news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

Scientists take out the Chang'e 5 lunar soil sample from the glove box. From left to right: Associate Researcher Xu Wei, PhD student Chen Xiao, Researcher Wang Junqiang, Researcher Huo Juntao, and Dr. Chen Guoxin

Chinese scientists have proposed a new method to obtain large amounts of water on the moon, which is expected to provide important design basis for the construction of future lunar research stations and space stations.

On the afternoon of August 22, Beijing time, the relevant paper was published online in the international academic journal The Innovation. Its title is "Massive Water Production from Lunar Ilmenite through Reaction with Endogenous Hydrogen".

The research was completed by the amorphous alloy magnetoelectric functional properties research team of the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences (hereinafter referred to as "Ningbo Institute of Materials"), in collaboration with scientific research teams from the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (hereinafter referred to as "Institute of Physics"), the Qian Xuesen Laboratory of the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology, Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Harbin Institute of Technology and Nanjing University.

The aforementioned paper proposed a new method of producing water based on high-temperature redox reactions by studying the hydrogen content in different minerals in the Chang'e-5 lunar soil.

Through analysis using a variety of experimental techniques such as high-resolution electron microscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy, the research team confirmed that approximately 51-76 mg of water (i.e. 5.1%-7.6%) can be produced in 1 gram of lunar soil.

According to this calculation,One ton of lunar soil will produce about 51-76 kilograms of water, equivalent to more than 100 bottles of 500 ml bottled water, which can basically meet the daily drinking water needs of 50 people.

Water is a key resource for building a lunar research station, conducting future lunar and interstellar travel, and ensuring human survival.

After three years of in-depth research and repeated verification, researchers found that the lunar soil minerals have stored a large amount of hydrogen due to billions of years of solar wind radiation. After being heated to high temperatures, hydrogen will undergo redox reactions with iron oxides in the minerals to produce elemental iron and a large amount of water.

When heated to above 1000°C, the lunar soil will melt and the water produced by the reaction will be released in the form of water vapor.

Computational simulations show that there are nano-sized channels in lunar ilmenite, which can absorb and store a large number of hydrogen atoms from the solar wind. Each ilmenite molecule (FeTiO3) can absorb 4 hydrogen atoms, making it a veritable lunar "water reservoir".

Through experiments, the researchers also found that electron irradiation can reduce the reaction temperature of hydrogen and iron oxide, and the temperature of water generation can be reduced from 600°C to 200°C.

The formation process of water and elemental iron during the heating of lunar soil and the comparison of water content of various major minerals. A. Changes in the valence state of iron in lunar soil during heating; B. Comparison of hydrogen content of major minerals in lunar soil, the illustration is the weighted total hydrogen content considering the content of minerals in lunar soil; C. Transmission electron microscope image of lunar soil ilmenite after heating; D and E are magnified images of water bubbles and elemental iron during the heating of lunar soil ilmenite, the two have a coexisting relationship.

Based on the above research results, the research team proposed a feasible in-situ mining and utilization strategy for lunar water resources: (1) First, use a concave mirror or Fresnel lens to focus sunlight to heat the lunar soil until it melts. During the heating process, the lunar soil will react with the hydrogen injected in the solar wind to produce water, elemental iron and ceramic glass. (2) The generated water vapor is condensed into water and collected and stored in water tanks, which can meet the drinking water needs of humans and various animals and plants on the moon. (3) Oxygen and hydrogen can be produced by electrolysis of water. Oxygen can be used for human breathing, and hydrogen can be used as energy. (4) Iron can be used to manufacture permanent magnets and soft magnetic materials, provide raw materials for power electronic devices, and can also be used as building materials. (5) The molten lunar soil can also be made intoBricks with mortise and tenon structures are used to build lunar base buildings.This strategy will provide important design basis for the construction of future lunar scientific research stations and space stations, and is expected to launch verification equipment in the subsequent Chang'e lunar exploration mission to complete further confirmation.

Schematic diagram: The in-situ mining and utilization strategy of collecting lunar water by heating the lunar soil.

Researcher Huo Juntao, Researcher Wang Junqiang and Researcher Bai Haiyang from Ningbo Institute of Materials are the corresponding authors of the aforementioned research paper. Ph.D. students Chen Xiao and Yang Shiyu, Dr. Chen Guoxin and Associate Researcher Xu Wei from Ningbo Institute of Materials are the co-first authors of the paper. Ningbo Institute of Materials is the first completing unit and the first corresponding unit.