Making air from Moon dust: Scientists create a prototype oxygen plant
Not only does this technique release/create oxygen, it also produces metal alloys.
Not only does this technique release/create oxygen, it also produces metal alloys.
I wouldn't think so since humans exhale C02, but I haven't really spent any time studying the subject to be honest.
I would think that oxygen and water would be the two most important things to be able to get our hands on quickly. Water would allow us to create oxygen, but I suspect it's in short supply on the moon.
I would think that oxygen and water would be the two most important things to be able to get our hands on quickly. Water would allow us to create oxygen, but I suspect it's in short supply on the moon.
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Tanj
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We don't magically generate the C in C02 from nothing, it comes from the food we eat. Your article shows a way to get Oxygen from the moon which is great, but without a biomass source and given no system can be 100% contained, without constant replenishment all the carbon will go, so plants and humans will be unable to grow or produce energy.
It's a nice step forward, but there's water all over the solar system. Carbon, not so much.
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At first I found it hard to believe that carbon was so scarce in dust on the moon, but it turns out that you're right that most of the carbon that's found in lunar soil samples comes from solar wind.
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NASA - NASA Identifies Carbon-rich Molecules in Meteors as the 'Origin of Life'
I suppose that some types of meteorites might provide extra amounts of carbon.
I suppose that some types of meteorites might provide extra amounts of carbon.
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Well, it's pretty clear that we'll be shipping almost everything we need to the moon or Mars or wherever we end up building bases, but sooner or later you'll have to harvest what we need from the environment itself. In the case of Carbon, we'd be shipping some there with every human being we put up there. I'm sure human waste will be used as fertilizer for instance, and urine will be recycled, etc.
At some point however, it would be logical to plant green things that produce oxygen, and which absorb the carbon dioxide that we exhale.
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Tanj
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It doesn't matter what recycling you put in place, it's never going to be 100% efficient, so a moon base will always need carbon input...and possibly nitrogen, not sure on that one.
Mars, on the other hand, has copious amounts of both H20 and C02, all you need there is a fast breeder reactor which can push out energy for about 5000 years. You will be entirely self sufficient in a relatively short time.
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