People will visit the moon soon and stay there for extended periods of time. Since they can’t receive these items from Earth, they must first figure out how to create oxygen, water, and fuel from what is already there if they want to stay there for the rest of their mission.
Now that this has been figured out, a team of Chinese astronomers from Nanjing University has made it simpler for individuals to explore space and establish a permanent base.
These scientists examined the lunar soil that the Chinese spacecraft Chang’e 5 returned from the moon and discovered minerals rich in iron and titanium that might be utilized as catalysts to create oxygen and fuel from the CO2 and solar radiation that upcoming humans will breathe out.
Scientists Yingfang Yao and Zhigang Zou are in charge of the group. They think that a kind of “alien photosynthesis” could help people explore the Moon and other planets in the Solar System.
They claim that since plants and other photosynthetic species provide the oxygen humans breathe, this is conceivable. They produce oxygen by converting carbon dioxide (CO2) and sunshine into sugars that are high in energy.
The device would electrolyze water, which might be obtained from the Moon itself, and dehydrate the gases that astronauts exhale to produce oxygen and hydrogen using the lunar soil and solar radiation. This can all be accomplished without requiring external energy, creating an extraterrestrial life support system that consumes “zero energy.”
In reality, through a process known as “hydrogenation,” which is accelerated by the lunar soil, the carbon dioxide that future Moon dwellers would emit can be stored and combined with the hydrogen. Methane and other hydrocarbons that could be utilized as fuel would be produced. Yao said, “We use local resources to reduce the weight of the rocket, and our plan shows how an extraterrestrial living environment could be sustainable and affordable.”
The results of this work have been published in the scientific journal Joule, and the team is already looking for a chance to test this system in space, probably during China’s future manned lunar missions.
Yao also said that his team is already trying out different ways to improve the design of catalysts. For example, they are melting lunar soil to make a “high-entropy nanostructured material.”
a form of “alien photosynthesis” that might facilitate lunar exploration. The manned space travel sector will expand substantially in the coming years. Similar to the “Age of Sail” in the 17th century, when hundreds of ships sailed the seas, we are currently living in the “Age of Space.”
However, if we wish to conduct extensive exploration of worlds other than our own, we will need to come up with ways to lighten the payload, which will require us to use as few supplies from Earth and as much resources from other planets as we can.
