Scientists from Nasa \u2014 in a major development in space exploration activities \u2014 have been able to extract oxygen from regolith (lunar soil), which will allow space explorers to use the surface of the moon as a launch pad for future activities.
\nAccording to Nasa, a Houston team at the Johnson Space Center separated life-sustaining oxygen from a lunar soil simulation with the help of a high-powered laser to create a carbothermal reaction. For the first time ever, the oxygen was removed within a vacuum environment.\u00a0“This is a big step for developing architecture to build sustainable human bases on other planets,” says Nasa engineer
\nThe Carbothermal Reduction Demonstration (CaRD) experiment could be a base for producing oxygen gas for breathing alongside its uses for transport propellers.
\n“Our team proved the CaRD reactor would survive the lunar surface and successfully extract oxygen,” Nasa engineer Anastasia Ford said.
\nShe further stated: “This is a big step for developing the architecture to build sustainable human bases on other planets.”
\nNasa has been planning for a long to establish the moon as its operational base for space exploration activities. The Artemis mission is aimed to take humans back to the moon in 2025 after fifty years.
\nHumans last time put a step on the moon in 1972.
\nThe recent success in the oxygen extraction experiment is regarded at readiness level six which means it is all set to be tested in real space.
\nAaron Paz, a senior engineer at Nasa noted that “the technology has the potential to produce several times its own weight in oxygen per year on the lunar surface, which will enable a sustained human presence and lunar economy.”
\nEarlier in April, Nasa named four astronauts that will fly to the moon on the Artemis II mission \u2014 the first crewed lunar flight of the program.
\nNasa has already concluded the Orion spacecraft flight \u2014 an uncrewed test \u2014which flew the Moon and returned to Earth in November 2022.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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