{"id":384600,"date":"2026-03-11T04:40:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T18:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?p=971989"},"modified":"2026-03-11T04:40:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T18:40:00","slug":"ice-to-fuel-nasa-tests-technology-for-refueling-landers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=384600","title":{"rendered":"Ice to Fuel: NASA Tests Technology for\u00a0Refueling\u00a0Landers\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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3 min read<\/p>\n

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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NASA engineers Jonathan Davis, left, and Markus Perkins inspect a flight-like cryocooler developed by Creare LLC prior to its integration into the CryoFILL system NASA is testing. Engineers are working inside NASA Glenn Research Center\u2019s Creek Road Cryogenics Complex on Sept. 24, 2025.<\/div>\n
Credit: NASA\/Jef Janis<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The farther the destination, the more fuel a rocket needs. The more fuel the rocket carries, the heavier the spacecraft. The heavier the spacecraft, the more fuel it requires to launch. Experts at NASA\u2019s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland are testing technology that could solve this problem. <\/p>\n

The CryoFILL (Cryogenic Fluid In-Situ Liquefaction for Landers) project could transform the way NASA fuels future space exploration missions, reducing costs and extending the duration of planetary surface operations.  <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you think about how much fuel your spacecraft would need to go to Mars and come home, it\u2019s quite a lot,\u201d said Evan Racine, CryoFILL project manager at NASA Glenn. \u201cIf we can produce and liquefy oxygen on the Moon or Mars, we can fuel landers on the surface where they land, reducing the amount of propellant needed to launch from Earth.\u201d <\/p>\n

Through the Artemis<\/a> program, NASA will send astronauts on increasingly ambitious missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build a foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.  <\/p>\n

To sustain a long-term presence on the lunar surface, NASA aims to use the Moon\u2019s resources to make products like propellant. Oxygen, a key ingredient of rocket fuel, can be extracted from water ice found in permanently shadowed regions of the Moon. This oxygen would be mined in a gas form, but to be used as a propellant, it must be cooled and condensed into liquid form.   <\/p>\n

NASA Glenn experts are using a flight-like cryocooler, developed by Creare LLC through NASA\u2019s Small Business Innovation Research program<\/a>, to remove heat from the system that extracts the oxygen. This allows the oxygen to condense and remain at extremely cold temperatures below minus 300 degrees Fahrenheit. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re testing with flight-like hardware to see how oxygen liquefies and how the system responds to different scenarios,\u201d said Wesley Johnson, CryoFILL lead engineer. \u201cThese are critical steps toward scaling up and automating future in-situ refueling.\u201d <\/p>\n

Over the course of the next three months, NASA engineers will study how oxygen condenses under various conditions, use the data to validate temperature computer models, and demonstrate how NASA can scale the technology for larger applications. Once the test is complete, the data will inform designs of these technologies for use on the Moon, Mars, or other planetary surfaces. <\/p>\n

The Cryogenic Fluid Management Portfolio Project is a cross-agency team based at NASA Glenn and NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The cryogenic portfolio\u2019s work is part of NASA\u2019s Space Technology Mission Directorate and is comprised of more than 20 individual technology development activities. <\/p>\n

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Inside NASA Glenn Research Center\u2019s Creek Road Cryogenics Complex, NASA engineers Jonathan Davis, left, and Wesley Johnson prepare to integrate a flight-like cryocooler developed by Creare LLC with the CryoFILL system on Sept. 24, 2025. <\/div>\n
Credit: NASA\/Jef Janis<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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