Chinese scientists use lunar soil to produce water, state media reports

Chinese scientists have discovered a method of producing water using lunar soil that was brought back from a 2020 expedition, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Chinese scientists have discovered a “brand-new method” of producing large quantities of water using lunar soil brought back from a 2020 expedition, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Thursday.

In 2020, China’s Chang’e-5 mission marked the first time humans had retrieved lunar samples in 44 years. Researchers from the state-run Chinese Academy of Sciences discovered that the minerals in this "moon soil" contain large amounts of hydrogen, which reacts with other elements when heated to very high temperatures, producing water vapor, CCTV reported.

“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,” said CCTV.

The discovery could have important implications for China’s decades-long project of building a permanent lunar outpost amid a U.S.-China race to find and mine the moon’s resources.

Vials of lunar soil brought back from the moon by China's Chang'e-5 probe in Beijing, on Aug. 26, 2021.Ren Hui / VCG via Getty Images file NASA head Bill Nelson has repeatedly raised the alarm about the rapid advances in China’s space program and the possibility of Beijing dominating the most resource-rich locations on the moon.

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/chinese-scientists-use-lunar-soil-produce-water-rcna167951

---