NASA is actively working with industry partners to create technologies that can extract essential resources from the Moon's surface, specifically targeting hydrogen and helium-3 found in lunar soil.
This initiative is part of a broader strategy to support long-duration missions to both the Moon and Mars, ensuring that astronauts have access to necessary materials during their explorations.
The extraction of resources directly from lunar regolith, known as in-situ resource utilization, could significantly reduce the need to transport materials from Earth, making space missions more sustainable.