Hi and welcome to Settle the Solar System, a Lunar Homestead podcast.

This episode covers Part 2 of the Lunar ISRU Overview. We're not going to have settlements if we can't figure out how to keep them alive using their local resources. In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) is how we'll do that. This episode will take the physically processed basalt through chemical processing to finished products.

The Listener Question is "What is the dark side of the Moon?".

Segments

• [00:00] - Intro
• [01:43] - Batch or continuous flow processing
• [05:32] - Volatile recovery
• [08:30] - Chemical extraction of iron and oxygen
• [14:15] - Newsletter Information
• [14:58] - Oxygen refining
• [17:21] - Iron refining
• [19:41] - Further basalt processing
• [22:57] - Listener Question - "What should we call the Moon?"
• [25:34] - Outro

Key points

• ISRU tech can be used, with modifications, just about anywhere in the Solar system.
• Batch processing is preferable for early Lunar Homesteads.
• There are a lot of possible processes for extracting iron and oxygen from basalt but only 2 are serious contenders right now.
• Hydrogen reduction is the process that Lunar Homestead is researching first.
• Iron and oxygen are critical resources for any Lunar Homestead.
• There is no "dark side" of the Moon.

Calls to Action

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Next episode

• Next week's episode will cover "What is Lunar Homesteading?". I'll go over the Lunar Homesteading concept, how it's different from the current space paradigm, and why I think it's better if we actually want to see self-reliant Lunar settlements in our lifetime.

The Listener Question will be "How big is the Solar system?".

Relevant links

• Lunar Homestead website
• Ask a question or just say "hi" - [email protected]