ispace Inc. is pleased to announce that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Kurita Water Industries Ltd. regarding the provision of payload transportation services, with the aim of future demonstration of a lunar water treatment demonstration test device on the lunar surface.
Kurita Water Industries joined the private lunar exploration program “HAKUTO-R” as a corporate partner in November 2024, and has been collaborating with the aim of equipping the lunar lander with a water treatment system for use in space environments in future missions. This memorandum of understanding is an agreement to cooperate in transporting a water treatment system installed on the lander to the lunar surface and conducting demonstration tests during ispace’s lunar missions from 2027 onwards.
ispace is promoting efforts to build an economic sphere in the space between the Earth and the Moon (cislunar) under the vision of “Expand Our Planet, Expand Our Future.” The cislunar economic sphere is an economic foundation that aims to be realized between the Earth and the Moon, and is a broad concept that includes new markets, technologies, and infrastructure to support the realization of a sustainable society. In this economic sphere, the management and reuse of water resources is extremely important in the construction of space stations and lunar bases, long-term human stays, and resource extraction and manufacturing activities.
Also Read: ispace Completes Success 5 of Mission 2 Milestones
Kurita Water Industries is utilizing its water treatment technology that it has developed over many years to produce ultrapure water using an ultrapure water system designed for use in space, and is providing the ultrapure water to the lunar water electrolysis equipment being developed by Takasago Thermal Engineering Co., Ltd., which is installed on the currently ongoing Mission 2 “SMBC x HAKUTO-R VENTURE MOON” (hereinafter Mission 2). Water is essential for various activities on the lunar surface, and technology is required to extract water from local resources and purify and refine it. The realization of this technology will enable a significant reduction in the cost of transporting water from Earth, contributing to the creation of an economic sphere.
SOURCE: PRTimes
