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European Space Agency (ESA) op...European Space Agency (ESA) opens a new plant that turns moondust into oxygen
The Silicon Review
21 January, 2020
Author:
The Silicon Review Team
The European Space Agency has created a new prototype plant that will convert moon dust into oxygen which could be used for air and fuel. This new technique will unlock high amounts of oxygen in the regolith using the molten salt electrolysis that superheats the dust that migrates with the oxygen ion along with the salt unit it is collected in the anode side.
This basic process has already been used for metal and alloy production, ESA has tweaked it to ensure the oxygen was available to measure. This process is an upshot for moon explores by producing useful alloys to construct the new habitats or repair vehicles. The organization is already planning to open many plants in order to go to the moon. It is also planning to store oxygen instead of venting the gas alone.
However the scientists have determined different alloys that can be used to convert the moon dust into oxygen and these alloys could be the most useful byproducts. The organization is all set to open the new plants by the mid-2020s, so it can just be a matter of time before explorers are producing air far from earth. This will also help the scientists to find out the elements that are present in the moon dust and can conduct further research on it.
