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Scientists have found a way to make oxygen out of Moon Dust

Future astronauts could one day live on the moon or Mars in habitats like these. Credit: ESA

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Scientists from the European Space Agency have found a way to make oxygen out of moon dust in hopes to one day help astronauts use resources on the moon to make breathable air and even rocket fuel.

The Moon has a massive supply of oxygen — a valuable resource needed for future human missions. However, that supply is not in the atmosphere, but instead, contained within the dust on the lunar surface.

Stationed at the Materials and Electrical Components Laboratory of the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), which is based in the Netherlands, scientists are looking for ways to facilitate living off-planet.

Last year, a group of European scientists proposed an idea on how to extract oxides from lunar regolith a term used to describe the mixture of loose dust and dirt that covers solid rock. Now, they’ve taken that research one step further and built a prototype extractor to show how the technology would work.

On the right is a view of lunar regolith. And on the left is what it looks like once the oxygen is removed. Credit: ESA

If it works, it has huge implications for the future of deep space travel. Having a capability like this would provide people access to crucial resources that could facilitate the establishment of long-term bases on the moon and Mars.

“Having our own facility allows us to focus on oxygen production, measuring it with a mass spectrometer as it is extracted from the regolith simulant,” Beth Lomax, a chemist from the University of Glasgow in Scotland said in a news statement.

“Being able to acquire oxygen from resources found on the Moon would obviously be hugely useful for future lunar settlers, both for breathing and in the local production of rocket fuel.”

The team, led by Beth Lomax, are extracting oxygen from moon dust — a technique that could be used on the lunar surface. Credit: ESA

Thanks to samples brought back from the Moon’s surface, we know that the lunar regolith is teeming with oxygen (roughly 40–45% percent by weight). Unfortunately, that supply is not easily accessible.

Previous attempts to extract the oxygen from the regolith haven’t been that successful. But Lomax and her team, think they have what it takes. And it requires a bit of chemistry.

Using a technique called molten salt electrolysis, the regolith is first placed in a metal basket with molten Calcium chloride (an electrolyte) is added to it. The mixture is then heated to around 950 degrees Celsius. (It may sound hot but it’s still below the melting point of the regolith.)

Next, an electrical current is applied. This extracts the oxygen, so it can be easily removed.

A diagram detailing the extraction process. Credit: Lomax et al., Planetary and Space Science, 2019

The method was first developed by a UK company called Metalysis for commercial metal production. Lomax worked at the company while earning her PhD and recreated the process at ESTEC.

Her team says this method can extract up to 96 percent of the oxygen from the regolith; as an added bonus, the left over material is a mix of metal alloys.

The remnants can then be used for other projects, perhaps even as building materials fed into a 3D printer.

With ESA and NASA both planning on returning to the moon in the coming years, the team’s ultimate goal is to build a version that could operate on the moon.  That could happen sometime in the mid-2020s.

“We are working towards a sustained human presence on the Moon, and maybe one day, Mars,” explained Tommaso Ghidini, Head of the Structures, Mechanisms and Materials Division at the ESA.

This research could help make that goal possible.

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Armored Tesla Cybertruck “War Machine” debuts at Defense Expo 2025

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Tesla Megapacks chosen for 548 MWh energy storage project in Japan

Tesla plans to supply over 100 Megapack units to support a large stationary storage project in Japan, making it one of the country’s largest energy storage facilities.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s Megapack grid-scale batteries have been selected to back an energy storage project in Japan, coming as the latest of the company’s continued deployment of the hardware.

As detailed in a report from Nikkei this week, Tesla plans to supply 142 Megapack units to support a 548 MWh storage project in Japan, set to become one of the country’s largest energy storage facilities. The project is being overseen by financial firm Orix, and it will be located at a facility Maibara in central Japan’s Shiga prefecture, and it aims to come online in early 2027.

The deal is just the latest of several Megapack deployments over the past few years, as the company continues to ramp production of the units. Tesla currently produces the Megapack at a facility in Lathrop, California, though the company also recently completed construction on its second so-called “Megafactory” in Shanghai China and is expected to begin production in the coming weeks.

READ MORE ON TESLA MEGAPACKS: Tesla Megapacks help power battery supplier Panasonic’s Kyoto test site

Tesla’s production of the Megapack has been ramping up at the Lathrop facility since initially opening in 2022, and both this site and the Shanghai Megafactory are aiming to eventually reach a volume production of 10,000 Megapack units per year. The company surpassed its 10,000th Megapack unit produced at Lathrop in November.

During Tesla’s Q4 earnings call last week, CEO Elon Musk also said that the company is looking to construct a third Megafactory, though he did not disclose where.

Last year, Tesla Energy also had record deployments of its Megapack and Powerwall home batteries with a total of 31.4 GWh of energy products deployed for a 114-percent increase from 2023.

Other recently deployed or announced Megapack projects include a massive 600 MW/1,600 MWh facility in Melbourne, a 75 MW/300 MWh energy storage site in Belgium, and a 228 MW/912 MWh storage project in Chile, along with many others still.

What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

Tesla highlights the Megapack site replacing Hawaii’s last coal plant

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Elon Musk responds to Ontario canceling $100M Starlink deal amid tariff drama

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said, opens new tab on February 3 that he was “ripping up” his province’s CA$100 million agreement with Starlink in response to the U.S. imposing tariffs on Canadian goods.

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NORAD and USNORTHCOM Public Affairs, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Elon Musk company SpaceX is set to lose a $100 million deal with the Canadian province of Ontario following a response to the Trump administration’s decision to apply 25 percent tariffs to the country.

Starlink, a satellite-based internet service launched by the Musk entity SpaceX, will lose a $100 million deal it had with Ontario, Premier Doug Ford announced today.

Ford said on X today that Ontario is banning American companies from provincial contracts:

“We’ll be ripping up the province’s contract with Starlink. Ontario won’t do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy. Canada didn’t start this fight with the U.S., but you better believe we’re ready to win it.”

It is a blow to the citizens of the province more than anything, as the Starlink internet constellation has provided people in rural areas across the globe stable and reliable access for several years.

Musk responded in simple terms, stating, “Oh well.”

It seems Musk is less than enthused about the fact that Starlink is being eliminated from the province, but it does not seem like all that big of a blow either.

As previously mentioned, this impacts citizens more than Starlink itself, which has established itself as a main player in reliable internet access. Starlink has signed several contracts with various airlines and maritime companies.

It is also expanding to new territories across the globe on an almost daily basis.

With Mexico already working to avoid the tariff situation with the United States, it will be interesting to see if Canada does the same.

The two have shared a pleasant relationship, but President Trump is putting his foot down in terms of what comes across the border, which could impact Americans in the short term.

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