Scientists have found a way to make oxygen out of Moon Dust

Researchers from the European Space Agency have found a means to make oxygen out of moon dust from hopes to one day assist astronauts use sources around the moon to produce air and even rocket fuel.

The Moon has a supply of oxygen — a valuable resource needed for future missions. That supply isn’t in the atmosphere, but instead, contained inside the dust onto the lunar surface.

Stationed in the Materials and Electrical Components Laboratory of the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), that is located at the Netherlands, scientists Are Searching for methods to facilitate residing off-planet.

This past year, a group of European scientists suggested an idea on how to extract oxides from lunar regolith — a term used to describe the mixture of loose dust and dirt that covers rock. They ’ve obtained that study one step farther and constructed in prototype extractor to show how the technology would work.

On the right is a view of lunar regolith. And also over the left is exactly what it looks like when the oxygen is eliminated. Credit: ESA

It has implications for the future of deep space travel, if it works. Possessing a capability similar to this would provide people access to essential resources that could facilitate the establishment of long-term bases around the moon and Mars.

“Having our very facility permits us to focus on oxygen creation, measuring it with a mass spectrometer because it’s taken from the regolith simulant,” Beth Lomax, a chemist from the University of Glasgow in Scotland said in a news statement.

“Being in a position to gain oxygen from sources located in the Moon would be hugely helpful for breathing, both for lunar settlers and at the production of gas. ”

The team, led by Beth Lomax, are pulling oxygen from moon dust — a technique that might be employed to the lunar surface. Credit: ESA

Thanks to samples brought back from the Moon’therefore surface, we know that the lunar regolith is teeming with oxygen (roughly 40–45 percentage by weight). Regrettably, that supply isn’t readily accessible.

Previous efforts to extract the oxygen from the regolith haven’t. But Lomax and her team, believe that they have what it requires. And it needs a little bit of chemistry.

Employing a technique called molten salt electrolysis, the regolith is placed into a metal basket with molten Calcium chloride (an electrolyte) is inserted to it. The mix is then Celsius. (It might sound hot but it’s nevertheless below the melting point of the regolith.)

An electric current is applied. This extracts the oxygenso it can be eliminated.

A diagram detailing the extraction procedure. Charge: Lomax et al., Planetary and Space Science, 2019

The method was first made by a UK company called Metalysis for industrial metal production. Lomax worked in the company when making her PhD and recreated the method in ESTEC.

Her team states that this method can extract up to 96% of their oxygen from the regolith; as an added bonus, the left over material is a mix of metal alloys.

The remnants can be utilized for different projects, maybe as building materials fed into a 3D printer.

With ESA and NASA both planning on returning to the moon from the next few years, the group ’s ultimate goal is to create a model that will operate on the moon.  That could happen sometime at the mid-2020s.

“We are working towards a human presence on the Moon, and possibly Mars,” clarified Tommaso Ghidini, Head of the Structures, Mechanisms and Materials Division in the ESA.

This study might help make that goal possible.

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