• Source:JND
Add as a preferred

Building a long-term human presence on the Moon is not just about rockets and habitats. It is also about figuring out how to use what is already there. In a major step toward that goal, NASA and its partners have demonstrated a prototype that can extract oxygen from simulated lunar soil using concentrated sunlight.

The idea sounds simple, but the science behind it is powerful. Lunar soil, known as regolith, is rich in oxygen. The catch is that this oxygen is chemically bound within minerals. It cannot be breathed or used directly. NASA’s Carbothermal Reduction Demonstration project, or CaRD, is designed to unlock that oxygen.

ALSO READ: Watch India Vs West Indies T20 For Free: Jio, Airtel, Vi Plans With JioHotstar

How The Process Works

The CaRD system uses a solar concentrator mirror to collect and focus sunlight. The concentrated sunlight is used to provide the heat needed to start a reaction in a reactor containing simulated moon soil and carbon. The reaction pulls the oxygen out of the minerals.

Instead of producing oxygen directly, the first output is carbon monoxide. What carbon monoxide can then be processed further to separate and produce pure oxygen gas. It can be used by the astronauts to breathe or even produce rocket propellants.

According to NASA, CaRD “could enable production of propellant using only lunar materials and sunlight, which could save money on missions to the Moon". It could save a lot if it becomes successful because it might not need oxygen transported from the Earth, thus cutting costs significantly.

A Global Push Toward Lunar Resources

NASA is not alone in this race. The European Space Agency is also developing its own method to extract oxygen from lunar soil. ESA engineers note that moon dust contains roughly 40 to 45 per cent oxygen by weight. In their experiments, they heat regolith with molten salt and use electricity to release oxygen.

There is also a growing international collaboration around these technologies. The Australian Space Agency is working with NASA on a rover mission that will collect lunar soil to feed into NASA’s oxygen extraction system.

ALSO READ: Redmi A7 Pro 4G Launched With 6000mAh Battery And 120Hz Display In Budget Segment

Private companies are entering the field as well. Blue Origin has developed a concept called Blue Alchemist. The system would use solar power to melt lunar soil and then apply electrolysis to separate oxygen, leaving behind useful metals as byproducts.

All of these efforts point to the same larger goal: turning the Moon into a place where resources are produced locally rather than shipped from Earth. If oxygen can be reliably extracted from lunar soil, it changes everything about how future Moon missions are planned.


Also In News