In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU): A Graduate Seminar

Course Overview

In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) is a suite of concepts and technologies that can enable safer and more cost-effective use of space by exploiting local resources rather than bringing everything from Earth. ISRU includes commercial applications, robotic planetary exploration, human exploration, and the establishment of outposts. This capstone graduate seminar explores the context of ISRU, its economics, the state of the art in ISRU technology, and a range of ISRU applications including fuel generation, lunar and asteroid mining, in-space manufacturing, habitat construction, infrastructure construction, farming, and recycling. Our goal is to capture where the technology is today and where it can go in the next 20 years to support an expanding and vigorous space economy. The core content will be a series of topic-focused lectures given by leaders in the field. The format provides an opportunity for questions and discussion.

The lectures will be accessible on-line through the NASA SSERVI Adobe Connect system in real-time and will be recorded for on-line reference. Lectures will be held on Mondays (with a few exceptions on Wednesdays) at 1:30 pm EDT/EST [50 min lecture + 30 min discussion]. This course is sponsored jointly by the NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) and the SSERVI team at University of Central FL (CLASS).
Adobe connect link: http://connect.arc.nasa.gov/class_seminars/

For those wishing to attend in person, the seminar will be held at the Florida Space Institute near the UCF campus. Directions can be found at http://fsi.ucf.edu/contact/

Weekly Lecture Topics (all lectures at 1:30 EDT/EST)