Making air out of moondust

[Waspie_Dwarf]

ESA opens oxygen plant – making air out of moondust

Quote

ESA’s technical heart has begun to produce oxygen out of simulated moondust.

A prototype oxygen plant has been set up in the Materials and Electrical Components Laboratory of the European Space Research and Technology Centre, ESTEC, based in Noordwijk in the Netherlands.

  Read More: ESA

 

[XenoFish]

Cool. Gonna plead ignorance, but wouldn't the air produced be radioactive? 

[Piney]

57 minutes ago, XenoFish said:

Cool. Gonna plead ignorance, but wouldn't the air produced be radioactive? 

No, your thinking of solar radiation. 

[XenoFish]

23 minutes ago, Piney said:

No, your thinking of solar radiation. 

Like I said, stupid question. 

[Piney]

6 minutes ago, XenoFish said:

Like I said, stupid question. 

No question is stupid.

 

[Waspie_Dwarf]

2 hours ago, XenoFish said:

Cool. Gonna plead ignorance, but wouldn't the air produced be radioactive? 

 

1 hour ago, Piney said:

No question is stupid.

This^^

In fact this is a particularly good question as lunar soil does emit radioactive particles.

Piney is right, the main radiation threat on the moon is from solar radiation and cosmic rays.Radiation reaches the surface because there is no protective atmosphere or magnetic field.

When energetic cosmic rays hit the lunar soil they cause a reaction and the soil releases secondary radiation in the form of protons.

The soil itself is not particularly radioactive (remember it has been handled by Apollo astronauts and scientists). In fact it is actually good protection against solar and cosmic radiation, and it is likely that future long-term lunar habitats will be cover in lunar soil as insulation against harmful radiation.

[+joc]

1 hour ago, Piney said:

No question is stupid.

 

Okay then...because I have another one.   If you are on the moon...how do you get calcium chloride salt to become molten (950 C) when the surface temp only reaches 127 C?  Solar energy?  

[Waspie_Dwarf]

3 minutes ago, joc said:

Okay then...because I have another one.   If you are on the moon...how do you get calcium chloride salt to become molten (950 C) when the surface temp only reaches 127 C?  Solar energy?  

The same way you would on Earth, heat it using electricity. How the electricity is generated is largely irrelevant, it could be by solar power or NASA has a new, small, nuclear reactor for generating power on the Moon/Mars.

If you are using solar power you are going to need a lot of storage batteries as a lunar night is two weeks long.

[+joc]

4 minutes ago, Waspie_Dwarf said:

NASA has a new, small, nuclear reactor for generating power on the Moon/Mars.

[XenoFish]

Could this be used in conjunction with a lunar "greenhouse"? 

[Jon the frog]

On 1/21/2020 at 9:18 AM, XenoFish said:

Could this be used in conjunction with a lunar "greenhouse"? 

it need to be a crazy heavy gas to not be blown away...

[Jon the frog]

On 1/21/2020 at 5:46 AM, Waspie_Dwarf said:

ESA opens oxygen plant – making air out of moondust

 

The '' regolith simulant'' part make me think of testing it on site before relying on it to survive...