In a large spherical chamber, engineers carefully examined the equipment in front of them. What they saw was a strange metallic device, resembling a silver box, wrapped up with colorful wires. This device, although unusual in shape, is expected to one day produce oxygen on the Moon.
Once the engineering team exited the chamber, tests began. The device, which resembled a box, slowly began absorbing a layer of dust and small rock particles, known as “regolith,” similar to the Moon’s surface composition. Within moments, the layer began to melt into a thick liquid. The temperature of one of its layers reached over 1,650°C. After introducing some chemical reagents, oxygen molecules began to bubble up, indicating the production of oxygen.
Brant White, a program manager at Sierra Space, a private space company, commented, “We have tested everything that can be done on Earth. Our next task is to go to the Moon.”
Sierra Space’s experiment began earlier this summer at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in the United States. This is not the only project focusing on producing oxygen on the Moon. In preparation for establishing a base on the Moon in the future, scientists are exploring various technologies to meet the needs of astronauts who will live there.
Astronauts living on the Moon will need oxygen to breathe, but that’s not the only use for this critical resource. If we want to send missions to distant destinations like Mars, rockets will need fuel—oxygen is a key component. Additionally, astronauts may need metal for construction, which could potentially be harvested from the Moon’s surface dust.
However, extracting these resources effectively depends on the development of advanced nuclear reactors on the Moon. Brant White emphasized that producing oxygen on the Moon could save millions of dollars, as transporting large amounts of oxygen and metal from Earth would be both challenging and expensive.
One of the fortunate aspects of lunar exploration is that the Moon’s regolith is rich in metallic oxides. The process of extracting oxygen from metallic oxides is well understood on Earth. However, performing this task on the Moon is far more complex.
In July and August of last year, Sierra Space ran its experiments in a massive spherical chamber, simulating the vacuum and temperature conditions of the Moon. The company has since continued to refine its equipment to handle the harsh lunar dust and rocky surface.
An additional challenge is the Moon’s low gravity. The gravitational force on the Moon is about one-sixth of Earth’s, which makes testing the effectiveness of devices under this condition impossible on Earth or even in orbit around our planet. Sierra Space will need a few more years to test the performance of their equipment in the Moon’s gravity. It’s likely that they won’t be able to conduct these tests before 2028, and further delays are possible.
Paul Burke from Johns Hopkins University warned that the Moon’s low gravity could become a significant obstacle for oxygen extraction technologies unless engineers develop suitable solutions to handle it effectively.
While producing oxygen on the Moon may sound like a daunting task, the progress made by companies like Sierra Space offers promising solutions for future lunar missions. If successful, these advancements could support long-term habitation and exploration, providing astronauts with essential resources like oxygen and metals without the need to transport them from Earth. As lunar technology continues to evolve, the Moon could become a vital hub for further exploration of our solar system.
Source: Space.com
