Space Resources LEIA is a Python-based modeling tool that simulates and analyzes the energy requirements for oxygen production from lunar regolith, using hydrogen reduction technology. The model evaluates the complete end-to-end production chain, from excavation to storage.
The model includes energy calculations for:
- Excavation
- Transportation
- Beneficiation
- Hydrogen reduction
- Electrolysis
- Liquefaction
- Storage
The authors consider an end-to-end production chain starting from dry regolith as feedstock. The production includes the following process steps: excavation, transportation, beneficiation, hydrogen reduction, electrolysis, liquefaction, and storage. The model predicts the energy cost per kg oxygen produced based on parameters for each process step.
The implementation is structured as follows: The data folder contains data used for certain computations within some modules. These modules are located in the space_resources/modules folder and each computes the required energy for one specific process step in the production chain. All the computations from the individual modules are then joined in calculate_energy.py. Here we calculate the required energies across the production chain and make them available for use in other parts of the project. Energy_comparison_plots.py is used to generate the plots used in the evaluation of the process chain, considering a range of initial (i.e., head grade ilmenite concentrations) monte_carlo_estimation.py conducts a monte carlo estimation with select varied parameters to study the uncertainty of the employed model. sensitivity_v1.py is used to make a sensitivity analysis graph, where certain high sensitivty parameters are plotted on a spider plot.
The folder space_resources/additional_resources contains additional modules and files which are not currently used in the main project structure but might be of use when expanding or altering the project.
To use the project, there are two crucial files: energy_comparison_plots.py and monte_carlo_estimation.py which can be individually run to produce the desired output graphs. In the monte_carlo_estimation.py one also needs to adjust which function should be executed at the end of the file.
- Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/Space_resources_LEIA.git- Create and activate virtual environment:
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate # Linux/Mac- Install dependencies:
pip install -r requirements.txtThe main analysis can be run through the key file:
python energy_comparison_plots.pyPlease submit issues and pull requests.
Dorian Leger Fardin Ghaffari Anton Morlock Freja Thoresen Baptiste Valentin David Dickson Joshua Rasera Matthew Shaw Aidan Cowley