https://sputnikglobe.com/20240826/chinese-scientists-propose-new-method-to-produce-water-on-lunar-surface-1119905516.html
Chinese Scientists Propose New Method to Produce Water on Lunar Surface
Chinese Scientists Propose New Method to Produce Water on Lunar Surface
Sputnik International
Chinese scientists have found a way to retrieve water from the surface of the Moon. The new method has only been tested on moon dirt samples brought back from China’s 2020 Chang’e 5 mission, but the findings may suggest that Moon base settlers could potentially produce drinkable water from moon soil.
2024-08-26T03:27+0000
2024-08-26T03:27+0000
2024-08-26T03:27+0000
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Chinese scientists have found a way to retrieve water from the surface of the Moon. The new method has only been tested on moon dirt samples brought back from China’s 2020 Chang’e 5 mission, but the findings may suggest that Moon base settlers could potentially produce drinkable water from moon soil.In the study, which was published in the journal The Innovation, the researchers found that the moon samples had high concentrations of hydrogen and oxygen and other elements. When it was heated to temperatures exceeding 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit (982 degrees Celsius), the elements within those samples produced water vapor according to Chinese state media.Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) - who were involved in the study alongside those from the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering - have described the technique as “highly practical”.The South China Morning Post adds that this approach could potentially produce up to 76 milligrams of water from 1 gram of lunar soil. That means that one ton of soil could produce about 50 liters (13 gallons) which would be enough for 50 people to drink in a day. The oxide mineral ilmenite found in the soil, as well as some of the other minerals, are capable of storing large amounts of hydrogen thanks to billions of years of exposure to solar wind.The finding is promising, however the researchers caution that further missions will have to be carried out to see how feasible this technique would be in real life. Melting lunar soil by focusing sunlight through concave mirrors is one technique, for instance, that the team is contemplating.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20240717/moon-cave-offers-hope-as-exploration-base-1119396665.html
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chinese scientists, moon water, moon colony, water on the moon, space water, chinese space program, space exploration, chang’e 5 mission, lunar colony, lunar program, lunar water, lunar base, chinese lunar base, lunar surface
chinese scientists, moon water, moon colony, water on the moon, space water, chinese space program, space exploration, chang’e 5 mission, lunar colony, lunar program, lunar water, lunar base, chinese lunar base, lunar surface
Chinese Scientists Propose New Method to Produce Water on Lunar Surface
China’s 2020 Chang’e 5 mission was the first to bring lunar soil samples to Earth in over four decades.
Chinese scientists have found a way to retrieve water from the surface of the Moon. The new method has only been tested on moon dirt samples brought back from
China’s 2020 Chang’e 5 mission, but the findings may suggest that Moon base settlers could potentially produce drinkable water from moon soil.
In the study, which was published in the journal
The Innovation, the researchers found that the moon samples had high concentrations of hydrogen and oxygen and other elements. When it was heated to temperatures exceeding 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit (982 degrees Celsius), the elements within those samples produced water vapor according to
Chinese state media.
Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) - who were involved in the study alongside those from the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering - have described the technique as “highly practical”.
The
South China Morning Post adds that this approach could potentially produce up to 76 milligrams of water from 1 gram of lunar soil. That means that one ton of soil could produce about 50 liters (13 gallons) which would be enough for 50 people to drink in a day. The oxide mineral ilmenite found in the soil, as well as some of the other minerals, are capable of storing large amounts of hydrogen thanks to billions of years of exposure to solar wind.
The finding is promising, however the researchers caution that further missions will have to be carried out to see how feasible this technique would be in real life. Melting lunar soil by focusing sunlight through concave mirrors is one technique, for instance, that the team is contemplating.
