The researchers discovered that lunar soil samples could act as a catalyst for converting carbon dioxide and water from astronauts’ bodies and the environment into methane and oxygen, as detailed in a paper published in the scientific journal National Science Review.

Utilizing lunar soil resources in situ to generate extraterrestrial fuel and oxygen production is vital for human lunar exploration missions. Given the limited human resources at the extraterrestrial facilities, we proposed using a robotic system to perform the entire setup of the CO2 electrocatalytic conversion system,
lead author Yujie Xiong said in a new job posting.

This means that in the near future, scientists will have a much higher chance of conducting longer studies on the lunar surface.

What previous studies say

The process could be completed by unmanned systems even without astronauts, according to the paper, which builds on previous research showing that lunar soil can produce oxygen and fuel.

In the experiment, the team used samples from China’s Chang’e-5 mission, which landed in Inner Mongolia in December 2020 – the first lunar lander to return to Earth since 1976. The lunar soil effectively acted as a catalyst, enabling the electrocatalytic conversion of carbon dioxide to methane and oxygen.

In addition, no significant differences were observed between manned and unmanned systems, demonstrating the high probability of emulating our proposed system on extraterrestrial objects and proving the feasibility of further optimization of catalyst recipes on the Moon,
– the researchers conclude their work.

traps

However, there is a major hurdle to overcome: Given the cold atmosphere of the Moon, carbon dioxide liquefaction is not easy at all, because condensation of the gas requires significant heat.

Still, it’s already an attractive prospect: an autonomous gas station pumping oxygen and fuel for future passengers. But so far this is nothing more than a proof of concept.