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Chinese researchers offer new possibilities to extract water on moon

Chinese scientists' pioneering method to extract ample water from lunar soil provides a potentially simple, feasible and eco-friendly solution for the exploration and development of water resources on the moon.

Researchers at the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have formulated an innovative approach which would be capable of yielding up to 76 kilograms of water from around one ton of lunar soil, setting the stage for the establishment of future lunar research stations.

Their remarkable achievement was unveiled in the prestigious internationally peer-reviewed academic journal Innovations on Thursday.

Extensive analyses by the research team prove that this innovative water extraction method can generate approximately 51 to 76 milligrams of water from a single gram of lunar soil. By extrapolation, a ton of lunar soil can yield around 51 to 76 kilograms of water - equivalent to over 100 bottles of 500 milliliters each - capable of meeting the daily hydration needs of 50 individuals.

In an interview with Chinese state broadcaster China Media Group (CMG), Wang Junqiang, a researcher of the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering said that even if water naturally exists on the moon, the high-vacuum environment makes it evaporate very quickly, leaving the natural satellite acutely short of the liquid. Noting that this makes it challenging to obtain water directly on the moon, Wang said Chinese scientists thought outside the box.

"Instead of thinking about directly detecting water, we separate it. There is hydrogen and oxygen in water. Can we study the sources of these two elements separately and then generate water through chemical reactions? This provides a good scientific research plan or new idea for future lunar exploration," he said.

As scientists have mastered the method of manufacturing water using lunar soil, Wang predict that they could possibly carry out experiments on the moon to test the solution's feasibility before 2030, or even ahead of the Chang'e-8 mission, whose probe is scheduled to be launched around 2028.

"The fastest possible time for a moon landing of the devices is before 2030 via the Chang'e 8 mission. By then, we may be able to launch scientific research equipment to the moon to conduct some experiments," he said.

Wang said that the research team is currently designing and developing verification plans and equipment, adding that if a large amount of water can be successfully produced on the moon, it will provide multi-faceted support for future lunar and deep space exploration activities.

"Basically, a concave mirror or a Fresnel lens will be used to focus sunlight to heat the lunar soil to more than 1,500 Celsius degrees and melt it, which will produce a lot of water vapor. We can collect the water vapor and use it as drinking water. At the same time, we can also electrolyze the water to obtain oxygen and hydrogen. Oxygen is an essential substance for us to breathe, so there is no problem for human to stay alive. In addition, hydrogen is an energy source. We can burn it or use it to generate electricity in fuel cells. In addition, the heated lunar soil can generate iron, as well as ceramic glass. We can use iron as building materials and magnetic materials, as magnetic materials play an indispensable role in the field of electrical power and electronics. And ceramics and steel are essential for building materials too. So we can build houses on the moon," said Wang.

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