. At 24.3 kWh per kilogram, producing 1,000 tonnes of LOX annually demands roughly 24.3 gigawatt-hours. That is the output of a 3-megawatt solar array running at full capacity year-round.
But no solar array on the Moon runs at full capacity year-round.
Why This Matters Now
Three converging trends make this energy question urgent.
First, ISRU has left the laboratory. NASA has demonstrated oxygen extraction from simulated lunar regolith at Technology Readiness Level 5/6. Carbothermal reduction and molten regolith electrolysis both work under simulated lunar vacuum and thermal conditions. The question is no longer whether extraction is physically possible — it is whether we can power it.
Second, the destination is the problem. The lunar South Pole — where NASA's Artemis program will land, where the water ice is concentrated — has some of the most challenging solar conditions on the Moon. Permanently shadowed craters that hold billions of tonnes of water ice receive zero direct sunlight. The crater rims get better illumination — Shackleton Crater rim sees roughly 89% annual sunlight — but that is where the ice is not. The resources and the energy are in different places.
Third, the economics remain unresolved. Water-ice-based oxygen production requires roughly 11.3 kWh per kilogram — about half the energy cost of regolith-based methods. But no one has confirmed the concentration, form, or accessibility of polar water deposits. The more energy-efficient feedstock may not be available in energy-efficient quantities.
What SolarISRU Will Study
We focus on the energy foundation that every ISRU plan depends on but few plans interrogate.
Energy Budgets for Extraction. We build comparative kWh-per-kilogram benchmarks for every major ISRU process: hydrogen reduction of ilmenite (24.3 kWh/kg), molten regolith electrolysis (18-35 kWh/kg), water ice sublimation and electrolysis (11.3 kWh/kg), and carbothermal reduction (~50 kWh/kg based on NASA 2024 experimental data at 20g O2 per kWh thermal). These are not theoretical projections — they are physics-constrained energy budgets grounded in laboratory data.
Lunar Solar Yield Modeling. How much energy can a solar array actually deliver at a given lunar latitude, accounting for terrain shadowing, dust degradation (up to 50% efficiency loss per lunar day), and seasonal variation? The gap between theoretical and achievable output is where most ISRU plans break down.
The Transport-vs-Manufacture Tradeoff. Blue Origin's Blue Alchemist program has demonstrated the conversion of lunar regolith simulant into solar cells and transmission wire. At what scale does manufacturing solar infrastructure from local materials become cheaper than shipping it from Earth? This crossover point defines the long-term economics of lunar energy.
Dark Side Energy Transfer. The richest volatile deposits sit in permanent shadow. Delivering energy to these sites — via microwave power beaming, fiber-optic light guides, or nuclear-solar hybrid architectures — is an unsolved engineering challenge that determines whether polar ISRU is viable at scale.
Our Approach
SolarISRU does not develop hardware. We develop energy models — the analytical foundation that hardware decisions should be built on.
We work with published experimental data, not roadmap projections. We quantify tradeoffs rather than advocate for specific technologies. And we ask the question that should precede every ISRU mission plan: given the energy available at this location, what extraction rates are physically achievable?
The energy question comes first. Everything else follows from the answer.
Get Involved
SolarISRU welcomes collaboration from researchers, engineers, and policy professionals working on space resource utilization and energy systems.
Research Collaboration
We are open to joint studies, data sharing, and co-authored publications on ISRU energy economics. If your work touches lunar solar modeling, extraction process optimization, or energy infrastructure design, we want to hear from you.
Policy and Advisory
Space agencies, government bodies, and international organizations planning ISRU programs can engage us for energy budget analysis and mission architecture review.
General Inquiries
For press, partnerships, or other questions, use the contact form below.
SolarISRU is currently building its research portfolio. We respond to all substantive inquiries within 5 business days.