A brief review of chemical and mineralogical resources on the Moon and likely initial in situ resource utilization (ISRU) applications M. Anand a,b,n , I.A. Crawford c,d , M. Balat-Pichelin e , S. Abanades e , W. van Westrenen f , G. Pe ´ raudeau e , R. Jaumann g , W. Seboldt h a Planetary and Space Sciences, Department of Physical Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK b Department of Mineralogy, The Natural History Museum, London, UK c Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Birkbeck College, University of London, UK d Centre for Planetary Sciences at UCL/Birkbeck, London, UK e PROMES-CNRS, 7 rue du four solaire, 66120 Font-Romeu Odeillo, France f Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands g DLR, Institute of Planetary Research, Rutherfordstrasse 2, D-12489 Berlin, Germany h DLR, Institute of Space Systems, Robert-Hooke-Str. 7, D-28359 Bremen, Germany article info Article history: Received 24 March 2012 Received in revised form 14 July 2012 Accepted 3 August 2012 Available online 19 August 2012 Keywords: Moon ISRU Chemical Mineralogical Resources Regolith abstract In situ resource utilization (ISRU) refers to the in situ generation of consumables for autonomous or human activities from raw materials found on the Moon or other planetary bodies. The use of ISRU on the Moon may provide a means of reducing the cost and risk of human exploration of the Moon and beyond, and an impetus for commercial contributions to lunar exploration. Potential products include O 2 and H 2 O for life support, H 2 and O 2 for fuel and propellant, and other elements and compounds for metallurgic and chemical production processes. If ISRU is to be applied successfully on the Moon, it is important that landing site selection, surface operations and suitable ISRU technologies are identified using knowledge of the availability and distribution of lunar resources and detailed understanding of the workings of the various processes available. Here, we review current knowledge of chemical and mineralogical resources on the Moon which can be used in the development of ISRU as a realistic component of future lunar exploration. & 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction A natural extension of the development of fundamental scientific understanding of the origin and evolution of a planetary body is to explore its natural resource potential. In addition, exploration of space is an expensive undertaking in purely economic terms, with return on investment mostly measured in terms of scientific output. Identification of extraterrestrial resources, and development of techniques to use them, could therefore, both reduce our dependence on Earth-based resources and aid in the establishment of financially sustainable space exploration programmes (e.g. Lewis et al., 1993; Lewis, 1996; Spudis, 1996; Spudis and Lavoie, 2011). Besides, in the longer term, as natural resources on Earth continue to be depleted, the emphasis on exploring extraterrestrial resources will inevitably grow (e.g., Elvis, 2012; Kargel, 1994; Martin, 1985), and hence space exploration will be mutually beneficial in both terrestrial and extra-terrestrial settings. After Earth, the Moon is the planetary body which has been most extensively studied for its geological history and evolution by means of automated landers, human exploration missions, and numerous remote sensing spacecraft. As a result, opportunities for lunar resource utilization have been studied for decades (e.g., see Badescu, 2012; Lewis et al., 1993). In situ resource utilization (ISRU) is the term used to refer to the generation of consumables for autonomous or human activities from raw materials found in- situ on the Moon or other planetary bodies. A number of common geochemical processes involved in producing economic mineral deposits on Earth are also thought to have occurred on the Moon, albeit under somewhat different geochemical conditions. Cur- rently, the most important ISRU products on the Moon are perceived to be the production of O 2 and H 2 O for life support or H 2 and O 2 for fuel and propellant. However, as our knowledge and understanding of lunar resources improve other elements and compounds on the Moon, which may be present in sufficient abundances, may become equally attractive for ISRU activities, enabling sustainable lunar exploration in the longer term. Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/pss Planetary and Space Science 0032-0633/$ - see front matter & 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pss.2012.08.012 n Corresponding author at: The Open University, Department of Physical Sciences, Planetary and Space Sciences, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, UK. Tel.: þ44 19 08 85 8551. E-mail address: m.anand@open.ac.uk (M. Anand). Planetary and Space Science 74 (2012) 42–48