Hope for life on the Moon: They will "squeeze" the soil and extract oxygen

Researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong have developed a technology that can extract water from lunar soil and then convert it into oxygen and chemical fuel. According to the new research, lunar soil could also sustain life. According to the Euronews news site, the technology the scientists developed allows water to be extracted from lunar soil and used to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen and chemical fuel. The study, published in the Cell Press journal Joule, revealed that this research “has the potential to open new doors for future deep space exploration.” Accordingly, this technology could reduce the cost of bringing basic resources like water to the Moon. “WE DIDN’T IMAGINE THIS” According to the information shared in the research, the cost of sending a single gallon of water (3.78 liters) into space by rocket is $83,000. A single astronaut can drink four gallons of water a day, or about 15.16 liters. “We never fully imagined the ‘magic’ in the lunar soil,” lead researcher Lu Wang said in his assessment of the research. However, according to the study, any current strategy for extracting water from the lunar surface involves multiple, "energy-intensive" steps and doesn't account for how much carbon dioxide is used by the fuel. The Moon's "extreme" environment, however, is considered a factor that would make it difficult to extract more oxygen and water from the soil, due to the "drastic temperature fluctuations," radiation, and low gravity it would require. Furthermore, the carbon dioxide emitted from astronauts' breath wouldn't be enough to provide all the water, fuel, and oxygen the astronaut crew might need.