Topic: Hubble Searches for Oxygen on the Moon

[Nemesis]

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Since the Moon does not have a breathable atmosphere, and spacecrafts have limited load capacities, harvesting oxygen from the soil may be critical for long-term human missions. Hubble found that the soil in the regions examined contained abundant amounts of ilmenite, a mixture of titanium, iron, and oxygen.

Laboratory experiments on Earth have shown that applying certain chemical processes to terrestrial ilmenite can easily liberate oxygen and water. Water can then be turned into oxygen and hydrogen, which could also be used for rocket fuel.

"The idea is to utilize resources there to reduce the costs of going to the Moon," project member Mark Robinson of Northwestern University said during the a NASA briefing today.