We're another step closer to living on the Moon
Yet, much to the rest of humanity's annoyance, they haven't followed in his footsteps – literally.
The grey, pockmarked orb doesn't exactly scream real estate, but Nasa hopes to build homes for astronauts and civilians on the Moon by 2040.
Chinese scientists have suggested that this might not be as far-fetched as it might seem – the soil on the Moon could potentially support life.
According to a study, the Chinese University of Hong Kong have invented a way to extract water from the chalky lunar soil.
This celestial water is then used to convert carbon dioxide – such as that exhaled by astronauts – into carbon monoxide and hydrogen gas, which can be used to make fuel and oxygen for the astronauts to breathe.
Just like on Earth, fuel and food would be costly on the Moon, given how expensive it would be flying up essentials into space.
Travelling light is critical to spaceflight, where just one kilogram of supplies can cost well over £74,000 to ship up by rocket.
And this includes water, too. The academics estimated that getting a single gallon of water to the Moon would cost £61,000, barely enough to quench the four gallons an astronaut would drink a day.
But the researchers say this technology could 'potentially open new doors for future deep space exploration' by eliminating these eye-watering costs.
Lead researcher Lu Wang said: 'We never fully imagined the 'magic' that the lunar soil possessed.'
Appearances are deceiving when it comes to water on the Moon, where years of being pelted with asteroids and comets have left water on it.
Shadowy craters on the lunar poles, known as permanently shadowed regions (PSRs), never see sunshine, meaning there's water ice tucked inside minerals such as ilmenite.
The tool developed by the Chinese researchers would involve taking the reoglith – a layer of loose material that blankets solid rock – of ilmenite and heating it using sunlight to release the water.
Carbon dioxide is then chucked in, causing the ilmenite to undergo photothermal catalysis – a novel method that uses sunlight to speed up chemical reactions.
Wang added in a statement that 'one-step integration of lunar water extraction and photothermal carbon dioxide catalysis' could make efforts to build lunar outposts or Tescos (we assume) more energy efficient.
Easier said than done, however, the researchers said, given that 'drastic temperature fluctuations', radiation and low gravity can make harvesting oxygen and water from the land tricky.
Nasa's plan to build a colony on the Moon similarly involves making the most of the materials already there.
The plan, first reported on in 2023, will involve blasting a 3-D printer into the heavens that will build structures out of lunar concrete created from the rock chips, mineral fragments and dust that cover the Moon.
This debris is harmful to humans and is easily kicked up into the air – or rather, the lack of it – as astronauts lumber around in their heavy boots.
The first lunar Americans could get some neighbours pretty soon, with South Korea to develop lunar landers by 2040 before building a 'lunar economic base by 2045', according to The Korea Times.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE: Longest solar eclipse in 100 years to happen in 2027 – here's where to see it
MORE: Astronomers just casually witnessed the birth of a new solar system
MORE: France's new rocket Baguette One to go where no baker has gone before
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
Betelguese: Scientists discover why dazzling star changes brightness
Astronomers say they have confirmed why Betelgeuse, one of the night sky's most dazzling stars, regularly changes brightness. For the first time, they have discovered a much smaller companion star that is orbiting the red to new research, this 'little buddy' has a mass around 1.5 times greater than our say its passage across Betelgeuse's face causes a 400 day cycle of dimming, as well as another one that lasts for nearly six years. What have experts discovered? Betelgeuse is more than 10,000 times brighter than our Sun, and as a result, its blinding light makes spotting anything nearby say that they long suspected that Betelgeuse might have a star nearby and are delighted with the new turned to the the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii to prove their a technique called speckle imaging, they put together many images to overcome issues that Earth's atmosphere causes telescopes that are based on the ground. Steve Howell, a NASA scientist who led the research team, said: "Previous papers that predicted Betelgeuse's companion believed that no one would likely ever be able to image it."The companion star is around four times the distance from Betelgeuse as the Earth is from the to the US research centre NOIRLab, which operates the Gemini Observatory, the discovery is the first time such a close companion star has been detected orbiting a supergiant. What is Betelgeuse? According to the International Gemini Observatory, Betelgeuse is one of the brightest stars in the night sky, and the closest red supergiant to in the constellation of Orion, people have observed Betelgeuse with the naked eye for thousands of years. It has a huge volume, and is around 1,000 times bigger than our Sun. It's thought to only be 10-million-years-old, however, due to its large mass it has evolved quickly and is late in its life.
Scottish Sun
5 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Three-year trips to Mars in 2030s, spaceship holidays & budget rocket trips to race around Earth, UK space hero predicts
The astronaut even gazes 100 years into the future PEAKE AT THE FUTURE Three-year trips to Mars in 2030s, spaceship holidays & budget rocket trips to race around Earth, UK space hero predicts SPACE isn't just for scientists and celebs – it'll be a hot holiday destination and will offer a shortcut to slash flight times too. They're just some of the predictions from British space hero Tim Peake, who sat down with The Sun for a chat about our off-Earth future. 9 Space hero Tim Peake was Britain's first European Space Agency astronaut Credit: Getty 9 Peake, who hails from Sussex, spent half a year on board the ISS Credit: Publicity - Getty Tim, 53, spent about 186 days in space, returning from the ISS on June 18, 2016. But when humans start making the first trips to Mars in the next decade or so, they'll be in space for a lot longer – potentially for three years. It sounds nightmarish, but Tim says we've done it all before, hundreds of years ago. 'A lot of people today forget about what we used to do in terms of exploration, the hardships, the torture, the kind of risk that was taken,' Tim told The Sun at Goodwood Festival of Speed's Future Lab earlier this month. 'And in the early 1800s, nothing was thought about disappearing off on a three year expedition. 'That was pretty standard if you were in the Royal Navy. You say goodbye to your family and your mum. 'You say goodbye. You don't really know where you're going or what you're going to be doing, but you're just going to be away for a long time. 'So when I talk to people about in the mid 2030s, we're going to be on a three year mission to Mars and they kind of have this shock and horror that, well, that's so long, you'll never get people to go away for that long. 'Well, you will. We've done this before. 'It's only in the last 150 years that it hasn't been normal to have a three year expedition away, finding new lands and discovering new things. Nasa reveals mesmerising footage of Northern Lights from ISS 'And we're going to kind of go back into that kind of mindset. It's just that it won't be on Earth. It will be out into space.' Nasa hopes to make manned trips to Mars as soon as the 2030s, although no firm date has been set. But whenever those first visits happen, the astronauts will likely be a lot more comfortable than explorers of the past. 'The levels of resilience and self-sufficiency they needed was unbelievable. I mean, again, when we do Mars, the crew will have enough food, they'll have enough water, they'll have enough life support,' Tim said. 9 Six-month trips to the ISS will be nothing compared to a three-year Mars trek Credit: Getty He continued: 'We've mapped the surface, we'll have habitation modules for them. 'So it'll probably be a lot more comfortable than it would be setting off on endurance or HMS Wager back in the day.' SPACE STAYS For now, going to space is largely the preserve of professional astronauts, celebs and the ultra-wealthy. But in the future, Tim thinks that this will soon change – and Elon Musk is partly to thank. Tim credits Musk's company SpaceX with making space travel a lot cheaper. 'They've brought the cost of getting to space down so much, which is really exciting. 'Because that opens up whole markets of things you didn't think were possible because they were cost-prohibitive five or 10 years ago, that are now economically viable. 'So that's really exciting, but SpaceX is just the Uber that gets you there and back. 9 A return trip to and from Mars will be long and arduous – but Tim says explorers will be more than capable of surviving the time away from home Credit: Getty 'What's even more exciting is: now what can you do when you're up there?' Tim tells me that space tourism has been around for a long time – but it's becoming more frequent. And that's a trend that will only grow with time. 'It's part of the democratisation of space,' Tim told The Sun. 'I think fast-forward 100 years and there'll be an awful lot of people going to space for a variety of different reasons. 'Some for science, some for exploration, some for entertainment, and some for a different holiday.' Unsurprisingly, Tim reckons that we'd all be better off if we'd taken a trip to space. He says it gives you a different view of the world – and not just literally. WHO IS TIM PEAKE? Here's what you need to know... Major Tim Peake is a British Army officer and astronaut He is the first British astronaut with the European Space Agency He's also the sixth Brit to go aboard the International Space Agency Peake was born in Chichester, West Sussex in 1972 In 1990 he attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst In 1992, he joined the Army Air Corps Then two years later Peake became a qualified helicopter pilot Peake left the army in 2009 to follow his dream of becoming an astronaut He beat more than 9,000 applicants for one of six spots on the ESA's astronaut training programme He had to endure a rigorous selection process that tested his intellect and fitness Peake was launched to the ISS on December 15, 2015 In April the next year, he ran the 2016 London Marathon from the ISS treadmill And in June 2016, he finally returned to Earth, landing in Kazakhstan on a Soyuz descent module During his time in space, Peake completed roughly 3,000 orbits of Earth Picture Credit: Getty Images 'I think it is amazing. The more people that can witness Earth from space – Earth would be a better place. Definitely,' Tim said. 'People would have perhaps have a different perspective when they're making decisions. 'Having kind of seen how we all share one planet. And it looks fairly remote and isolated from space.' So your Moon vacation in 2065 won't just be a relaxing break, but an upgrade for your mind too. 9 Space tourism could be big business – Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin has already shown off concepts for an Orbital Reef space station that could host holidaymakers Credit: Blur Origin 9 Travellers could pay large sums of money to enjoy off-Earth hols Credit: AFP EARTH, VIA SPACE Of course, space tourism isn't the only way rockets will help your holidays. Tim reckons it'll make moving around Earth easier too. Holidays to the Moon will involve blasting off from Earth and landing on the rocky satellite. But that's not the only version of going space – you can also take suborbital flights that skim space, and descend back to Earth. 9 'Some of those missions they're launching, say, from New Mexico. They're going up and landing in New Mexico,' Tim explained. 'Having been into space, well, there's no reason why you couldn't launch in New Mexico and land in Paris on that same kind of mission. 'And that could be a new form of suborbital transportation that becomes very popular in the future.' It sounds nightmarishly expensive – and it probably would be at the start. 9 Tim Peake was the Randox Future Lab Ambassador at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed Credit: Nicole Hains / Goodwood Festival of Speed But eventually, Tim thinks, we could see the cost come down. Speaking to the astronaut, I joke that we could see Ryanair-style budget flights that only cost a tenner. 'I mean, if you if you went back to those early 1920s, 1930s transatlantic carriers, you would have found very wealthy people on board traveling in relative luxury,' Tim told me. 'And if you'd have said, you know, in 100 years time, we're going to have the EasyJets and the Ryanairs – a mass global transportation at the same cost of a train ticket – they would never have believed it. 'So you never know what we can do with future changes in technology.'
Scottish Sun
15 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Terrifying new Earth-sized planet found with deadly secret that would instantly kill anyone visiting
Anything that lands there would be immediately incinerated NIGHTMARE WORLD Terrifying new Earth-sized planet found with deadly secret that would instantly kill anyone visiting A NEW Earth-sized planet has been discovered in a faraway constellation - and it would kill any astronaut who dare travel there. Some 117.4 light-years away from Earth, scientists have stumbled across a nightmarish alien world where the planet's surface is likely molten. 5 The surface of molten exoplanet Credit: Alamy 5 An artist's impression of a molten exoplanet Credit: Alamy The planet, dubbed TOI-2431, orbits quite close to its nearest star over a very short period, resulting in a high surface temperature. Unlike Earth, which has an orbital period of 365 days, TOI-2431 orbits its star in only 5.4 hours - making it one of the shortest period exoplanets ever discovered. The alien world, located in constellation Cetus, is thought to have a surface temperature of about 1,700C (3092F). Anything that lands there would be immediately incinerated. The international team of astronomers, led by Kaya Han Taş of the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, detected the new exoplanet orbiting a nearby star using Nasa's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). 5 Nasa's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) Credit: Nasa "We have confirmed the ultra-short period planet TOI-2431 b using a combination of photometric transit data from TESS, precise radial velocity observations with the NEID and HPF spectrographs, and ground-based speckle imaging with the NESSI instrument," researchers wrote in the new research paper. The Nasa tool monitors about 200,000 bright stars near Earth, scanning for hidden planets that might cause any blips of light as they pass their star. Just last week, researchers revealed they used TESS to follow a repetitive flicker of starlight to a new 'Super Earth' 154 light-years away. Since its launch in April 2018, the satellite has identified more than 7,600 possible exoplanets - which are nicknamed TESS Objects of Interest, or TOI. Exactly 638 of these have been confirmed as alien worlds so far. Best-ever sign of ALIEN life found on distant planet as scientists '99.7% sure of astounding biological activity signal' The planet's host star is only about two-thirds the size and mass of our Sun, and appears to be pulling the planet towards a fiery death. Researchers estimated that the planet has a tidal decay timescale of about 31 million years - which is fairly short in the grand schemes of the universe. Tidal decay causes a planet's orbit to gradually shrink and spiral towards its host star - eventually leading to its destruction. The 2billion-year-old host star, which researchers believe is roughly double the temperature of its nearby planet, will eventually collide with the planet. Researchers hope they can secure time with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to study TOI-2431 b more closely. Doing so could shed more light on the planet's surface composition, and may answer the question of whether or not it has an atmosphere. The $10 billion telescope discovered its first-ever exoplanet just last month, but has been used to analyse others on its journey through space. 5 The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Credit: Alamy 5 An artist's impression of a molten exoplanet Credit: Alamy All you need to know about planets in our solar system Our solar system is made up of nine planets with Earth the third closest to the Sun. But each planet has its own quirks, so find out more about them all... How old is Earth? Plus other facts on our planet How many moons does Mercury have? What colour is Venus? How far away is Mars to Earth? And other facts on the red planet How big is Jupiter? How many moons does Saturn have? Does Uranus have rings? How many moons does Neptune have? How big is Pluto? How hot is the Sun?
