Domain

In-Situ Resource Utilisation

Using the materials found on the Moon, Mars, and asteroids — water ice, regolith, and metals — instead of launching everything from Earth. ISRU is the key to affordable, sustained exploration beyond low Earth orbit.

Highlights

›The key to living off the land beyond Earth

In brief

Using local materials in space rather than launching them.

In this domain

Metal ExtractionISRU technique
Concept
Extracting metals — iron, nickel, and precious metals — from asteroids and from lunar and Martian regolith, to build structures in space without lifting the mass from Earth. Metal-rich M-type asteroids such as Psyche are studied as future resources.
Oxygen ProductionISRU technique
Demonstrated
Producing breathable oxygen and oxidiser from local materials — from the carbon dioxide of the Martian atmosphere or from oxygen-bearing lunar regolith. NASA's MOXIE experiment on the Perseverance rover demonstrated making oxygen on Mars.
Propellant ProductionISRU technique
In development
Making rocket propellant in space — splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, or combining Martian carbon dioxide with hydrogen to make methane and oxygen — so a return vehicle can be fuelled at its destination instead of carrying all its propellant from Earth.
Regolith ProcessingISRU technique
In development
Working the loose surface soil of the Moon and Mars — sintering or melting it into building material, extracting metals and oxygen, and using it for radiation shielding — turning the ground itself into a resource.
Water ExtractionISRU technique
In development
Mining and extracting water and volatiles — from the permanently-shadowed craters at the lunar poles and from water-bearing carbonaceous asteroids such as Bennu. Water is the keystone resource: it provides drinking water, breathable oxygen, radiation shielding, and rocket propellant.

Knowledge connections

Group includesWater Extraction
Group includesOxygen Production
Group includesRegolith Processing
Group includesMetal Extraction
Group includesPropellant Production
Associated withSpace Resource Policy
Associated withThe Mars Surface Base

Sources

The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.

NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration
Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.
Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.