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The process, which was developed at Cambridge University, has already been established to work on earth. Now, Metalysis has received around £ 250,000 (around $ 329,000) in funding from ESA to refine it in an extra-terrestrial environment, Ian Mellor, the company’s chief executive, told CNN Business.
The project is a step in developing a sustainable source of oxygen on the moon – needed to sustain human life on permanent lunar bases, and supported by agencies including ESA, which have shown support for a “moon village” – and for provide fuel for vehicles that land and depart from the moon.
The researchers also hope that by cultivating and producing essential resources such as oxygen on the moon, they will be able to significantly reduce the mass of the payload that would be needed to be launched from Earth.
“One of the main drivers of the project is being able to use resources that are already on the moon, rather than having to take them from Earth to the moon – there’s a nice cost associated with getting things into space, and the more you can use that. which is, the better, ”Mellor said.
No human has set foot on the moon since 1972, but now the planet is being targeted by several space agencies.
In December 2017, US President Donald Trump signed the Space Policy Directive 1, which required NASA to send humans to the moon for “exploration and long-term use” and missions to other planets.
Meanwhile, a collaboration agreement was finalized between NASA and ESA in October and the two agencies will work together on the Artemis Gateway lunar outpost, which will serve as a transit station for astronauts traveling from Earth before they reach the surface. of the moon.
CNN’s Ashley Strickland contributed to the report.
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