Planetary Exploration and In-Situ Resource Utilization
A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Earth Sciences".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 381
Special Issue Editors
Interests: chemical process simulation; water reclamation; adsorption materials & separations; low-temperature & cryogenic process; Mars ISRU
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue aims to highlight recent advances, innovative technologies, and pioneering research that enable the use of local resources to support the sustainable exploration and habitation of planetary bodies. We invite contributions from researchers, engineers, and practitioners across disciplines to share original research papers, reviews, and case studies addressing challenges and breakthroughs in prospecting, resource extraction, processing, and utilization on the Moon, Mars, asteroids, and the icy moons of the outer solar system—including Titan, Ganymede, and Europa. In addition, we welcome mission studies to enhance or enable planetary exploration through use of extraterrestrial materials.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Prospecting to locate and characterize extraterrestrial resources;
- Thermodynamics of the atmospheres and surfaces of terrestrial planets and satellites;
- Environmental and geotechnical challenges of planetary surfaces;
- Mission architectures and strategies leveraging local resources;
- Socio-economic and policy considerations for off-Earth resource use;
- Robotics and automation in resource prospecting and utilization;
- Extraction and processing of water, volatiles, and minerals;
- ISRU technologies for fuel, life support, and construction;
- Modeling, simulation, and experimental validation of ISRU systems;
- Materials for space applications;
- Propulsion systems.
Dr. Vassilis J. Inglezakis
Dr. Donald Rapp
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- in-situ resource utilization
- life support systems
- space engineering
- planetary exploration
- asteroids
- astrochemical engineering
- extraterrestrial resources
- Mars
- Moon
- icy moons
- Titan
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
