At Kennedy Space Center, researchers used Lunar Resources' LR-1 reactor inside a NASA vacuum chamber that replicated lunar surface pressure. They heated about 55 pounds (25 kilograms) of simulated soil to 3,100°F (1,700°C), then passed an electric current through the molten material to separate oxygen gas from metals. The team collected the oxygen for further study. [S1]
NASA's Game Changing Development program funded the project, which brought Kennedy researchers together with Houston-based Lunar Resources. NASA reported that the test measured pure molecular oxygen and produced metals. The agency said oxygen obtained on the Moon could serve astronauts' breathing needs and lunar landers; it also described reducing resupply from Earth as a way to lower exploration costs. [S1]
The next work for the NASA and Lunar Resources teams includes analyzing test data to better understand how full-scale reactors for the lunar surface behave thermally and chemically. NASA said future rovers could gather soil autonomously for a reactor once the process is perfected on Earth. [S1]
Source documents
- NASA Kennedy Breathes Life into Moon Soil Testinghttps://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/kennedy/nasa-kennedy-breathes-life-into-moon-soil-testing/