Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
The Moon: Walking On Air
Walking on Air
The moon might look barren and very inhospitable for humans, but actually its surface dirt – known as regolith – is rich in oxygen.
Now scientists have figured out how to extract oxygen from lunar soil, Science Alert reported.
Regolith samples collected from previous lunar missions revealed that oxygen in the moon’s surface is chemically bound to other substances in the form of oxides and can’t be used immediately.
Since the real samples are valuable, the researchers used “fake” lunar dirt, created from terrestrial materials, in their study.
The team, led by Bethany Lomax of the University of Glasgow, used an electrolysis technique to extract about 96 percent of the oxygen in the sample in a matter of 50 hours.
Previous methods required higher temperatures and generated low oxygen amounts. The new method provided a higher yield and was more sustainable.
Moreover, Lomax’s team also extracted several metal alloys in the process, which could prove useful for future colonization.
“This process would give lunar settlers access to oxygen for fuel and life support, as well as a wide range of metal alloys for in-situ manufacturing,” said James Carpenter, lunar strategy officer of the European Space Agency, who was not involved in the study.
Thursday, October 10, 2019
Monday, October 7, 2019
NASA's Curiosity Rover Finds an Ancient Oasis on Mars
NASA's Curiosity Rover Finds an Ancient Oasis on Mars: New evidence suggests salty, shallow ponds once dotted a Martian crater - a sign of the planet's drying climate.
NASA's Push to Save the Mars InSight Lander's Heat Probe
NASA's Push to Save the Mars InSight Lander's Heat Probe: The scoop on the end of the spacecraft's robotic arm will be used to 'pin' the mole against the wall of its hole.
Sunday, October 6, 2019
NASA's Mars 2020 Rover Tests Descent-Stage Separation
NASA's Mars 2020 Rover Tests Descent-Stage Separation: A crane lifts the rocket-powered descent stage away from NASA's Mars 2020 rover after technicians tested the pyrotechnic charges that separate the two spacecraft.
Thursday, October 3, 2019
New Organic Compounds Found in Enceladus Ice Grains
New Organic Compounds Found in Enceladus Ice Grains: Cassini scientists have found the ingredients for amino acids condensed onto ice grains emitted by Saturn's sixth-largest moon.
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
NASA's InSight 'Hears' Peculiar Sounds on Mars
NASA's InSight 'Hears' Peculiar Sounds on Mars: Listen to the marsquakes and other, less-expected sounds that the Mars lander has been detecting.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)