Water extracted from lunar soil: China’s method can produce H2O on moon at large scale

Some minerals in lunar soil store large amounts of hydrogen

The method was developed by researchers from the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, the CAS Institute of Physics and other institutions.

The team found that some of the minerals in lunar soil – especially the oxide mineral ilmenite – store large amounts of hydrogen as a result of billions of years of exposure to the solar wind. When heated, the hydrogen chemically reacts with iron oxides in the minerals to produce large amounts of water, as well as iron and ceramic glass, reported SCMP.

Method heats lunar soil until it melts to produce water

The study revealed that when the lunar regolith is heated above 1,200 K with concave mirrors, one gram of molten lunar regolith can generate 51–76 mg of water.

In other words, one ton of lunar regolith could produce more than 50 kg of water, which is equal to about a hundred 500-ml bottles of drinking water. This would be enough drinking water for 50 people for one day, according to study.

Lunar ilmenite contains highest amount of solar wind-implanted hydrogen

In addition, lunar ilmenite (FeTiO3) was found to contain the highest amount of solar wind-implanted hydrogen among the five primary minerals in the lunar regolith, owing to its unique lattice structure with sub-nanometer tunnels.

To develop this method, scientists used high-resolution electron microscopy to analyze lunar soil. By-product of this process will be iron, which could be used as a raw material to develop electronic equipment on the moon while melted lunar soil could be used to develop lunar research base.

Research results of previous lunar explorations, like the Apollo and Chang’E-5 missions, have revealed the widespread presence of water on the moon.

Hydrogen retained in lunar regolith is a significant resource for obtaining H2O on the moon

However, the water content in lunar minerals is extremely low, ranging from 0.0001% to 0.02%. It remains challenging to extract and utilize water in situ on the moon, according to Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Published in the journal The Innovation, the study involved in situ heating experiments using a transmission electron microscope. It revealed the concurrent formation of Fe crystals and H2O bubbles.

Electron irradiation promotes the endogenous redox reaction, which is helpful for understanding the distribution of OH on the moon.

“Our findings suggest that the hydrogen retained in lunar regolith is a significant resource for obtaining H2O on the moon, which are helpful for establishing scientific research station on the moon,” said researchers.