Sun light is enough to extract the water and oxygen from the lunar dust, enough to facilitate life on the moon?

Scientists have managed to recover the water. In addition, oxygen contained in the lunar dust using sunlight. In addition, An advance that could greatly facilitate the installation of man on the moon.

No matter how long it takes. Nevertheless, humans will one day live on the moon. Nevertheless, It is in any case the vision of NASA. In addition, which gives itself up to 2040 to establish a colony on the satellite of the earth. Nevertheless. However. A project that sun light enough extract water new requires a lot of reflection sun light enough extract water in terms of sun light enough extract water new logistics: how will we produce food? Meanwhile, The oxygen we breathe? Consequently, The materials we need to build the necessary infrastructure? Similarly, The answer to (almost) all these questions is in a word: regolith, or lunar dust.

It is present in abundance on the surface of the moon. Moreover, that’s good since it allows you to do a lot. In addition, With the regolith and a magnifying glass, we can for example build roads. Similarly, But the find of a team of Chinese scientists goes further.

The researchers found a way to extract “simply” the water and the oxygen contained in the lunar dust. Furthermore, More specifically in the minerals that make it up like ilmenite. To achieve this, all sunlight is enough. Or rather its heat.

Recovering oxygen. lunar dust sun light enough extract water new water is not so complicated as it finally – Sun light enough extract water

The process is. as follows: sun light enough extract water new the regolith is heated sun light enough extract water to 200. ° C concentrating sunlight. He then releases the water it contains. Then carbon dioxide (CO₂), for example that that astronauts would reject by expiring, is added to the mixture. Ilmenitis then catalyzes the reaction between extracted water and CO₂, which produces oxygen, but also methane.

Why is methane importance here? Because it can then be used to create fuel for rockets. which would avoid having to bring it from the earth. Because this is the goal of the maneuver: find a process to produce as many things as possible from. the resources naturally present on the Moon. Studies show that bringing around 3.8 liters of water from Earth to repatriate, for example, costs € sun light enough extract water new 71,000. Have we found the perfect solution? Not quite.

An encouraging discovery on paper. but which must still prove itself

Although crowned with success. the sun light enough extract water new experiences of scientists were carried out in the laboratory sun light enough. extract water on a simulating from samples of lunar regolith. An artificial reproduction if you prefer. Real dust is far too precious to have fun doing destructive tests with it. On the moon, the conditions are much less controllable.

Already. the regolith is a good thermal insulation. which reduces the amount of water that can be created as heat diffuses in it. Then, it is necessary to take into account the extreme variations of temperatures between day and night on the star. They go up to 250 ° C difference. Finally, the radiation that strikes the moon can also have an impact on the process.

And that sun light enough extract water new is without counting on another aspect raised by the astrophysicist Philip Metzger. namely that Astronauts would not produce enough co₂ to initiate the reaction allowing the creation of methane. It would sun light enough extract water new then be necessary to have it delivered from the earth. which goes against the sun light enough extract water desired goal.

This does not detract from the interest of the find that said. Metzger summarizes it very well: “I think that these results are very interesting. that the use of the lunar soil as a photocatalyst could give rise to other applications. Additional work will be necessary to demonstrate the economic competitiveness of this concept. I am skeptical. but any good idea has its detractors. and you can never really know as long as no one has done the work necessary to prove it“.