Waste Management for Lunar Resources Activities: Toward a Circular Lunar Economy Paolo Pino, 1,2 Antonino Salmeri, 1,3 Adam Hugo, 1,4 and Shayna Hume 1,5 1 SGAC Space Exploration Project Group, Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC), Vienna, Austria. 2 Department of Applied Science and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy. 3 Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg. 4 Department of Space Resources, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado, USA. 5 Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA. ABSTRACT Space resources activities are currently the objective of a thriv- ing cross-disciplinary global effort aimed at assessing their role and potential in the future of humankind. New innovative mis- sion concepts, legal frameworks, and advanced technologies are being actively developed and proposed with the final goal of enabling profitable and efficient space resource utilization. The immediate location for these impacts is the Moon. In sight of this bright cohort of imminent perspectives, it is imperative for the global community to properly assess the potential effects and consequences of the forthcoming space resources activities, with the goal of including sustainability in the foundations of the ongoing progress and ensuring its enforcement in every future endeavor. Within this context, this article addresses the topics of Moon mining waste management and a lunar circular economy as key issues in the sustainable utilization of space resources. The most promising technologies are considered for lunar re- sources extraction and processing—with special focus on water— correlating their waste generation potential to the scale of the efforts implemented and to the projected availability of the resources of interest. Importance is also given to the cor- ollary activities of space mining—such as logistics and transport operations—for their implications in waste management. Proto- cols and technologies with the lower waste generation potential are identified and further scenarios are elaborated for waste handling, reduction, reuse, and recycle, as well as end-of-life strategies for mining plants. This report’s recommendations are proposed for the development of incremental regulation for waste management, including but not limited to the definition of common areas of noninterest for waste disposal and regulatory obligations for conducting impact assessments before the establishment of mining activities. Please note that this abstract is submitted under the auspices of the Space Generation Advisory Council, as part of the activities of the Space Exploration Project Group. Keywords: space resources, waste, Moon INTRODUCTION S pace resources utilization (SRU) is one of the most fascinating and pioneering perspectives in space for its promise to disrupt the current possibilities in space exploration and to unlock entire new domains of this thriving human endeavor, beside its beneficial implications for economy, society, and technology. Concrete efforts are being undertaken by nations and space agencies all across the globe. The European Space Agency has developed a clear strategy for SRU, 1 which aims to establish a pilot plant by 2040 to validate the possibility for human explorers to safely and robustly rely on local resources for space missions on the Moon and beyond. NASA is leading the way with the Artemis program, which is expected to re-establish human presence on the Moon starting from 2024. 2 Similar plans are being constantly developed at the same time—in strict cooperation with public institutions—by private companies, which are designing innovative concepts and ar- chitectures for resources utilization, and are actively con- tributing in shaping the future of our existence in the Solar System, such as iSpace, TransAstra, and OffWorld. Beside technologies and roadmaps, a fundamental role in enabling a thriving SRU future will be played by space poli- cies at national and international levels, as wise regulatory frameworks are necessary to ensure a profitable and pacific use of space ultimately benefiting all humankind. 71st International Astronautical Congress (IAC)—The CyberSpace Edition, October 12–14, 2020. Copyright ª 2020 by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF). All rights reserved. 274 NEW SPACE MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC.  VOL. 10 NO. 3  2022 DOI: 10.1089/space.2021.0012 Downloaded by 54.242.255.26 from www.liebertpub.com at 04/21/23. For personal use only.