The soil on the Moon might be able to sustain life, according to a new study.
Researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong developed a technology to extract water from lunar soil and used it to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen and chemical fuel. The technology does this by converting light from the Sun into heat.
According to the study, published in the Cell Press journal Joule, the research could “potentially open new doors for future deep space exploration” because it could mitigate the expensive costs needed to bring essential resources such as water to the Moon.
A single gallon (3.78 litres) of water costs $83,000 (€71,230) to ship up by rocket, the study continued, with one astronaut drinking roughly four gallons (15.14 litres) a day.
“We never fully imagined the ‘magic’ that the lunar soil possessed,” said lead researcher Lu Wang.
However, the study notes that any strategies that are already in place to extract water from the surface of the Moon involve multiple “energy-intensive” steps and do not break down how much CO2 is used by fuel.
The Moon’s extreme lunar environment will still make it challenging to harvest more oxygen and water from the land, the study continued, because there are “drastic temperature fluctuations,” radiation and low gravity to deal with.
The CO2 emitted from the breaths of the astronauts won’t be enough to supply all the water, fuel and oxygen that the team of astronauts might need.
