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One day, scientists hope, it will be possible for regular human life to take place not just on Earth, but in other parts of our solar system.
Whether that’s on another planet in the Goldilocks Zone like Mars, or on some kind of space station, no one yet knows.
But thanks to new developments from scientists at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, human life on the Moon may be closer to reality.
And this further frontier in space exploration and habitation has been made possible by one, miraculous thing: lunar soil.
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Comprising of a mixture of volcanic and mineral based fragments, lunar soil is very different to the stuff we use to grow our crops back here on planet Earth.
However, by analyzing samples from China’s Chang’E-5 moon mission, the researchers have discovered the ability to extract water from the soil, suggesting that the liquid that supports our own planet’s life may also be present on the lunar surface.
Moreover, they have developed techniques to use these new-found properties of the Moon’s surface matter to covert carbon dioxide into oxygen and fuel, further supporting life in space, as researcher Lu Wang explained in a statement:
“We never fully imagined the ‘magic’ that the lunar soil possessed. The biggest surprise for us was the tangible success of this integrated approach. 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.”
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Though the research team have developed novel new technology, explained in the journal Joule, to extract the water and convert carbon dioxide into oxygen and fuel sources much more efficiently than previous processes, don’t be expecting to be able to migrate to the moon any time yet.
It may not seem too far from home, but the Moon presents plenty of other challenges, including extreme temperature fluctuations, a thin atmosphere made up of helium, argon, and neon, and very intense radiation.
That’s before we consider the huge infrastructural demands required to settle on a planet with no history of such, and sustain something resembling normal human life there.
Let’s just say that it’s not a home from home quite yet.
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Categories: NATURE/SPACE, SCI/TECH
Tags: · life in space, life on the moon, lunar soil, lunar surface, lunar surface water, moon, science, single topic, space, space exploration, space travel, surface water, the moon, top