grow fruit in space with significant labor, but when you’re on the Moon, oxygen isn’t readily available — since there are no trees on the Moon. However, you can utilize the Moon’s soil to produce oxygen through some scientific methods.
In February, NASA revealed that the Carbothermal Reduction Demonstration (CaRD) initiative effectively tested a prototype that harnessed “concentrated solar energy” (also known as sunlight) to extract oxygen from the Moon’s soil, referred to as lunar regolith. The environment was mimicked, but proof of concepts play a crucial role in the scientific process.
The transformation depended on a “carbothermal oxygen production reactor” that heated and melted lunar regolith while combining carbon with the silicate minerals present, resulting in carbon monoxide. The gas was collected and transformed into oxygen using a “downstream system.” While NASA has identified at least 20 theoretical methods to extract oxygen from lunar soil, all of which have been tested in labs, CaRD was the first to showcase its potential in a relatively precise simulated lunar environment.