Efficient microwave self-heating of lunar regolith for In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU): methods and system validation

Abstract：To address the demand for large-scale utilization of lunar resources, this study develops an efficient microwave heating approach for lunar regolith.Based on the dielectric properties of lunar regolith-low loss at low temperatures and high loss at high temperatures-three highefficiency microwave heating methods were proposed.These methods include increasing electric field strength, delimiting heating temperature ranges, and enriching high-loss lunar regolith minerals.A microwave heating system was established to validate the electric field increase method, with self-heating experiments conducted at 2.45 GHz and 300-800 W. The results show that: at 800 W microwave power, the temperature of the cavity can reach 1259 ° C within 420 seconds, and lunar regolith simulant can be melted.Compared with industrial microwave equipment, the proposed system achieves superior energy efficiency without requiring susceptor-assisted heating.It consequently removes the necessity of transporting auxiliary materials from Earth.This microwave heating approach provides a practical and cost-effective solution for early lunar surface construction and in-situ utilization of lunar surface resources.