Chinese Scientists Generate Water from Lunar Soil

One of the primary challenges of establishing and maintaining a lunar station revolves around the scarcity of water on the Moon. Water is essential for human survival, not only for drinking but also for producing oxygen, generating fuel, and supporting various aspects of life and research activities on the lunar surface. However, until recent advancements, the presence of water on the Moon has been extremely limited, posing a significant hurdle for sustained human habitation and exploration.

Now, in a significant development for lunar exploration, researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have proposed an innovative technique that could transform the very essence of lunar exploration, offering the promise of self-sustaining missions and potentially paving the way for permanent human settlements beyond Earth.

These researchers have successfully synthesized water from the minerals and hydrogen found in the lunar soil obtained from Chang’E-5’s last lunar mission. They believe the hydrogen were retained in lunar soil from the solar wind.

Specifically, their unique approach involves the chemical reaction of FeO/Fe2O3 (iron oxides) with hydrogen (H), which are both present in the sample, to produce water (H2O). This reaction can generate significant amounts of water. The experiments demonstrated that melting 1 gram of lunar soil at temperatures exceeding 1200 K could yield 51–76 mg of water—an astonishing 10,000 times more than the naturally occurring hydroxyl and water on the Moon. When expanded, this technique could produce more than 50 kg of water from a metric ton of lunar soil.

However, FeO/Fe2O3 is not the best candidate for a potential mass production of water. Researchers examined different types of minerals found on the Moon, and they discovered that a mineral called FeTiO3 ilmenite holds the highest amount of hydrogen. This mineral stands out because of its special structure that contains tiny tunnels less than a nanometer in size. Through innovative experiments using a powerful tool known as a transmission electron microscope, scientists saw that when this mineral was heated in a controlled environment, it led to the creation of both iron crystals and bubbles of water. These observations helped them understand how the exchange of electrons, triggered by electron irradiation, influenced chemical reactions involving hydrogen and oxygen compounds on the Moon’s surface. This knowledge is crucial for unraveling the mysteries of water distribution and related compounds on the lunar terrain.

Precipitation of Fe nanocrystal-H2O bubble pairs in lunar ilmenite

This exciting development not only unlocks the potential for sustained lunar missions but also opens doors to a future where humans could establish a more permanent presence in space. By harnessing the resources of our celestial neighbor, we inch closer to realizing our dreams of exploration and discovery beyond the confines of our home planet.

Strategy for on-site H2O production on the Moon