Novel Lunar Mission Architecture Design: Deployment of a prototype Completely Autonomous Oxygen Production facility on the Moon

This paper presents the conceptual design of a novel lunar mission architecture aimed at deploying a completely autonomous oxygen production facility on the Moon, called the Lunar Oxygen Autonomous Plant (LOAP). The mission focuses on establishing a self-sustaining In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) system that extracts oxygen from lunar regolith and stores it in liquid form, contributing to the sustainability of future lunar exploration and human presence. The study is conducted as part of the Space-program Architecture Modeling Platform (SAMP) project, which aims to develop a collaborative methodology for designing complex space program architectures. The mission architecture comprises five main systems: the ISRU system (including an O2 production unit and a cryogenic storage system), a lunar rover for regolith excavation and transport, a lunar lander, a lunar power system based on a relocatable solar array, and a launch vehicle. The design methodology integrates these systems through an iterative process, emphasizing system interdependencies and functional requirements. Results of the study include detailed designs of the ISRU system capable of producing 1.000 kg of liquid oxygen over three years, the rover optimized for regolith transport, the power system sized for continuous operation during lunar daylight periods, and the lunar lander designed to deliver and support the integrated systems on the lunar surface. The mission's concept of operations (CONOPS) and system specifications are presented, demonstrating the feasibility of deploying a fully autonomous ISRU mission. The study contributes to the development of methodologies for complex mission architecture design and highlights the importance of system integration and interdependencies in space mission planning.