Ganymede’s Chalice

Developed by British Interplanetary Society, London.

A solar concentrator uses a curved mirror to focus the Sun’s rays on an air-locked crucible where lunar ice is placed by a small, automated crane. The heat from the concentrated rays boils the ice components one by one, and the system uses different storage mechanisms and chemical processes to store each component in safe and compact forms, finally condensing pure, drinkable water at the end.