Chinese Scientists Use Lunar Soil to Produce Oxygen, Fuel for Moon Missions

Published: 17 Jul 2025

Author: Precedence Research

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China isn’t just reaching for the moon- It's figuring out how to survive on it. Chinese scientists have made a groundbreaking scientific discovery by developing a method that harnesses sunlight to extract both fuel and oxygen from lunar soil. The finding might alter the plan for the upcoming moon landing and permanent space travel.

At the heart of the breakthrough is a process that uses a solar-powered catalyst made from actual lunar soil samples collected by China’s Chang'e-5 mission. Nanjing University researchers have discovered that this method effectively utilizes minerals in moon dust as catalysts to split water, present in lunar ice, into hydrogen and oxygen, while converting carbon dioxide into methane. 

For long-term missions, it is not only logistically unsustainable but also extremely costly to transport supplies, such as oxygen and fuel, from Earth. China is laying the groundwork for permanent lunar bases, a concept that has only been imagined in science fiction, by producing resources directly on the moon using its soil and sunlight.

The implications stretch far beyond survival. Scientific laboratories, lunar farming, and even deep space exploration missions to Mars and beyond could all benefit from this invention. In space science, the ability to live off the land in space, or situational resource utilization, has long been considered the ultimate goal. China's innovation makes that dream a reality. 

However, this scientific stride also intensifies the global space race. China's progress puts pressure on other countries to speed up their lunar aspirations as NASA's Artemis program seeks to send humans back to the moon and create a long-term presence. According to space experts' nations vying for supremacy beyond Earth may become more cooperative or competitive as a result.

Critics urge caution. While the findings are revolutionary, real-world implementations on the harsh lunar surface will still require extensive testing and time. The process has yet to be fully demonstrated on a large scale in space, but the blueprint now exists, and that changes everything.

The message from Beijing is bold and clear: China isn’t just exploring the moon; it’s engineering a future on it.