In situ resource utilisation (ISRU) refers to the extraction and use of local materials, and numerous ISRU techniques have been proposed for use on the Moon. Hydrogen reduction of iron oxide-bearing minerals in the lunar regolith, such as ilmenite, has long been suggested as a potential method for producing water on the Moon to support exploration. Generally, reduction of lunar regolith has been proposed and tested in gas-flowing systems which utilise pumps to re-circulate gases (herein described as dynamic systems), and have been trialled in terrestrial laboratory and simulated environments. However, such technologies have yet to be validated on the lunar surface. An alternative to the dynamic reactor is a static system which utilises a cold finger to condense water from the vapour phase, negating the need for a more complex system where gases are continuously pumped away. The PROSPECT Sample Processing and Analysis (ProSPA) instrument is one such static system that is to be used to measure volatiles in the lunar regolith as a payload onboard the Luna-27 lander. Previous work using a breadboard model of ProSPA led to the development and optimisation of a procedure for extracting water from ilmenite. The present work describes the application of these procedures to the reduction of a lunar simulant (NU-LHT-2M), a lunar meteorite (NWA 12592), and two Apollo soils (10084 and 60500). Three 45 ​mg samples of each material type were reacted in a furnace at 1000 ​°C for 4 ​h in the presence of approximately 420 ​mbar of hydrogen. All samples reduced to some extent, with the Apollo mare soil (10084) producing the highest average yield of 0.94 ​wt % O₂; this compares favourably to the yields of ~3–4 ​wt % O₂ by other more optimised demonstrations of O₂ extraction from Apollo soils. Samples with higher ilmenite content produced higher yields, however, pyroxene and olivine within the samples also showed some minor reduction. The results demonstrate that a static system such as ProSPA is capable of reducing lunar regolith of various compositions and producing measurable yields of water. The technique is therefore appropriate for performing in situ resource utilisation experiments at the lunar surface. The simple and small scale technique is also appropriate for use in evaluating the grade of potential feedstock for the production of water by hydrogen reduction on the lunar surface.

原位资源利用 (ISRU) 是指提取和使用当地材料，已经提出了许多用于月球的 ISRU 技术。月球风化层中含氧化铁矿物（如钛铁矿）的氢还原长期以来一直被认为是在月球上生产水以支持勘探的潜在方法。通常，已提出并在利用泵使气体再循环的气流系统（此处称为动态系统）中减少月球风化层并对其进行测试，并已在陆地实验室和模拟环境中进行了试验。然而，这些技术尚未在月球表面得到验证。动态反应器的另一种选择是静态系统，它利用冷手指从气相中冷凝水，不需要一个更复杂的系统，在这个系统中气体被连续抽走。PROSPECT 样本处理和分析 (ProSPA) 仪器就是这样一种静态系统，用于测量月球风化层中的挥发物，作为 Luna-27 着陆器上的有效载荷。之前使用 ProSPA 面包板模型的工作导致了从钛铁矿中提取水的程序的开发和优化。目前的工作描述了这些程序在减少月球模拟物 (NU-LHT-2M)、月球陨石 (NWA 12592) 和两个阿波罗土壤 (10084 和 60500) 中的应用。在大约 420 毫巴的氢气存在下，每种材料类型的三个 45 毫克样品在 1000°C 的炉中反应 4 小时。所有样本都在一定程度上减少，₂ ; 此相比毫不逊色的收率〜3-4％（重量）直径：₂被O的其它更优化的示范₂从阿波罗土壤萃取。钛铁矿含量较高的样品产量更高，然而，样品中的辉石和橄榄石也显示出一些轻微的减少。结果表明，像 ProSPA 这样的静态系统能够减少各种成分的月球风化层并产生可测量的水产量。因此，该技术适用于在月球表面进行原位资源利用实验。这种简单和小规模的技术也适用于评估在月球表面通过氢还原生产水的潜在原料的等级。