Article: “Israeli innovation will allow oxygen to be produced from moon’s surface”
April 22, 2021
From The Jerusalem Post - Israeli company HELIOS has developed a technology to produce oxygen gas directly from the surface of the Moon, a development that could play a key role in upcoming space missions. The design, which has received funding from the Israeli Space Agency, involves a special furnace that harvests oxygen and other metals directly from the moon’s surface without supplementary materials brought from earth. It is estimated about 45% of mass on the surface of the Moon and on Mars is suitable for harvesting. This new technology could reduce the cost of launching and operating space vehicles, which currently depend heavily on oxygen transported from earth for combustion, as well as potentially provide breathing oxygen for astronauts. With over 50 missions to the Moon scheduled in the next five years, the ability to “live off the land” and utilize the Moon’s natural resources could be a key milestone on the path to creating a permanent settlement. The project plans to launch two missions into space in the next three years.
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*Image used is from the original news article published by The Jerusalem Post. A simulation of HELIOS' induction furnace shows sand from the moon burning at 1,600 degree's Celsius. (photo credit: CHAYA GOLD)