Key Takeaways:
- The Moon’s regolith, or rocky soil, may contain enough oxygen to sustain 8 billion people for about 100,000 years.
- A joint program between the Australian Space Agency and NASA aims to send a rover to collect lunar rocks and extract oxygen from the regolith.
- The extraction process, called electrolysis, is a known technology and involves passing an electrical current through lunar soil to separate oxygen from other elements.
- The success of this technology could significantly enhance the feasibility of establishing a long-term Moon base.
- Space Applications Services, a Belgian startup, plans to send experimental reactors to the Moon by 2025 for oxygen production, further indicating potential advancements in lunar habitation.
The Moon, our celestial neighbor, may harbor a surprising secret—there is an abundant reservoir of oxygen hidden beneath its surface, concealed within the rocky top layer known as regolith. This revelation, presented by Southern Cross University soil researcher John Grant, suggests that the regolith may contain sufficient oxygen to sustain an astounding 8 billion people for a duration of approximately 100,000 years. However, the inhospitable nature of the Moon’s near-vacuum atmosphere poses a challenge, as human life cannot be sustained with the existing oxygen levels.
To tackle this challenge, a groundbreaking collaboration has been initiated between the Australian Space Agency and NASA. Formalized in October, this partnership is set to deploy an Australian rover to the Moon through NASA’s Artemis program. The rover’s mission involves collecting lunar rocks and, as articulated by NASA, undertaking the ambitious task of “extracting oxygen from lunar regolith.” The success of this mission holds the potential to revolutionize civilization by making the establishment of a sustainable Moon base more feasible.
The proposed technology for oxygen extraction, electrolysis, is not a novel concept and is widely employed on Earth. Grant explains that the process involves passing an electrical current through a liquid form of aluminum oxide, known as alumina, via electrodes to separate aluminum from oxygen. Lunar soil consists of about 45 percent oxygen, but extracting it from the other elements within the regolith, such as silicon, aluminum, and magnesium, necessitates a significant amount of energy and industrial equipment. Grant suggests that for sustainability, the process should be powered by solar energy or other lunar-available energy sources.
While extracting oxygen on the lunar surface presents formidable challenges, Grant highlights the efforts of Space Applications Services, a Belgian startup. The company has announced plans to construct three reactors aimed at producing oxygen through electrolysis on the Moon. In an ambitious timeline, these experimental reactors are scheduled to reach the lunar surface by 2025, aligning with the European Space Agency’s in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) program.
Envisioning a future with a thriving human presence on the Moon is indeed captivating. However, Grant cautions that such lunar habitation may not be accessible to the general public, emphasizing that only select individuals may be invited to participate in these groundbreaking ventures. As humanity looks beyond the confines of Earth, the Moon emerges as a potential frontier, beckoning exploration and offering possibilities for sustainable human presence.
