Optimization and experimental study of thermal coring parameters for detecting lunar water ice

Abstract

To address the challenges of in-situ lunar water-ice extraction—including limited extraction range, low efficiency, and high energy consumption—this study proposes a thermal drill-based water-ice extraction method utilizing induction heating. Using the Box-Behnken design, response surface methodology, and a multiphysics coupled model, the influences of four key parameters—drill needle diameter, current frequency, coil turn number, and rated input power—are systematically analyzed. The NSGA-II multi-objective optimization algorithm was adopted to obtain the Pareto optimal solution set. This research presents an innovative, parameterized design methodology for the efficient, low-energy extraction of lunar water ice.