NASA Tests Solar-Powered System to Extract Oxygen from Lunar Soil

NASA and its partners have shown a prototype that uses concentrated sunlight to release oxygen from simulated lunar surface material, an important step in establishing a human settlement on the Moon. Lunar surface material has oxygen bound up in mineral bonds, and NASA's Carbothermal Reduction Demonstration project uses a solar concentrator and carbon to release that oxygen. Carbon monoxide is produced during the process, which can then be used to create oxygen and fuel.

NASA's Approach

According to NASA's official website, the Carbothermal Reduction Demonstration, or CaRD project, harnesses the power of the sun to release oxygen from the moon's soil. A large mirror collects the sun's rays and uses the heat to release oxygen from the moon's soil in a reactor. The tests have shown that the CaRD prototype produces carbon monoxide using the sun's heat. Carbon monoxide can then be converted to pure oxygen gas. NASA says that CaRD "could enable production of propellant using only lunar materials and sunlight, which could save money on missions to the Moon."

Global and Complementary Efforts

Global attempts to do this are already in place. The European Space Agency is sponsoring a small payload to liberate 50-100 grams of oxygen in a single day using solar power. ESA engineers explain that lunar soil contains 40-45% oxygen by weight. In their laboratory, ESA engineers heat moon dust with molten salt and use electricity to liberate oxygen. Australia and NASA have a partnership to launch a rover to collect soil for NASA's oxygen plant. Private companies are also working on this problem. Blue Origin's “Blue Alchemist” system would use solar power to melt moon dust, which would then be electrolysed to liberate oxygen (and metals would be left behind).