Chinese scientists say they have found a way to produce water using lunar soil.

The discovery could have significant implications for China’s decades-long project to build a permanent outpost on the moon, amid a race between the United States and China to find and exploit lunar resources.

Scientists claim to have discovered a “completely new method” of extracting water using lunar soil brought back by an expedition in 2020, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Thursday, as China’s Chang’e-5 mission collected lunar samples for the first time in 44 years.

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Researchers from the state Chinese Academy of Sciences CCTV reported that the minerals in this “lunar soil” contain large amounts of hydrogen, which reacts with other elements at very high temperatures to produce water vapor.

“After three years of intensive research and repeated verification, a brand new method has been discovered that can use lunar soil to produce large amounts of water. This method is expected to provide an important basis for the construction of future scientific research stations and space stations on the moon,” CCTV said.

NASA chief Bill Nelson has repeatedly raised the alarm about the rapid progress in China’s space program and the possibility that Beijing could control the most resource-rich areas on the moon.

The new method can produce about 51 to 76 kilograms of water from one ton of lunar soil, which is equivalent to more than one hundred 500 ml bottles of water or the daily drinking water needs of 50 people, according to state broadcaster.

China hopes that recent and future lunar expeditions will lay the foundations for the construction of the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS)an initiative it is leading jointly with Russia.

Chinese space station

The Chinese space agency has set 2035 as the date by which a “base station” is to be built at the south pole of the moon. A space station orbiting the moon is to be added by 2045.

The announcement of the discovery comes at a time when Chinese scientists are already conducting experiments with lunar samples brought back by the Chang’e-6 mission in June.

While the Chang’e-5 mission brought samples from the Earth-facing side of the Moon, Chang’e-6 collected lunar soil from the Earth-facing side of the Moon.

The importance of lunar water goes beyond the continued existence of humans. NASA’s Nelson told NPR in May that water found on the moon could be used to make hydrogen rocket fuel that could fuel further space exploration to Mars and other destinations.

• Reuters with additional editing by Sean O’Meara

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