Regolith

Or about our future soul air …….

On the moon we have oxygen to breathe for tens of thousands of years. It is not gaseous in the atmosphere. This is because in a very light atmosphere all that is left is some hydrogen, argon and neon. So where is the oxygen? The soil of the lunar surface, which is full of dust and rocks, is called Regolith.

Oxygen is then found in the form of oxides along with other minerals in this lunar regolith. But why are we often reluctant to treat and call the soil there, like the soil on the earth now? That is to say, in the early days of the earth we also had a regolith of rocks and dust here. But the present soil of our earth is very precious and very special.

Therefore, as far as is known in the universe, this type of soil exists only here. This is because millions of years of microbes, ecosystems and climate have been imprinted on the earth’s ancient regolith, the complex biochemical mixture or soup of today’s nectar-like, our own own mineral-rich soil. So Regolith is a hybrid of ‘pure’ minerals and compounds. So how did this oxygen in this regolith of the moon get here and become a trap? Prolonged asteroid rain brought oxygen to the moon.
Now let’s move on to oxygen production. The plan is to first oxidize the oxide forms of silica, iron, aluminum, and magnesium, and then electrolysis to separate the oxygen from them.

Yes, of course it is an energy consuming process. To this end, the ESA plans to launch two test reactors by 2025. Let’s go to some calculations.

Oxygen needs or Lunar bases

The Moon contains about 45% oxygen. Up to 630 kg of oxygen can be extracted from one cubic meter of soil. According to NASA, a person can live on ?? oxygen daily for up to two years. In other words, if the moon’s dust could absorb all of the oxygen at a depth of 10 meters below the earth’s, it would be possible for some 100 million people on Earth to live there for up to a million years. Remember that this oxygen is not to be released into the atmosphere there. But to be stored and used in the closed colonies to be built there‌. so regolith will give life to lunar bases in future