Beijing: Chinese scientists have discovered a new method for extracting significant amounts of water from moon soil.
According to China’s state broadcaster CCTV, this breakthrough was achieved using soil samples obtained during China’s Chang’e 5 mission in 2020, which was the first mission in 44 years to return lunar samples.
Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences found that the minerals in moon soil contain sufficient hydrogen, which, when exposed to extremely high temperatures, reacts with other elements to produce water vapor.
After three years of extensive research, scientists have developed a method for extracting large quantities of water from moon soil.
CCTV reported that this discovery will play a crucial role in the design and construction of future lunar research stations and space stations.
The ability to produce water from lunar resources could significantly aid China’s long-term plans to establish a permanent base on the moon amid growing competition with the U.S. over lunar resource utilization.
