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ESA Space Resources Strategy

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The resources of space offer a means to enable sustainable exploration of the Moon and Solar
System beyond in support of the advancement of ESA’s space exploration strategy. The
challenge of space resources can also be a means to stimulate innovation on Earth, to find
new ways to address global challenges and to generate near to mid-term economic returns
for terrestrial industries.

The utilisation of space resources for exploration may be within reach for the first time; made
possible by recent advances in our knowledge and understanding of the Moon and asteroids,
increased international and private sector engagement in space activities and the emergence
of new technologies. Key sectors of interest include mining, metallurgy, materials, energy,
robotics and autonomy. The first utilisation of space resources will be on the Moon; a source
of water, oxygen, metals and other materials.

The strategy covers the period up to 2030, by which time the potential of lunar resources
will have been established through measurements at the Moon, key technologies will have
been developed and demonstrated and a plan for their introduction into international
mission architectures will have been defined. Priorities for investments will be based on the
available materials at the Moon, their applications in exploration and the demonstrated
interest from terrestrial industries to partner and co-invest.

The resources of Mars and asteroids are also important considerations and activities at the
Moon should prepare the way for future utilisation at these locations.

Space resources will be a major international topic in the next decade. ESA’s position as a
leader and an enabler for European science and industry would ensure that Europe has a
role to play in the medium to long term utilisation of resources in space, whilst delivering
social and economic benefits in the near term here on Earth, in accordance with the
international legal framework.
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Table of contents:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................2

1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 4
2 RATIONALES............................................................................................. 5
3 INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT .................................................................... 6
4 STRATEGIC DRIVERS .............................................................................. 8
5 OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................ 9
6 PRIORITIES AND OUTCOMES TO 2030 ................................................... 9
7 INNOVATION .......................................................................................... 10
8 CROSS-SECTOR COMMUNITY BUILDING AND SUPPORT ...................... 11
9 TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH ACTIVITIES ON EARTH ....................... 12
10 ACTIVITIES IN SPACE: A SPACE RESOURCE UTILISATION
PREPARATION CAMPAIGN .......................................................................... 13
11 DEMAND STIMULATION ........................................................................ 16
12 THE BROADER ESA CONTEXT ................................................................ 16
13 REFERENCE DOCUMENTS...................................................................... 17
ANNEX 1: UNDERLYING ASSUMPTIONS ..................................................... 18
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1 INTRODUCTION

Space resources will be a major topic of activity internationally over the next decade and may
become a major motivation for investments in space exploration in the future. Europe has
extensive expertise and capabilities to bring to this new field of investigation, from both
space and Earth industries. Europe needs to engage now in order to have a role, to influence
the way forward and benefit from the endeavour.

We find ourselves at a unique moment in which the resources of space are within reach for
the first time. This has been made possible by increased international access to space,
advancements in technologies and an increased understanding of the potential resources. A
global space exploration scenario is emerging which presents a perspective for the first in
situ utilisation of space resources and international activity to access and utilise space
resources is growing. This will require a multidisciplinary approach; bringing together space
and non-space, science and industry, public and private. The resources of space are vast and
their potential enormous. Realising their potential will require innovation and invention,
initiative and risk taking, vision and careful planning, but equally a common understanding
on the applicable international legal framework. The challenge of space resources can also
drive innovation on Earth, challenging technologies and processes used in terrestrial
industries towards efficiency, sustainability and optimisation.

A strategy for space resources needs to address some fundamental questions 1:

How can the resources of space be used to support sustainable space exploration?
What knowledge do we need to gain?
What technologies do we need to develop?
What roles should we play?
What are the benefits and risks for space and for Earth?

This document presents a strategic approach to the space resources opportunity, to enable
sustainable human exploration in a way that seeks to optimise the terrestrial benefits, build
a community and prepare a way to sustained and cost effective exploration in the future. The
strategy reflects the highly interdisciplinary and innovative nature of the domain and the
interest that exists internationally, in space and non-space industries, in science and
academia and in the public sector. It is certain that the scope and perspective of space
resources will advance and change rapidly in the coming years. The strategy exists to
establish robust starting conditions for European engagement. It should be reviewed and
updated regularly, at no more than three yearly intervals, to ensure its continued relevance.

The decisions we make now will decide Europe’s future in this new domain which, while still
very uncertain, offers tremendous potential rewards to those that engage.

1
The legal, regulatory and policy framework may also be considered as “fundamental”, but it is not ESA to take an
active role in these particular aspects, but rather for ESA’s Member States.
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2 RATIONALES

Exploration
The costs, complexities and risks of supplying resources from Earth are a limiting factor for
space exploration. In-Situ Resource Utilisation (ISRU) offers the potential to locally derive
what is needed for living and working in space. The notion of space resource utilisation is
already integrated in our space activities through the local production of power from solar
radiation. ISRU in exploration is an extension of this enabling approach.

Key products for exploration are propellant, water, oxygen, consumables for life support and
materials including metals. Propellants can be manufactured from locally sourced water (e.g.
in ice at the lunar poles), hydrogen and oxygen from water and lunar minerals. Building
materials can be produced from the dust, soil (regolith) and rocks found on planetary
surfaces. Metals and materials can be produced from the metal oxides and silicates found in
local rocks.

Economics
A recent study commissioned by the Luxembourg government [RD1] has analysed the
potential economic impacts of space resources utilisation through an assessment of the
associated future markets and value chains. The various potential products from different
destinations are illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 1 Resources and destinations considered in the socioeconomic assessment of [RD1] (used with
permission). Note that the report does not account for oxygen or metal powder as sources of propellant
or platinum group metals present on the Moon from asteroid impacts as is the case for deposits on Earth.

The report concludes that market revenues of 73-170B€ are expected from space resources
from 2018-2045 supporting 845 thousand to 1.8 million full time employee years. Potential
exploration cost savings (or equivalent cost of activities that would otherwise not have been
undertaken) to end-users are estimated to be 54-135B€. Technology and knowledge spill
overs are estimated to be of the order 2.5 B€ over 50 years, which might be considered
conservative based on recent interactions with terrestrial industry. Additional benefits are
predicted based on industrial clustering, development of new standards with contributions
to social, strategic benefits, environmental benefits.
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Earth
By searching for and learning to use the resources of space we can create new opportunities
for Earth through technology innovation and new approaches to managing the resources of
Earth. The mastering of space resource utilisation transcends domains to advance
technologies and transfer expertise across sectors. The inspirational quality of the challenge
can be a driver of innovation for industry. The challenges and environments of space drive
optimised technologies and systems with implications for sustainability and the Sustainable
Development Goals 2 and addressing the increasing challenge of resource scarcity 3. Key
sectors where innovation of relevance to Earth is expected include the metallurgy, chemical
processing, mining, oil and gas. In the further future the resources of space may even be used
on Earth as the cost of access falls and some resources on Earth become increasingly scarce.

3 INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT

The challenges of space resources can only be addressed through a coordinated international
effort. Thus the approaches taken by the major international actors in space will be key to
advancing space resources and their application. Interest and activity in this area are
growing rapidly internationally.

Europe
In Europe, in addition to ESA activities, various national and international initiatives are
taking place in diverse areas including technology development, policy and legal aspects,
scientific research and commercial activity including a proactive and pioneering approach
by Luxembourg 4, who have signed agreements with a number of other European countries
regarding cooperation in this area. Other European level activities initiated through the
European Commission are being undertaken in particular in regards to technology
development, and academic research. Examples include the LUVMI prospecting rover 5 and
RegoLight regolith construction 6 project.

USA
In the USA, a renewed emphasis on lunar exploration has reignited interest and activity in
the area of lunar resources with both public and private actors investigating. Future
investments are expected by NASA, which will build on the extensive activity of the past,
performed under previous exploration initiatives. The utilisation of lunar resources is being
considered in the context of future human missions to the Moon, for their potential utility in
preparing and implementing missions to Mars. US legal instruments have been created to
define the rights of US actors who would seek to extract and utilise resources in space.

China
Space resources have featured heavily in communications about the past and future missions
of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Programme and provide part of the rationale for those
missions. Future Chinese missions are expected to target lunar polar volatiles as potential

2 https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/
3
Global trends identified by the World Economic Forum http://reports.weforum.org/global-agenda-survey-
2012/trends/scarcity-of-resources/?doing_wp_cron=1547053782.5380969047546386718750
4
https://spaceresources.public.lu
5
Lunar Volatiles Mobile Instrumentation (LUVMI) https://www.luvmi.space/
6
https://regolight.eu/
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resources. Reference has also been made to the potential use of lunar resources for future
applications on Earth. China’s vision of an international lunar research station, to be
established initially as a robotic facility for science and research during the late 2020s and
early 2030s, may provide an early opportunity for lunar resources to be utilised.

Russia
The future Russian mission Luna-27, which includes ESA’s PROSPECT 7 package, targets
measurements in the polar region of the Moon, emphasising cold trapped volatiles that may
be found there. No specific activities or plans for space resource related activity beyond this
mission are known to exist today.

International space exploration plans

The Global Exploration Roadmap (GER) [RD2], prepared by the International Space
Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG) describes the current planning for space
exploration amongst 15 of the world’s space agencies. This roadmap provides an overview of
the expected missions that could prospect resources and test technologies and provides a
reference timeline for human exploration of the Moon. ISECG provides a forum for
international strategic coordination and is the primary instrument for international dialogue
in space exploration. This will also be true for space resources, a dialogue which began with
discussions on exploring and using lunar polar volatiles 8.

Intergovernmental discussion
The topic of space resources, and their utilisation, exploration and exploitation in particular,
has been elevated to the intergovernmental level at the United Nations. Since 2017, the Legal
Subcommittee of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) has
been discussing, under a specific agenda item, views and opinions on the permissibility and
legal framework for resource utilisation and exploitation. Legal and political opinions among
the 87 member states of COPUOS (including most ESA Member States, with the Agency
taking the role of a permanent observer) diverge, even though there seems to be growing
agreement on the benefit of achieving broad international understanding.

Non-governmental initiatives
Multiple international and non-governmental actors are preparing missions to the lunar
surface. These include private lunar exploration companies who will begin missions to the
lunar surface during 2019. Support for several of these companies is assured through the
NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Service (CLPS) programme and has been supported in the
past by Lunar CATALYST 9. Several of these companies, including iSpace, Moon Express and
perhaps most notable Blue Origin (owned and financed by billionaire Jeff Bezos), have
explicit interest in the resources of the Moon. Private initiatives are also establishing
potential commercial applications (e.g. utility of polar ice studied by United Launch Alliance
and the Colorado School of Mines Center for Space Resources).

7 Package for Resource Observation and in Situ Prospecting for Exploration Commercial exploitation and
Transportation (PROSPECT) http://exploration.esa.int/moon/59102-about-prospect/
8
https://lunarvolatiles.nasa.gov/
9
Lunar Cargo Transportation and Landing by Soft Touchdown (Lunar CATALYST)
https://www.nasa.gov/lunarcatalyst
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4 STRATEGIC DRIVERS

Destination
In the conceivable future opportunities for space resources utilisation for exploration will be
realised using recycled or repurposed equipment in Earth orbit and the resources of the
Moon, Mars and asteroids. Of these planetary bodies the Moon offers the nearest term
opportunities and should provide a focus for near term activities linked to exploration, where
locally sourced resources can be integrated into human mission architectures. Activities
linked to recycling in Earth orbit should also be considered but are not described further
here.

Lunar surface missions offer the best opportunity to build expertise and capabilities in In
situ Resource Utilisation (ISRU) and establish this as a standard part of the way that
exploration is performed. ISRU at the Moon prepares for Martian scenarios and utilisation
of asteroid derived resources and can create early commercial opportunities. A description
of the potential resources of the Moon is provided in [RD5]. The available resources, their
likely utility and our knowledge of them drives prioritisation of activities. Activities to
prepare ISRU at Mars and asteroids are not foreseen as priority activities before ISRU is
established at the Moon. This assumption should be reviewed regularly as global exploration
scenario advances.

Application
The applications of space resources drive the prioritisation of selection of technologies,
processes and schedules for development. The applications are themselves driven by the
exploration plans of the major actors and the timeframes in which different products may be
needed. Using the Global Exploration Roadmap as a reference [RD2] human missions to the
lunar surface are expected in around 2030 and could be used to demonstrate that lunar
resources could be used to enhance missions in advance of full utilisation on later missions
in the late 2030s and beyond. Applications of local resources at the Moon could include, in
order of the timeliness and likelihood of possible implementation:

• Propellants (e.g. using oxygen from ice or minerals or metal powders from minerals)
• Life support consumables (e.g. oxygen and water as a bi-product of propellant
production)
• Metals and materials for in situ manufacturing (e.g. construction materials, Al, Fe, Ti,
Si, alloys)
• Products with value on Earth (e.g. platinum group metals from metal rich impact
sites)

These applications and their likely proximity drive prioritisation of scientific and technical
activities. Oxygen and water have priority as these can be used as propellants, as well as
metal powders. Life support consumables are likely to be a secondary product of propellant
production as the amounts needed are low and mitigated by high efficiency life support
systems. Metal and material use cases require the presence and utilisation of a surface
infrastructure. Resource extraction for Earth requires a viable economic case to be
established and the key resources of interest to be identified. This is considered a longer term
possibility and so not a priority.
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5 OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the ESA Space Resources Strategy, focussing on the Moon, for the period
2020-2030 are:
• Confirm whether space resources can enable sustainable space exploration and which
resources are of primary interest for this purpose.
• Identify and create new scientific and economic opportunities for European industry
and academia in the area of space resources and position European science and
industry to take advantage of these opportunities should they arise.
• Create benefits in the areas of technology and processes innovation for sustainability
in space and on Earth.
• Engage new industrial actors in the space endeavour.
• Establish ESA’s role as part of a broader community of international, public and
private actors and create new international and commercial partnerships.

6 PRIORITIES AND OUTCOMES TO 2030

Based on early assessments of the opportunities for space resources, a set of starting
assumptions based on analysis and technical activities (Annex 1) and alignment with the
European Space Exploration Strategy the following priority areas and outcomes identified
in Table 1 have been identified for the period to 2030, emphasising activities at the Moon
while recognising that other destinations (asteroids, Mars) may become relevant for space
resources in due course.
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Priorities Outcomes by 2030

Establish the resource potential of volatiles Identification and characterisation of at
at the poles and regolith and pyroclastic least one non-polar deposit.
deposits across the lunar surface Identification and characterisation of at
least one deposit of polar ice.

Mature and demonstrate technologies All technologies critical to the production

which are key to the value chain for space of oxygen, and material bi-products, from
resources and have terrestrial benefits lunar regolith or pyroclastic material
matured to TRL6 or above including flight
demonstration for all technologies that
require it.
New terrestrial technologies and processes
derived from space resources activities.

Demonstrate the end to end in situ End to end demonstration of the

production of a product from lunar production of water or oxygen at the lunar
materials on the Moon, with an emphasis surface from locally sourced materials.
on oxygen or water production.
Establish ISRU as an integrated part of Space resources integration planned for in
international space exploration reference international exploration
architectures and foster demand for locally architecture with early demonstrations
produced products. defined.
Table 1. Priority areas for space resources activities for ESA and strategic outcomes to be targeted by 2030.
These should be achieved through cooperation and coordination with private sector and international
partners.

7 INNOVATION
Space resources activities should prepare for the future in space through driving innovation,
creating benefits for space and Earth. To ensure that this is achieved a Mission Orientated
Innovation and Industrial Strategy framework [RD3], developed in the context of EC
programmes, is applied. Such a framework addresses a major Challenge through the
realisation of a bold and inspirational purpose or “mission”. This triggers imagination and
ambition amongst a diverse community of sectors who then create and implement projects.
The approach has been developed to foster innovation and maximise the value generated by
public sector driven initiatives. “Missions” must engage the public and make clear that
through ambitious, bold action at the European level, solutions will be developed that will
have an impact on people’s daily lives.
The framework is applied here to address a challenge: Sustained and sustainable
human presence in Space.
This is achieved by realising the “purpose” or “mission”: Human presence at the Moon,
sustained by local resources, by 2040. The purpose should provide an inspirational
and challenging yet achievable focal point and guide for activities and efforts for the broad
community of stakeholders.
A diversity of sectors, examples of which are illustrated in Figure 2, are engaged directly or
indirectly to embrace the purpose and collaborate to achieve it. A broad community is then
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created which collaborates to identify, define and implement projects. The projects
undertaken draw on different ideas, technologies, capabilities and backgrounds in a way that
encourages innovation and approaches with different levels of risk.

Projects can be financed by a variety of sources, of which ESA may be one. ESA takes a
strategic lead, setting a direction of travel and coordinating and facilitating the community,
providing resources to support priority projects that lie within the scope of its programme,
but integrating these into the broader ecosystem of community activities. Projects can be
diverse in nature from technologies and scientific research to governance frameworks,
procurement approaches and tax incentives. Example topic areas for scientific and
technology related problems are illustrated in Figure 2.

Figure 2: A Mission (purpose)-Oriented Innovation and Industrial Strategy for Space Resources. This
framework is adapted from one that is in preparation for future EC programmes following RD3.

8 CROSS-SECTOR COMMUNITY BUILDING AND SUPPORT

Preparing space resource utilisation will only be achieved through the combined efforts and
resources of a broad and diverse community of actors. ESA alone cannot and will not prepare
this on its own, with its own resources. ESA will play an important and an enabling role as
part of this broader community. The community will bring together diverse expertise and
capabilities, leveraging expertise and technology from space and non-space actors. It will
facilitate cooperation to achieve common goals and encourage competition to drive progress.
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It will pool resources from different sources and deliver returns in the future. It will establish
a common set of values and a common vision for the future. It will serve the interests of all
who engage and deliver value for its members.

ESA’s role in this community will evolve over time. Now, at the outset of this movement ESA
will provide leadership, gather a core of membership and provide the tools to allow the
community to establish and to grow. ESA will show that value can be delivered and show
different actors how they can engage and gain value from the engagement. ESA will help the
community to establish its vision and values and ensure that these values are consistent with
those of the Agency. Most importantly the community looks to ESA to take it to space. ESA
will provide access to the Moon and beyond; to explore the resources, to show that they can
be used and use them.

To achieve this ESA will need to actively reach out and engage with actors from different
sectors and different scales, from Start Ups to large multinationals; from universities to
public sector agencies, from industry on Earth to industry in space. ESA will facilitate their
engagement and integration into the community and to assure effective network building
and communications within the community.

9 TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH ACTIVITIES ON EARTH

Research and technology development is required on Earth. First activities will focus on
establishing a thorough understanding of processes associated with metal oxide and silicate
reduction for oxygen production and involved technologies. This should be followed by a
systematic process of technology maturation. Key technology areas include:

• Regolith characterisation instrumentation to identify feedstocks and define their

grades 10.
• Excavation, hauling and beneficiation to transfer and refine feedstocks prior to
chemical processing.
• Electrochemical and thermochemical reduction to produce oxygen and produce metal
alloys from lunar materials 11.
• Water and gas purification to remove dust particles, sulphides and other impurities 12.
• Product storage and interfaces for product transfer (including standards) to allow the
handover of products to subsequent processing steps and ultimately users.
• At a later stage, technologies for manufacturing objects at various scales with regolith
should be developed.

Work will include supporting basic research and development, creating and testing new
ideas and then fostering advancement to maturity.

10
Activities initiated in E3P period 1 through ISRU mission preparation phase and PROSPECT
11
Activities initiated in E3P period 1 through ISRU terrestrial demonstrator, ISRU mission preparation phase and
research partnerships with industry and academia
12
Activities initiated in E3P period 1 through activity with Air Liquide
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One key aspect is to ensure that research facilities required by the community are established
and available. This includes dedicated specialist laboratory facilities, appropriate simulants
and access to reduced gravity through parabolic flights.
Additional effort is needed to ensure the development of enabling technologies (e.g. for
energy generation and storage, robotics and autonomy, dust mitigation).

10 ACTIVITIES IN SPACE: A SPACE RESOURCE UTILISATION

PREPARATION CAMPAIGN

Access to the Lunar surface is required. This will be achieved via flight opportunities across
several missions in an ISRU preparation campaign. This is likely to be driven by the
availability of flight opportunities, the capabilities of international and commercial missions
and the timeliness of payload development and readiness for flight.

Surface activities should address:

• Demonstration of production of oxygen or water in non-polar locations
• Testing of technologies critical to ISRU processes in non-polar locations
• Analysis of potential feedstocks in non-polar locations
• Prospecting for water ice at the lunar poles

Payloads could be considered in the following categories:

• Prospecting and feedstock characterisation payloads consisting of scientific
instrumentation to measure important properties of regolith, pyroclastic materials,
polar ices or other feedstocks.
• Payloads containing one or more tests of technologies of importance for ISRU.
• End to end demonstration payloads producing oxygen or water from lunar material.

Missions
Two different classifications of missions are envisaged in the future ESA programme;
Missions of Opportunity and Directed Missions.

Missions of Opportunity
While PROSPECT is the first example of a Mission of Opportunity, other examples could
include:
• An opportunity to provide a complete payload of up to 10kg on a private lunar lander
mission to a near side lunar location and to operate that payload for a given period of
time, with a given allocation of power and data resources.
• An opportunity to contribute European elements to a payload which is led by an
international partner and flown on that partner’s mission to a lunar polar landing site.
At the surface the payload is operated in line with the international partner’s
operations plan.

Missions of Opportunity will usually be realised through cooperative agreements between

ESA and a partner.
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Missions of Opportunity are likely to be characterised by:

• Rapid development and delivery requirements
• Severe resource limitations for power, data, mass and operations
• Increased risk compared with ESA driven mission procurements
• Lower cost to ESA than for Directed Missions
• Limited data return per mission

Directed missions
Directed Missions are missions where ESA has defined a set of mission objectives and
derives from these a set of requirements to be implemented on a mission. They are then the
basis for the procurement of a mission or flight opportunity which addresses those
requirements. Directed Missions may be undertaken independently by ESA or be defined
and procured in cooperation with international partners.

Directed Missions for space resources preparation are envisaged as having access to the
lunar surface procured from a commercial mission supplier with the express purpose of
deploying and operating a specific payload at the lunar surface. ESA defines the mission and
science requirements, and leads mission planning and operations working with the mission
supplier.

Directed Missions are likely to be characterised by:

• Technology and science driven mission definition, design and operations
• Increased ESA oversight of mission development and procurements within the
constraints of the commercial mission capabilities
• Increased cost to ESA compared with Missions of Opportunity
• High scientific quality and high scientific return per mission
• Commercial procurement of mission services (e.g. access, communications
operations)

Campaign Phases
Preparation for the utilisation of any given resource in space should follow a sequence of
stages of preparation, described in [RD6]. First a resource must be properly understood to
assure that a resource exists. Technologies required to excavate and process the resource
must be matured and demonstrated to assure confidence in the feasibility of production.
Production is then required from a scalable system with the products used by a mission but
without dependency. At this point it becomes possible to build dependency on locally
generated resources into mission architectures. The role out of this approach is envisaged in
three phases through a Space Resource Utilisation Campaign.

Figure 3 - Phases for the ISRU preparation campaign

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Phase 1: prospecting, exploration and technology maturation

Scientific instrumentation will be deployed on Missions of Opportunity 13, and potentially
Directed Missions 14 from the mid-2020s, to identify potential resources, to address the
present unknowns in their properties as they pertain to utilisation potential and to
characterise their properties and establish their grade. Such payloads could include
characterisation of volatile content (e.g. mass spectrometers, neutron detectors), elemental
composition (e.g. x-ray spectrometers or Laser induced breakdown spectrometers),
mineralogical composition (e.g. infrared spectrometers or Raman spectrometers) and
mechanical properties (e.g. penetrometry and observation of regolith handling). Mobility is
a major benefit. Such instrumentation is also required to accompany technology payloads to
provide data on the materials being handled.

Where technology maturation requires access to the lunar environment because suitable
environments cannot be identified on Earth, discrete technology demonstrations may be
performed. Technologies that are likely to require this are primarily those associated with
the handling and processing of regolith in reduced gravity including beneficiation and
particle transfer technologies. Other factors that may require testing in situ involve those
associated with dust mitigation.

Payloads are presumed to be developed through ESA funding. Alternative funding

approaches could be explored on an ad hoc basis where deemed more appropriate (e.g.
private sector contributions, funding from national agencies, institutional funding or from
other third party sources).

Phase 2: end to end demonstration

An end to end demonstrator payload will demonstrate the production of water or oxygen
from lunar regolith source material. The end to end demonstrator should be technologically
representative of a scaled production facility where possible but where necessary the
scalability may be addressed by other means including ground testing and in situ technology
maturation. The approach taken to the end to end process should be one that demonstrates
production in the most technically viable way given cost, schedule and risk constraints.
Design and development of an end to end demonstrator payload has been initiated during
E3P period 1. The end to end demonstration would be followed up in the 2030s by a scaled
Pilot Plant, integrated into an exploration mission architecture.

Phase 3: Pilot plant integrating ISRU into an exploration mission architecture

A goal is to prepare a Pilot Plant to be deployed as part of early human mission architectures.
The Pilot plant would be used to generate a product that would be used to enhance a human
surface mission and thus integrate locally produced resources into a human architecture for
the first time. This should mark a transition to allow local resources to be integrated into
future missions.

13
Missions of Opportunity are those where an international or commercial partner has presented an opportunity to:
1) Deliver and operate a payload at the Moon,
2) Preferentially access scientific data or returned samples or to participate in scientific planning and operations.
14
Directed Missions are missions where ESA has defined a set of mission objectives and derives from these a set of
requirements to be implemented on a mission.
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11 DEMAND STIMULATION

Demand can be stimulated for space derived resources by integrating space resources into
future space exploration architectures. An important role of ESA is to stimulate the
creation of that demand by working with international partners to integrate space
resources into the reference mission architectures of the future and perform whilst
increasing confidence in the technical feasibility and benefits of space resource utilisation.
This shall be achieved by:

• Studying and deriving architectures for space exploration and space logistics that
use local resources
• Working with international and commercial partners to integrate space resources
into reference architectures
• Establishing procurement approaches for space resources
• Investing in systems and technologies that can use locally derived resources
• Establishing international interoperability standards to allow the transfer of
products between providers and users in space.

An important aspect will be the role of ISECG in aligning the strategies of various agencies.
Preparation of a white paper on ISRU by ISECG is planned for 2019.

12 THE BROADER ESA CONTEXT

Advancement of space resources utilisation requires activity across a wide domain of fields
beyond those of any single programme in ESA. While this document describes primarily
those aspects that are of relevance to the E3P programme activities these should be seen in
a broader context of activities across ESA in areas from science and technology to law and
governance, ethics, procurement and industrial policy, communications and education. This
community of actors within ESA should together be a core part of the broader space
resources community providing both leadership 15 and support.

15
Note that ESA cannot assume leadership in interpreting and further developing the legal and regulatory framework
applicable to space resources, as this is beyond the Agency's competences. However, it may offer Member States
opportunities for exchange and coordination as is already done, for example, in the frame of the International Relations
Committee (IRC).
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13 REFERENCE DOCUMENTS
RD1. Opportunities for space utilisation: future markets and value chains, study, (2018),
summary16.
RD2. International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG) (2018), Global
Exploration Roadmap 17
RD3. Resolution on Europe’s space exploration strategy (2014), ESA/C-M/CCXLVII/Res. 2
(Final).
RD4. Mazzucato M. (2018), Mission-Orientated Research and Innovation in the EU: a
problem-solving approach to fuel innovation led growth, Publication office of the
European Union.
RD5. Crawford, I. A. (2015). Lunar resources: A review. Progress in Physical Geography,
39(2), 137-167.
RD6. Carpenter, J., Fisackerly, R., & Houdou, B. (2016). Establishing lunar resource viability.
Space Policy, 37, 52-57.

16
https://space-agency.public.lu/dam-assets/publications/2018/Study-Summary-of-the-Space-Resources-Value-Chain-
Study.pdf
17
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/ger_2018_small_mobile.pdf
ESA UNCLASSIFIED - Releasable to the Public

ANNEX 1: UNDERLYING ASSUMPTIONS

Through the work carried out to date in the preparation of the Space Resources Strategy it
has been possible to establish a set of assumptions. These assumptions, stated below, provide
the basis upon which the approach described in the Strategy has been built. An important
aspect of the strategy should be to test these assumptions, to review them regularly and to
change them and the strategy where needed.

Assumptions
1. The first use case for locally sourced space resources will be at the lunar surface.
2. The primary source of financing for space resources utilisation activities is the public
sector. There is insufficient rationale for comparable or greater investment by the private
sector. While this may not always be the case it is likely that the public sector will be the
primary source of financing for space resources activities for at least the next decade and
probably beyond.
3. The primary use case for space resources in the foreseeable future will be propellant
with life support consumables as a secondary use case that alone will not justify the systems
or investments needed for space resources. Materials production may follow later if a use
case emerges, most likely related to lunar surface infrastructure.
4. Lunar polar ice is important as a potential resource but prospecting and exploration
are needed in advance of any technology development or planning for its utilisation.
5. Non-polar materials are generally better understood and are likely to be the first
resources to have their utilisation demonstrated despite the high power needs and
complexity of utilisation processes.
6. Surface exploration missions are required to locations to prospect and explore in
advance of resource utilisation.
7. Research and development are needed in the areas of energy, autonomy, excavation,
beneficiation, prospecting and exploration, metal oxide reduction, dust resistance,
construction and manufacturing.
8. The expertise to realise space resources utilisation does not exist in the space industry.
Partnerships with non-space industry is fundamental to advancing the sector.
9. The primary benefit of space resources activities in the near to mid-term will be an
understanding of the feasibility of ISRU and the likely applications and technological way
forwards along with the generation of new intellectual property and innovation in terrestrial
industrial sectors.
10. Poor availability, quality assurance and consistency of lunar simulants is a limiting
factor for technology development. New simulants are therefore required.
11. A barrier to the implementation of space resources utilisation is the absence of
demonstration of feasibility. A demonstration of product production and later utilisation in
a mission which does not depend on it is required to change this paradigm.
12. There is no international consensus regarding the legality of space resources
utilisation and exploitation under international law, nor are there international legal norms
on the legal status of space resources or their governance.