Xinhua
21 Apr 2021, 00:00 GMT+10
JERUSALEM, April 20 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli startup company Helios has developed a new technology to produce oxygen from the moon's soil, the Israel Space Agency (ISA) at the Ministry of Science and Technology said Tuesday.
"The new technology may pave the way for setting up permanent human settlements on the moon, living off its soil," ISA said.
It will also allow deep-space missions, such as manned missions to Mars, it added.
The new technology addresses the enormous cost of carrying oxygen from Earth, while about 45 percent of the moon's soil mass is made of oxygen.
According to the company, the cost of transporting one kg of oxygen from Earth to the moon exceeds 100,000 U.S. dollars.
Oxygen is needed for astronauts' breathing and especially for the movement of spacecraft and rockets in space as oxygen is necessary for the combustion process.
The new technology, developed by Helios with the support of the ISA, is supposed to produce oxygen and various types of metals using a reactor fed with moon sand.
The separation process is based on electrolysis, i.e. decomposition of oxides by means of an electric current.
First, the regolith is melted at a heat of 1,600 degrees Celsius, before an electric current is passed through the lava, releasing the bubbling oxygen.
The by-products made in this process, such as iron, silicon and aluminum, can also be used for human settlement on the moon.
The new system is scheduled to embark on two space missions over the next three years, according to the ISA.
Get a daily dose of Middle East Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Middle East Star.
More InformationWashington DC [US], March 22 (ANI): US President Donald Trump announced the Pentagon's decision to proceed with the development of...
WASHINGTON, 21st March, 2025 (WAM) -- US President Donald Trump awarded Boeing (BA.N) a pivotal contract Friday to develop the US Air...
Cryptocurrencies are still very volatile and are used for shady transactions, Elvira Nabiullina has warned ...
The move would trigger retaliation from Moscow, Bart De Wever has warned Confiscating Russian assets frozen in the EU would be considered...
Kai-Fu Lee has cast doubt on the sustainability of OpenAIs model compared to open-source DeepSeek An artificial intelligence pioneer...
This photo taken on March 20, 2025 shows the opening ceremony of the 2025 Global South Financiers Forum in Beijing, capital of China....
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the Trump administration is asking companies and foreign governments to help...
Israel Air Force pilots have bombed a funeral in northern Gaza, killing more than a dozen mourners. Family and friends of Dr Wasim...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: A Delta Air Lines plane's wing hit the runway at LaGuardia Airport during a rough landing over the weekend....
AUSTIN/SANTA FE: Measles cases in Texas and New Mexico increased to 317 on March 18, up from 294 four days earlier, as the U.S. faces...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Trump administration is considering strict new travel restrictions for citizens of dozens of countries, according...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Trump administration announced this week that Maine's education officials violated federal law by allowing transgender...
