The Italian Space Agency (ASI) announced July 26 that it had signed an agreement with Politecnico di Milano to begin the development of the agency’s Oxygen Retrieval Asset by Carbothermal-reduction in Lunar Environment (ORACLE) project.
The Advanced Space Technologies for Robotics and Astrodynamics (ASTRA) research group at Politecnico di Milano is in the process of studying and beginning to test a method of extracting oxygen from lunar regolith. With the ORACLE project, the agency plans to lay the foundation for a mission that it aims to launch by 2028.
According to the agency, Politecnico di Milano will complete the initial stages of design and definition of the technology and how it will be operated from a lander. In the coming years, an industrial partner will take over the project to see it through to the expected launch date.
“In this new push to return to the Moon, our country is preparing to be present in the best possible way and ORACLE will give us the opportunity to consolidate the leading role in large-scale programs such as Artemis,” explained Raffaele Mugnuolo, head of the exploration unit at ASI.
An interesting aspect of ASI’s announcement was the fact that the agency stated that it would utilize “one of the commercial flight opportunities currently under development in several countries.” This appears to indicate that the agency hopes to launch the mission aboard a vehicle being developed by one of many European launch startups currently working towards a maiden flight.
