Helios

HELIOS is developing technologies to extract metals and oxygen from the martian and lunar soil, providing essential materials for space missions.

Created: 2019-11-16

Updated: 2024-02-25

Company - Helios

Founded
Country: 2018; Israel

Funding: $6M+

Website: Helios Project

Social

Product/Service

Classification: Space Resources

Category: Resources - Oxygen
Resources - Metal

Fields: Raw Materials

Status: Development

First launch: 2025

Process is called Molten Regolith Electrolysis – melting the lunar regolith (soil) and electrolyzing it to separate the vast amount of oxygen from the various metals that constitute the regolith.

The Israeli company Helios, which develops technology for extracting oxygen from the lunar soil, signed the first Israeli-Japanese agreement for technological cooperation on July 19. Helios, with the support of the Israel Space Agency in the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, will be integrated into the mission to the moon of the Japanese company ispace. As part of the mission, the Israeli company will conduct a demonstration of technology for extracting oxygen and metal from the lunar regolith.

Deliver Helios technology to produce oxygen and metals on the moon aboard the lunar landing system LSAS (Lunar Surface Access Service). As part of the new agreement, Helios’ tech will fly on the first three LSAS missions to the lunar surface starting in 2025.

Two space tech companies, Helios and Eta Space, announced in 2022 that they are joining forces to solve the problem of oxygen in space. If humanity is to have a sustainable presence beyond Earth, the reusable methane-fueled rocket systems need liquid oxygen at a ratio of 1:4, so the only cost-effective solution to refueling in orbit is to create and store oxygen on the Moon and on Mars. "Eta Space would play the important role of liquifying and storing the oxygen produced by the Helios reactor in cryogenic tanks."

In 2022, winners of industrial research and development funding tied to the Space Florida-Israel Innovation Partnership Program. Moreover, Helios and Eta Space LLC, announced they are joining forces to solve the problem of oxygen in space. Helios has developed an electrochemical reactor capable of extracting oxygen from the lunar regolith, which is made of approximately 45% oxygen. Their proprietary technology and process have proven effective and are being used terrestrially for the extraction of other elements, such as iron.

Step 1:

Extraction of desired elements from regolith (lunar/martian soil).
The HELIOS Reactor will separate the abundant oxides found all over the Martian and lunar surfaces into oxygen and various metals such as iron, aluminium, titanium and more.
Step 2:
Processing, storage and utilization.
The second phase will involve the preparation of the raw materials into further utilization – storing the oxygen in compression tanks and casting the metals into usable parts.