Regolith The Moon Mission Within Reach

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It is the year 2040: operations to secure a long-term human presence on the lunar surface using lunar resources have begun—what sounds like the beginning of a science fiction novel was the start of the mission for the robotics team from the Karlsruhe FZI Research Center for Information Technology at this year's "Space Resources" competition by the European Space Agency (ESA).

After its victory in the first "ESA ESRIC Space Resources Challenge" three years ago, the FZI once again competed in this competition against other international teams. This time, the task was to collect lunar regolith—a loose rock material from the lunar surface—and prepare it for oxygen extraction through particle size separation. The goal was to produce material that is optimally suited for molten salt electrolysis. In the competition, sufficient regolith was to be prepared to generate enough oxygen with this method for eight astronauts during a 30-day lunar mission.

Robots Extract Artificial Moon Rock Under Special Conditions

Not only did the ESA's assignment to the eight finalist teams seem futuristic: the field test for the autonomous robots took place in mid-October at the "LUNA" moon center at the DLR site in Cologne. In the newly opened facility, future astronauts are being prepared for lunar missions. The facility, spanning over 7,500 square feet, simulates the challenging conditions on the moon with realistic lighting and the specific properties of regolith. The lunar surface was recreated in the hall using around 1,000 U.S. tons of regolith simulant. This consists of fine basalt dust, whose grain size and composition were specially developed for the facility. The dust's properties are very similar to those of the original lunar regolith.

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"The dust was indeed a major challenge for the robots and our technology," says Dr.-Ing. Georg Heppner, FZI department head and leader of the FZI Challenge Team DUST (Distributed Unit for Sorting and Transport). "Regolith is very fine and causes mechanisms to clog and wear out quickly. We therefore had to continuously monitor material transport and the functionality of all rover components from the control room and intervene accordingly in case of errors."

The extraction of moon rock is comparable to terrestrial mining, where soil, rock, or other materials are removed to access valuable resources. For the specific moon conditions, suitable methods must be developed to efficiently extract, transport, and provide the material.

Processing includes all methods that increase the economic or practical value of a raw material by removing undesirable components. On Earth, this is done through sorting, crushing, or cleaning ores. In the context of so-called In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) in space, processing means that the extracted lunar regolith is further processed directly on-site—for instance, by particle size separation or enrichment of specific minerals. This creates a material that is better suited for the next processing step, such as extracting oxygen, water, or building materials for future lunar missions.

Work in space research is very challenging because the conditions in space are truly unique, and the conditions in laboratories on Earth are so different. Tests like those conducted at the LUNA Moon Center make it tangible and incredibly motivating, as they create a sense of immediacy. For a permanent human presence on other celestial bodies, many different disciplines must collaborate, and it is rewarding to be able to contribute a part to this effort.

Niklas Spielbauer, Research associate at FZI and DUST team leader

FZI Robotics Team Competes With A Customized Robotic Solution

The FZI team deployed the Modular DUST Rover—a platform with four wheels and modular attachments specifically designed for the challenge. The team benefited from the fact that the FZI not only has the fully equipped FZI Living Lab Service Robotics but also its own metal workshop for robotic prototypes.

A prerequisite for the challenge was a robot capable of processing at least 33 pounds of lunar rock, weighing no more than 130 pounds, and stirring up as little dust as possible during operation. The uniqueness of the FZI solution lay in the integration of all necessary capabilities directly into the robot: excavation and sieving were performed without detours. In contrast, other teams had to move their robots to a separate station to sieve the rock. The FZI team's expertise also came from a single source: rapid prototyping, the robot itself, and in-house modular software. For teleoperation, FZI relies heavily on the open-source framework Robot Operating System, or ROS. FZI is deeply committed to the field of open-source software (OSS) through various publications and is a member of the ROS-Industrial Consortium Europe.

At FZI, we have been researching robotics for around 40 years, primarily focusing on intelligent mobile systems and walking robots. Recently, our focus has been on autonomy functions for space applications or for safety-critical and hostile environments. The developments are tested in real analog scenarios—such as in the desert, a nuclear power plant, or, as in this challenge, in a lunar test environment.

Dr.-Ing. Georg Heppner

Before the final round, the team was provided with aerial images and 3D maps of the test site. Promising mining areas were identified on these, and safe routes between the starting area and target points were planned. During the challenge, onboard cameras were used for orientation to accurately follow the planned routes.

Chance for A Real Moon Mission

All eight teams participated in the field test from October 13 to 17, 2025, and subsequently submitted their concepts for further project development to the ESA by the end of the month. Then came the wait for the winner's announcement. Who would win the development contract worth $550,000 for a feasibility study with the ESA? And which team demonstrated the strongest performance in the category of beneficiation? This refers to the process of improving the economic value of an ore by removing gangue minerals, resulting in a higher-grade product. The winning team will be rewarded with up to $275,000 by the Luxembourg Space Agency (LSA) and ESRIC.

"The field test was, of course, incredibly exciting for us. We finished preparations for the software, hardware, and mechanics right to the minute, and then our rover was 'ready to go'," recalls Niklas Spielbauer. "And then you naturally want to deliver what we had planned. We also didn’t know how things went for the other competitors. On-site, we were barely allowed to exchange information with each other, and each finalist's approach had its advantages and disadvantages."

Creating A Flexible Foundation for Future Space Projects

Yesterday, the much-anticipated result was announced: this time, the FZI team was unable to win the competition. "We congratulate Team Bremen on their great performance! We take the experience from the challenge into our applied research and look forward to hopefully competing against such top teams again in the next challenge! A big thank you to the entire FZI DUST team and also to the other finalists! We have all demonstrated how strong European robotics research is," said Dr.-Ing. Georg Heppner.

What's next? Even without a subsequent project, the development of the rover is currently being further advanced. On the one hand, to learn from the challenges encountered and process them scientifically, and on the other hand, to create a flexible foundation for future space projects and further develop them.