We already know that the Earth’s moon does not have an atmosphere, which is clearly an obstacle for future astronauts, so it is crucial to find out how to get the precious oxygen on our satellite , since we cannot count on charging the oxygen with oxygen. space missions would be unfeasible, hence it is imperative to produce it right there. Now, a team of scientists from the European Space Agency has created a prototype device that can produce oxygen from lunar dust (something of which there is a lot).
If in 2019 scientists published an article on how to extract oxygen from a moon dust simulator (better known as lunar regolith) ; In 2020, the first prototype oxygen extractor is ready to be tried on a larger scale at the European Center for Space Research and Technology in the Netherlands.
The lunar regolith has been studied thoroughly since the Apollo missions brought back samples. Later, by reverse engineering the material, the scientists imagined that bases could be built with baked bricks of regolith and even used to store heat during the long lunar nights. These investigations revealed that oxygen, fortunately, is the most abundant element in the regolith of the Moon: 40-45% of its weight. The problem is that it is not exactly breathable, as the oxygen is trapped within oxide minerals.
“Being able to get oxygen from the resources found on the Moon would be very useful for future lunar colonists, both for breathing and for the local production of rocket fuel,” said Beth Lomax, from the University of Glasgow, in a statement. of the ESA.
Attempts in the past to extract oxygen from the lunar regolith have been unsuccessful, being a process that is too complex and with little final yield . However, the current method uses a technique called molten salt electrolysis with which up to 96% of the oxygen can be removed.
Making air
The process works as follows: First, the regolith is placed in a mesh-lined basket. Calcium chloride, the electrolyte, is added and the mixture is heated to around 950 ° C, a temperature that does not melt the material. After this, an electric current is applied that allows the oxygen to be extracted and to lead the salt to an anode, where it can be easily removed. And voilà: we already have breathable oxygen. This version can be used as a proof of concept and, with further refinement, a similar device could one day be sent to the moon to help maintain a sustainable colony.
“For breathing or for producing rocket fuel, getting oxygen from resources found on the moon will be of great benefit to future lunar colonists,” Lomax said.
As if that weren’t enough, the electrolysis process has another useful by-product: metal alloys that astronauts could also put to good use.
The team is looking to design a “pilot plant” that could be operational on the Moon in the mid-2020s by extracting real lunar regolith and not the simulated one, which is the one they have been working with and has the same composition as the real one but not as valuable as this. Let us remember that, in a way, time is short, because in 2024 man will set foot on the surface of the Moon again and this event will be only the beginning of a new space age.
“ESA and NASA are going to return to the Moon with manned missions, with the intention of staying,” said Tommaso Ghidini, Head of ESA’s Division of Structures, Mechanisms and Materials. “So we are shifting our engineering approach towards a systematic use of lunar resources in situ . We are working to sustain a human presence on the Moon and perhaps one day Mars.”
Reference: ESA
