An important step forward that has been taken by the Italian Space Agency and the Polytechnic University of Milan, signatories of an agreement regarding the ambitious project to develop and validate one of the key technologies to enable long-term human presence on our natural satellite. This is ORACLE, (Oxygen Retrieval Asset by Carbothermal-reduction in Lunar Environment), a facility that enables the extraction of oxygen from lunar regolith according to a process already studied and partly verified in the laboratory by the ASTRA group of the Polytechnic University of Milan. Regolith is the set of fragmented rocks that cover the surface of the Moon. Now, under the guidance of ASI, it is intended to implement by the end of this decade a validation in the target operational environment, that is, on the surface of the Moon. With the signing of this agreement, ASI and the Polytechnic have made a commitment to collaborate already in these initial stages of design and definition of the interface aspects to the lander that will host a preliminary version of the facility. This will be complemented over the next few years by development activities, which will be entrusted to an additional partner, this time an industrial one. The goal is to build a demonstrator that can be launched by 2028, taking advantage of one of the commercial flight opportunities among those currently under development in several countries.
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