Chinese Scientists Invent System for Extracting Oxygen, Water and Rocket Fuel From Moon Dust
As detailed in a new paper published today in the journal Joule, the team found that their proposed "photothermal strategy" — essentially converting light into heat — could effectively convert carbon dioxide from extracted water into carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and oxygen gas, a "potential route for sustaining human life on the Moon and enabling long-term extraterrestrial exploration."
"The sustainable utilization of local resources is essential for long-term human survival on the Moon and beyond," the researchers write, pointing out that bringing water from Earth is cost-prohibitive at roughly $83,000 per gallon.
"We never fully imagined the 'magic' that the lunar soil possessed," said Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen professor and coauthor Lu Wang in a statement.
"The biggest surprise for us was the tangible success of this integrated approach," he added. "The one-step integration of lunar H2O extraction and photothermal CO2 catalysis could enhance energy utilization efficiency and decrease the cost and complexity of infrastructure development."
While plenty of questions remain about our future efforts to harness local resources on the surface of the Moon, it's a glimmer of hope that humanity could indeed establish a more permanent and potentially sustainable presence there.
For their research, the team focused on simplifying existing proposals for how to extract water from lunar regolith, which tend to be energy-intensive and stop short of breaking the water down into its usable elements.
The researchers also propose using the extracted water to turn carbon dioxide exhaled by astronauts into carbon monoxide and hydrogen gas, which could be used to make fuels.
The team tested their photothermal approach on actual Moon samples gathered during China's Chang'E-5 mission, which launched in November 2020, and collected samples from the northwest of the Moon's near side before returning to Earth.
While their lab-based experiments turned out to be a success, the actual lunar surface will likely prove a far more challenging place to extract and convert lunar water. As the paper points out, radiation, low gravity, and extreme temperature fluctuations could complicate matters significantly.
However, the advancements highlight how far the Chinese space program has come in a matter of years. A mere two decades ago, China was a distant underdog in the international space race. But now that the country is launching its own astronauts to space while the Trump administration is effectively looking to eviscerate NASA when it comes to space science, China could stand a chance to surpass the US in its plans to build a Moon base by 2035.
More on extracting lunar water: Chinese Scientists Extract Water From Lunar Soil
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Digital Trends
2 hours ago
- Digital Trends
Self-charging robots pave way for never-ending revolt
If you've always been one to scoff at the idea of a robot uprising, then this story out of China might give you pause for thought. It's about what is apparently the first-ever humanoid robot that's able to change its own battery pack. Yes, you read that right — a humanoid robot that's able to realize when it's running low on juice, and then go through the process of swapping out its battery for a fully charged one. All by itself … without any human intervention. The robot, called Walker S2, is built by Shenzhen-based Ubtech, so we know who to blame if those bots do ever take over. Ubtech released a video (top) showing Walker S2 autonomously swapping out its battery, a process that will enable it to get back to work, whether that involves subjugating humans or hopefully something a little less alarming, like explaining meal times to newly arrived hotel guests. Walker S2, which has been in development since 2015, is 64 inches tall (162 cm), tips the scales at 94.8 pounds (64 kg), and runs on a 48-volt lithium battery. Each fully charged battery gives the robot enough power to walk for two hours or stand for four hours. When it puts a flat battery into the charger, it takes about 90 minutes for it to fully charge. Currently, Ubtech's humanoid robot is still in the research and development stage, though it's also being tested in a range of commercial and industrial settings, as well as in education for teaching about robotics and AI. The company's aim is to use its humanoid robot to enhance human capabilities and improve people's quality of life, particularly in areas like healthcare, education, and service industries, smoothly integrating it into human environments. The technology powering humanoid robots has been making rapid advancements in the last few years, with major developments in AI helping to make them smarter than ever. Tech companies in China, the U.S., and beyond are in a race to produce the most sophisticated robots that not only move in a human-like way, but think like a human, too, and clear progress is being made in terms of both physical movement and decision-making abilities. But a full-on takeover? Well, any chance of that still feels like a ways off.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Perseid meteor shower brings celestial fireballs to Tennessee. Here's the best time to view
With broiling temperatures during the day, maybe it's time to plan a cooler nighttime excursion. Say, watching the popular Perseid meteor shower? Backyard astronomers and stargazers can look to the night sky for the next several weeks to watch the prolific Perseid meteor shower. The celestial fire show started on July 17, but the meteor shower is almost a month long. "The Perseids, which peak in mid-August, are considered the best meteor shower of the year," according to NASA. "With swift and bright meteors, Perseids frequently leave long 'wakes' of light and color behind them as they streak through Earth's atmosphere." Usually, this fairly prolific celestial show is a fiery sight producing large, bright meteors during peak viewing, but for 2025 that light will be dimmed due to the moon. Here's what to know. When is the peak of the Perseid meteor shower? The Perseid meteor shower will peak on the night of Aug. 12 into the early morning of Aug. 13. How many meteors can be expected during Perseid's peak? People can expect to see 50 to 75 meteors per hour under ideal conditions during the peak, according to the American Meteor Society. The large, bright meteors, usually referred to as fireballs, won't be as spectacular this year due to how close the Perseid peak is to the August full moon. When is the next full moon? August's full moon, known as the Sturgeon moon, reaches peak at 3:55 a.m. ET/2:55 CT on Aug. 9. When is the best time to watch the Perseid meteor shower in Tennessee? Stargazers can catch the meteor shower between midnight and dawn, according to the society. The Perseid meteor shower can be seen anywhere with a clear sky and not a lot of light pollution. Considering the peak is just a few days after the full moon, a good day to have a great view happens on July 24. That's when the new moon rises, according to the Farmers' Almanac. If you are looking for a different experience, multiple Tennessee state parks are holding a couple of nighttime events for the peak of the meteor shower. You can find information on night hikes and viewing events across the Volunteer State. Some of the events do cost to participate. Night hike at Burgess Falls State Park Viewing at Burgess Falls State Park Kayak float at Old Fort When is the last night of the Perseid meteor shower? The Perseid meteor shower ends on Aug. 21 USA TODAY contributed to this story. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Perseid meteor shower: Here's where, when to view celestial fireballs Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
A Chinese research vessel returns to Arctic waters — and Canada is watching
The Canadian military and possibly the coast guard are keeping tabs on a Chinese research vessel as it returns to Arctic waters off Alaska for the second year in a row. Data compiled by an independent researcher and ship tracker, Steffan Watkins, shows a Canadian air force CP-140 surveillance plane was flying in the vicinity of the Xue Long (Snow Dragon) 2 as it exited the Bering Strait on Sunday. The aircraft, according to Watkins's research, relocated to Anchorage, Alaska, from its base in Comox, B.C., on July 9. It has conducted four patrols since then, including the most recent one involving the vessel, which is China's first domestically built polar research ship. Despite publicly available flight tracking showing the CP-140's patrol route, the Department of National Defence would not confirm on Monday the presence of the aircraft. On Tuesday, the military released a statement. "We will continue to conduct activities needed to detect, deter and defend against potential threats in, over and approaching Canada," said Maj. Alexander Naraine, a spokesperson for the military's joint operations centre. "The vessel, Xue Long 2, is not currently in Canadian territorial waters. The Canadian Joint Operations Command is actively monitoring the vessel Xue Long 2 with a CP-140 Aurora aircraft, based out of Alaska." He said that monitoring will continue "so long as it continues to operate near Canadian territorial waters." Naraine said competitor nations are exploring Arctic waters and the sea floor, "probing our infrastructure, and collecting intelligence using dual-purpose research vessels and surveillance platforms." Coast guard says it's monitoring illegal fishing The air force appears to have picked up where the Canadian Coast Guard left off. The Chinese ice ship left Shanghai on July 6 and passed close to Japan a few days later, before heading north into Russian waters. "Shadowing the Xue Long 2 all of the way from Japan was CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier, which unmistakably paralleled their transit, staying in international waters," Watkins wrote in his latest post, which included ship-tracking data. The coast guard ship, the data shows, stuck with the Xue Long 2 until it crossed into the Bering Strait, between Alaska and Russia. Asked about the mission of the Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the coast guard at first provided a circumspect response and pointed CBC News to a June 9 media release which said the ship would be conducting high seas patrols in the North Pacific to counter "illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing." Then late Monday, the agency denied it was shadowing the Xue Long 2. The stated mission of the coast guard ship was to focus on "migratory routes for key species like Pacific salmon," it said. However, when ship-tracking data is overlaid with publicly available data on salmon migration routes, only one-third of the recent voyage involved known salmon paths. The ship's helicopter was also slated to conduct patrols with Canadian fishery officers in Japan to "monitor fishing vessels and support partner countries to ensure compliance with international law," according to the statement. Prime Minister Mark Carney pledged to expand the reach, security mandate and abilities of the Canadian Coast Guard as part of the Liberal government's plan to beef up the country's defences. Eventually, the federal government intends to integrate the civilian agency, currently under the Fisheries Department, into Canada's NATO defence capabilities to, as Carney put it last June, "better secure our sovereignty and expand maritime surveillance." Last summer, the Royal Canadian Navy dispatched a frigate to monitor the Xue Long 2 during its voyage to the Arctic — a mission the Department of National Defence took more than a week to acknowledge. WATCH | Canada plots military expansion in the North: University of British Columbia Arctic expert Michael Byers said he believes Canadian officials need to be more forthcoming about the security threat they believe the vessel poses. "One has to actually do a proper threat assessment," Byers told CBC News in an interview. Military experts have described the Chinese ice research ship as a dual-use vessel — suggesting it has a military or defence capacity. Byers acknowledged the ship could be collecting data that's militarily relevant, but he questions if the term "dual-use" is relying on assumptions rather than evidence. Relations with China continue to be strained and Byers said statements that are "potentially escalatory" about what the Chinese are — and are not — doing in the Arctic need to be examined carefully. Having said that, he fully supports the military and coast guard's monitoring activities. "We're very concerned as a country about China as a rising military power, and obviously China is very strongly supporting Russia with regards to its invasion of Ukraine," Byers said. "So yes, if a Chinese government vessel is sailing anywhere close to the United States or to Canada, then yeah, we would be monitoring it."
