Life on Moon Now Possible Thanks to Breakthrough in Water Extraction
Life on Moon may no longer be just a dream. Scientists have made a major breakthrough that could help future astronauts survive on the lunar surface. A new study says that it is now possible to obtain water straight from the Moon’s soil. This means we can manufacture three crucial things that life needs to thrive outside of Earth: oxygen, fuel, and food.
Astronauts need water, oxygen, and fuel to live and work on the Moon. Bringing these things from Earth is challenging and costs a lot of money. But new technology is changing the way things work. A team of scientists has figured out how to collect water from Moon soil and turn carbon dioxide into oxygen and fuel at the same time. This makes it much more likely that people could live on the Moon because they wouldn’t need as many supplies from Earth.
Hunting for Lunar Water
People on the Moon commonly call water “liquid gold” since it is uncommon and very valuable. Most of the Moon’s water is frozen and concealed in black craters near the poles. There is also some water in tiny mineral grains or glass beads that were made when asteroids hit the Earth.
The Chang’e 5 mission from China in 2020 returned back soil samples from the Moon. Researchers have since detected minuscule amounts of water and hydroxyl, which is a chemical similar to water. But scientists are still looking for big water resources to help with human missions.
There are two main ideas about how water got to the Moon. One theory is that asteroids and comets carried it there during collisions. Another theory suggests that solar wind—streams of charged particles from the sun—caused hydrogen to mix with oxygen in the lunar soil, forming water molecules.
Supporting Human Life on the Moon
Sending water from Earth is extremely expensive—about $83,000 per gallon. An astronaut needs about four gallons each day. Clearly, finding water on the Moon is critical for long-term missions.
The new system uses photothermal energy, which is a way to turn sunshine into heat. This heat is employed in a specific room full of carbon dioxide, which reacts with the soil. The process makes water, hydrogen, and carbon monoxide, all of which are important for fuel and breathing.
“We were surprised at how well lunar soil worked in this process,” said Lu Wang from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen.
The method works on Earth, but it won’t be straightforward to use on the Moon. Problems could come up because of very high or low temperatures, radiation, or gravity. But scientists are still hopeful.
If these problems can be fixed, this new way of doing things can soon make living on the Moon a reality, not only in movies but in our lifetime.
