China turns lunar soil into lots of water

The Moon is a key piece of the space exploration puzzle. One of our next objectives is to visit Earth’s satellite and establish a permanent base. The Moon can also offer access to various resources, including ways to create water and fuel in space.

Water is a crucial element of life, and space exploration hinges on the ability to recycle or produce water in space. We won’t get to Mars and beyond without reliably producing enough water for the entire crew.

Researchers from China might have made a big step towards setting up a permanent mission on the Moon. They turned lunar soil into large quantities of water, using soil that the 2020 Chang’e-5 mission brought back from the Moon for their experiments.

According to China’s state broadcaster CCTV, via Reuters, researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences discovered that minerals in the lunar soil contain large amounts of hydrogen. Heated to very high temperatures, the soil reacts to other elements. The chemical reaction produces water vapor that can then be collected.

The scientists say they can produce about 51-76 kg (112 – 168 pounds) of water. That’s more than a hundred 500ml (17.6 ounces) bottles of water, and it might be enough to cover the daily drinking water consumption of 50 people.

According to most recommendations, humans need to drink at least 2 liters (70.4 ounces) of water per day. It’s unclear whether one ton of lunar soil would be enough. We get water from food sources, but those would also need water for processing.

Also, it’s unclear what sort of energy is required to produce water or what “other elements” are used to create the chemical reactions that make the water vapors. These are key details for turning the water creation process into a process that can be easily reproduced on the Moon and other places.

CCTV’s comments that Reuters quotes indicate the scientific discovery is a big breakthrough for China’s space interests:

After three years of in-depth research and repeated verification, a brand-new method of using lunar soil to produce large amounts of water was discovered, which is expected to provide important design basis for the construction of future lunar scientific research stations and space stations.

As Reuters points out, the US and China are in a race to conquer the Moon and its resources. China wants to set up a Moon “basic station” by 2035. A decade later, China plans to deploy a space station around the Moon. Either project would need substantial water sources, whether reclaimed water or water produced using the “brand-new method” the Chinese researchers have discovered.

Finding or creating water in space would also be a key mission objective for manufacturing the hydrogen rocket fuel we’d need to reach Mars and other destinations. If China’s method works as described, scientists might be able to turn lunar soil into rocket fuel. This is just speculation, however.

More research will probably follow. The researchers used lunar soil from the near side of the Moon for this water experiment. China also explored the far side of the Moon with the Chang’e-6 mission. It brought back more samples from the lunar surface that’s always facing away from Earth.