Static Water Extraction System (SWES)

Developed by Interstellar Mapping, London.

Lunar soil (regolith) would be fed into a reservoir. Using series of pressure seals and heating elements, different volatile substances in the sample that can be sublimated (i.e. turned from a solid into a gas without becoming a liquid) at lower temperatures than ice/water are extracted and stored, then the sample is heated again to turn the water to steam which is extracted and cooled. The system has no moving parts and is envisaged to operate for years with little maintenance.