Volatile elements and compounds found in extra-terrestrial environments are often the target of In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) studies. Although water and hydroxide are most commonly the focus of these studies as they can be used for propellant and human consumption; we instead focus on the possible exploitation of sulfur and how it could be utilized to produce building materials on the Moon, Mars and Asteroids. We describe the physical and chemical pathways for extracting sulfur from native sulfide minerals, manufacturing sulfuric acid in situ, and using the produced acid to dissolve native silicate minerals. The final products of this process, which we call the Silicate-Sulfuric Acid Process (SSAP), include iron metal, silica, oxygen and metal oxides, all of which are crucial in the scope of a sustainable, space-based economy. Although our proposed methodology requires an initial investment of water, oxygen, and carbon dioxide, we show that all of these volatiles are recovered and reused in order to repeat the process. We calculate the product yield from this process if it were enacted on the lunar highlands, lunar mare, Mars, as well as an array of asteroid types.

在地外环境中发现的挥发性元素和化合物通常是原位资源利用 (ISRU) 研究的目标。尽管水和氢氧化物通常是这些研究的重点，因为它们可用于推进剂和人类消费；相反，我们专注于硫的可能开采以及如何利用它在月球、火星和小行星上生产建筑材料。我们描述了从天然硫化物矿物中提取硫、原位制造硫酸以及使用产生的酸溶解天然硅酸盐矿物的物理和化学途径。这个过程的最终产品，我们称之为硅酸盐 - 硫酸过程 (SSAP)，包括铁金属、二氧化硅、氧和金属氧化物，所有这些对于可持续的太空经济至关重要。尽管我们提出的方法需要对水、氧气和二氧化碳进行初始投资，但我们表明所有这些挥发物都被回收和再利用以重复该过程。如果该过程在月球高地、月海、火星以及一系列小行星类型上进行，我们将计算该过程的产品产量。