Chinese Scientists Invent System for Extracting Oxygen, Water and Rocket Fuel From Moon Dust

Chinese researchers say they have created a new way to extract water from lunar soil and turn it into fuel.

As is detailed in a new paper published today in the magazine JollyThe team found that its proposed “thermal optical strategy”-converting light mainly into heat-can effectively convert carbon dioxide from the extracted water to the first carbon monoxide, hydrogen and oxygen, which is “a possible way to preserve the human life on the moon and enable external exploration in the long run.”

“The sustainable use of local resources is necessary for human survival in the long run on the surface of the moon and beyond,” the researchers write, noting that bringing water from the land is about 83,000 dollars per gallon.

“We have never imagined the” magic “that the lunar soil possessed,” said the University of Chenthn, Professor of Churchon and co -author Lu Wang in a statement.

“The biggest surprise for us was the concrete success of this integrated approach,” he added. “Integration from one step to extract the lunar H2O and stimulate optical carbon dioxide can enhance energy efficiency and reduce the cost of developing infrastructure.”

While many questions about our future efforts to harness local resources on the surface of the moon remain, it is a glimmer of hope that humanity can actually create a more permanent and perhaps sustainable existence there.

As for their research, the team focused on simplifying the current proposals of how to extract water from the lunar recolith, which tends to be intense energy and stop breaking the water to its usable elements.

Researchers also suggest the use of extracted water to convert carbon dioxide by astronauts to carbon monoxide and hydrogen gas, which can be used to make fuel.

The team tested its optical approach in the actual moon samples collected during the Chang’e-5 mission in China, which was launched in November 2020, and collected samples from the near west of the nearby moon before returning to Earth.

Although their laboratory -based experiments were successful, the actual moon surface is likely to be a more challenging place for lunar extraction and transforming it. As the paper indicates, radiation, lower gravity and maximum temperature fluctuations can significantly.

However, developments highlight the extent of the arrival of the Chinese space program within years. Just two decades ago, China was vulnerable to the international space race. But now that the country has launched its astronauts into space while the Trump administration is looking effectively to remove NASA when it comes to space science, China can outperform the United States in its plans to build the moon base by 2035.

More about the extraction of lunar water: Chinese scientists extract water from lunar soil