Volatile Capture System
Volatile Gas Capture and Processing System
The volatile gas capture and processing system is an in-situ resource utilization assembly that collects, purifies, and stores volatile compounds released during thermal regolith processing. The subsystem heats excavated regolith to 700–1000 °C to release trapped gases—including water vapor, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and helium-3—which are condensed in cold traps, analyzed, and separated by fractional distillation. Operational implementation is constrained by extreme spatial variability in volatile concentration, ranging from ice concentrated in permanently shadowed regions to low-density solar-wind-implanted volatiles distributed globally, and by the high energy demands of thermal extraction competing directly with other settlement power loads.
Collection and storage of water vapor, CO, H2, and He-3 from regolith processing
Purpose
Capture and store volatile gases released during regolith heating and processing
Context
Component of L1-ISR within the Lunar Ark system
Principles
- ▸Heating regolith to 700-1000C releases trapped volatiles (H2O, CO2, SO2, H2S)
- ▸Cold traps condense released volatiles for collection and separation
- ▸Gas chromatography or mass spectrometry identifies volatile species
- ▸Fractional distillation separates captured volatiles into useful products
Typical implementations
- ▸NASA RESOLVE payload for lunar volatile prospecting
- ▸Honeybee Robotics PVEx (Planetary Volatiles Extractor)
- ▸Colorado School of Mines thermal mining concepts
- ▸ISRU Pilot Plant concepts for volatile extraction
Lunar considerations
- ▸Volatile content varies dramatically by location - PSRs have most ice
- ▸Solar wind implanted volatiles (H, He-3, N) present in regolith globally
- ▸Energy-intensive heating competes with other power demands
- ▸Captured water is valuable for life support, propellant, and radiation shielding
Specifications
Functional
| primary function | Capture and store volatile gases released during regolith heating and processing |
Operational
| thermal range c | -173, 127 |
| lifetime years | 100 |
Interfaces
Provides
- Extracted water from regolith volatiles
- Extracted gases for manufacturing processes
Requires
- Sorted regolith with concentrated volatile-bearing minerals
- Significant power for heating regolith (~2-5kW)
Decomposes into
Cite this entry
Lunar Ark Codex. "Volatile Capture System" (L2-ISR-VOL). Retrieved 10 September 2026, from https://lunarark.com/entry/L2-ISR-VOL
Licensed CC-BY-SA 4.0. You may reuse and adapt this entry with attribution, under the same licence.