>our reactor produces iron, silicon, and aluminum through molten regolith electrolysis, in which an electrical current separates those elements from the oxygen to which they are bound. Oxygen for propulsion and life support is a byproduct.

It sounds like there isn't oxygen input required.

What burning process? There is heating without burning in this process (and in fact, most of the things being melted are oxides and the energy is used to pull oxygen off of the iron and silicon.)

It's electrical heating, not coal fire heating, which requires no oxygen.

They're essentially unburning these materials - they're bound to oxygen when in the mineral, and they need to separate that out.