Chinese University: Moon soil has the ability to generate oxygen and fuel
A team of scientists from China's Nanjing University has discovered that the moon's soil contains active compounds that can convert carbon dioxide into oxygen and fuel, including liquefied rocket fuel to power future missions to Mars, according to a report published by the Daily Mail. Mail) British.
According to the report, this new discovery, which was published in the journal "Joule", is part of the research programs on whether lunar resources can be used to facilitate and enhance human exploration on the moon and planets.
Analysis of the moon's soil revealed that it contains active compounds, including materials rich in iron and titanium (British press)
Soil and refuel
The "Daily Mail" report says that analysis of the coarse dirt particles returned by the Chinese spacecraft "Chang'e 5" revealed that they contain active compounds including iron-rich materials and titanium, which can act as a catalyst for the production of desired products. Like oxygen, using sunlight and carbon dioxide.
They can also convert carbon dioxide and water released by astronauts’ bodies into oxygen and hydrogen, and other useful by-products such as methane, by collecting those exhausts represented by carbon dioxide and combining it with hydrogen to produce hydrocarbons such as methane, which can be used as fuel, while light is produced. The sun is the water, oxygen and fuel that could support life on the moon's base.
The report notes that because liquefied oxygen and hydrogen make rocket fuel, this discovery also opens the door for the moon to become a refueling station for interplanetary expeditions such as Mars and beyond.
Lead author of the study Professor Yingfang Yao from Nanjing University says, “Turning the moon into a base for refueling manned exploration programs and other needs greatly reduces the payload of rockets in exploratory missions to Mars and elsewhere, and provides a strategy for a sustainable and affordable extraterrestrial living environment. “.
The team is testing ways to improve the design, such as melting lunar soil into nanomaterials (Chinese Academy of Sciences)
On the difference between the catalytic efficiency of lunar soil and the catalysts available on Earth, Yao says, "The team is testing different ways to improve the design, such as melting the lunar soil and turning it into a high nanomaterial, which is a better catalyst."
Survival strategies and travel abroad
Based on those results, and notes taken about the analysis of the samples, materials scientists at Nanjing University hope to design a system that takes advantage of lunar soil and solar radiation, two of the most abundant resources on the moon.
In light of this, researchers have proposed a strategy for extraterrestrial survival called “extraterrestrial photosynthesis”, which is a strategy that makes use of the moon’s resources, as a life support system for astronauts and provides a scenario for sustainable and affordable life outside Earth, and also as a station For refueling and other requirements and needs.
Researchers are currently testing different ways to improve the design, and look forward to the opportunity to test this system in space, in the future, as part of the missions of the Chinese exploratory program.
Researchers seek to take advantage of the moon's resources to support the lives of astronauts and supply space flights (Reuters)
On the other hand, the "Daily Mail" report says that scientists had suggested in previous periods, scenarios and strategies for survival outside the planet.
But most of those scenarios and strategies required energy sources from Earth in their designs. For example, NASA's Mars probe brought in an instrument that can use carbon dioxide in the planet's atmosphere to produce oxygen, but is powered by an onboard nuclear battery.
In this regard, Yao says, “In the near future, we will see the manned spaceflight industry develop rapidly, as happened in the sail age in the 17th century when hundreds of ships went to sea, but in the space age if we want to conduct large-scale exploration of the world beyond Earth, we will need to think of ways to reduce the load, and that means relying on as little supplies from Earth as possible and using extraterrestrial resources instead.”
Source: Daily Mail
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