Mining Control System
ISRU Operations Control System
The ISRU Operations Control System is an autonomous industrial architecture that plans and executes lunar excavation, monitors ore purity, and manages mining equipment health based on resource mapping and demand. Operating within the in-situ resource utilization infrastructure, it uses process control loops to optimize extraction schedules against constrained power and thermal budgets. Deployment on the Moon requires the control system to function without on-site human operators, utilizing environmental sensors to detect process anomalies under vacuum and low-gravity conditions. Continuous self-diagnostics and predictive maintenance routines are integrated into the control architecture to sustain unattended operations across its 100-year design lifetime.
Autonomous excavation planning, ore grade monitoring, and mining equipment health management
Purpose
Autonomously plan and execute mining operations based on resource mapping and demand
Context
Component of L1-ISR within the Lunar Ark system
Principles
- ▸Process control loops maintain extraction rates and product quality
- ▸Equipment health monitoring enables predictive maintenance scheduling
- ▸Production scheduling optimizes resource extraction against power and thermal budgets
- ▸Quality assurance validates extracted material purity for downstream use
Typical implementations
- ▸SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) industrial control systems
- ▸NASA ISRU process control architectures for Mars/lunar applications
- ▸Autonomous mining fleet management systems (Caterpillar, Komatsu)
- ▸PLC-based process automation for chemical plants
Lunar considerations
- ▸Fully autonomous operation required with no human operators
- ▸Must coordinate with power management for optimal energy usage
- ▸Environmental sensors must detect process anomalies in vacuum/low-gravity
- ▸Self-diagnostic capability needed for 100-year unattended operation
Specifications
Functional
| primary function | Autonomously plan and execute mining operations based on resource mapping and demand |
Operational
| thermal range c | -173, 127 |
| lifetime years | 100 |
Interfaces
Provides
- Coordinated control of all ISRU operations
Requires
- Computing resources and data bus connectivity
- Power for control electronics
Decomposes into
Cite this entry
Lunar Ark Codex. "Mining Control System" (L2-ISR-CTRL). Retrieved 10 September 2026, from https://lunarark.com/entry/L2-ISR-CTRL
Licensed CC-BY-SA 4.0. You may reuse and adapt this entry with attribution, under the same licence.