Finally published a model for oxygen production on the Moon in PNAS today ! 🚀As humanity expands into the Solar System and settles Mars, we’re going to need lots of rocket propellant in space to move mass from one planetary body to another. Since propellant is ~80% O2 for combustion rockets, we essentially need lots of O2 up there. 🌝As it turns out the Moon is rich in the element oxygen (in lunar soil and water-ice), which can be processed to make O2, and then launched to space-based refueling stations from the Moon's shallow gravity well. This would save considerable propellant and launch capacity compared to shipping all the propellant from Earth. ⚡In this study, we calculated how much electricity would be needed for the O2 production chain using one of the candidate technologies called hydrogen reduction, and mapped out regions with favorable soil composition for using this technology. We’re hoping that the model can support trade-off studies across the different Lunar O2 strategies and help plan infrastructure. Feel free to reach out if you want to discuss or have questions. pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.23…

The spark of life: from photosynthesis to respiration, the electron cycle connects plants and animals in the energy exchange that sustains life on Earth. We often talk about Carbon cycles, N cycles, P cycles. What about electrons, dont they deserve a cycle too?