China's new space tech could help Astronauts survive on the moon without resupply missions
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
How it will work?
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
Challenges
Toward a Lunar base?
Researchers in China say they have discovered a new way to make the Moon more livable. The team was able to extract water from lunar soil and use it to convert carbon dioxide (CO₂) into oxygen and chemicals that can be used as fuel. The findings were published in the Cell Press journal Joule.Lu Wang from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, called the results 'magical' and said the one-step process could make future Moon missions more efficient and less expensive.Sending water to the Moon is incredibly costly. According to the study, it costs around US$83,000 (about A$126,000) to ship just one gallon of water into space. Each astronaut needs about four gallons per day. That makes long-term Moon missions hard to sustain.The new technology will solve this problem by using the Moon's own soil and sunlight to produce essential resources.The scientists created a system that uses sunlight to heat lunar soil and release water. This water is then used to break down CO₂, the gas astronauts exhale, into carbon monoxide and hydrogen. These gases can then be used to make fuel and oxygen.This process uses a technique called photothermal catalysis, which turns sunlight into heat to drive chemical reactions.While the lab results are promising, real-world use on the Moon will be much harder. The Moon's surface experiences extreme temperatures, strong radiation, and low gravity, which could affect how well the system works outside the lab.Also, lunar soil is not the same everywhere, and the amount of CO₂ that astronauts produce may not be enough to meet all needs for fuel and oxygen.The researchers say more work is needed to improve the technology's performance and to make it practical for space missions.For years, space agencies have talked about building a base on the Moon to support missions deeper into space. This breakthrough could bring that goal one step closer. But before humans can live and work on the Moon, scientists will need to overcome several technical and environmental challenges.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
20 hours ago
- Economic Times
Blaming 'slow metabolism' for weight gain? Top doctor reveals muscle mass secret to reignite your body's fat-burning engine
iStock Dr. Sanjay Bhojraj challenges the notion of slow metabolism as the primary cause of weight gain, highlighting muscle loss as a more significant factor. After 30, muscle mass declines, reducing calorie burn. The Mayo Clinic supports this, stating muscle mass influences metabolic rate. (Image: iStock) For decades, 'slow metabolism' has been the go-to scapegoat for weight gain and failed diet attempts. From late-night infomercials to trendy wellness podcasts, fixing metabolism has been sold as the ultimate solution to slimming down. But is your metabolism truly the villain here? Dr. Sanjay Bhojraj, a US-based interventional cardiologist and certified functional medicine practitioner, is calling for a reality check. In a recent Instagram post that's gaining attention, he challenges the widely held belief that sluggish metabolism is the root cause of weight gain—and suggests we may be overlooking a much more fundamental issue: muscle loss. 'Muscle is your most metabolically active tissue,' Dr. Bhojraj wrote in the post. 'No muscle = no metabolic engine.' His claim is backed by compelling science. After the age of 30, we naturally lose 3–8% of muscle mass each decade, and that drop has serious consequences for how many calories we burn—even at rest. This muscle decline, combined with sedentary lifestyles and poor protein timing, can be a more significant factor in stubborn weight gain than metabolism itself. The doctor's blunt conclusion: 'We've blamed a slow metabolism for decades. But it's time we talked about muscle.' Supporting Dr. Bhojraj's assertion is a report by the Mayo Clinic, which confirms that basal metabolic rate (the energy your body uses at rest) is heavily influenced by body composition—particularly muscle mass. In other words, the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn even when you're not determinants of metabolic rate include: Body size and muscle mass – Larger bodies and more muscle mean higher calorie burn. Sex – Men usually have more muscle and less fat than women, resulting in faster metabolism. Age – Aging is linked to muscle loss, which slows down metabolism. Additionally, the Mayo Clinic states that weight gain usually stems from an imbalance between calories consumed and burned—not from inherently slow metabolism. Only rare medical conditions like hypothyroidism or Cushing syndrome significantly affect metabolic Bhojraj isn't alone in linking muscle loss with sluggish calorie burn. The Mayo Clinic explains that a drop in muscle mass naturally reduces your basal metabolic rate, meaning your body needs fewer calories than it once did. Yet, many people continue eating as though their bodies haven't changed—leading to gradual weight gain. And it's not just about building muscle at the gym. Everyday movement plays a huge role, too. Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT)—which includes walking around the house, fidgeting, or doing chores—can account for up to 800 calories burned per Bhojraj's prescription is simple yet powerful: Prioritize muscle. That means engaging in regular strength training and ensuring your diet includes enough protein, especially after age Mayo Clinic echoes this advice, recommending: Strength training at least twice a week for all major muscle groups. Aerobic activity for at least 30 minutes most days of the week. Staying active throughout the day—move often, not just during your workouts. Forget fad diets or unregulated supplements that promise a metabolic miracle. According to both experts, there's no substitute for building muscle and staying active if you want to maintain a healthy metabolism.
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
World's most expensive Indo-US joint sat mission NISAR to lift off on July 30
Preparations for NISAR mission NEW DELHI: The world's most expensive earth observation satellite, NISAR, which has been jointly developed by Nasa and Isro, will be launched after much delay from the Sriharikota spaceport at 5.40pm on July 30, the Indian space agency has said. Both India and the US have been working on the Nasa-Isro SAR Mission (NISAR) for over a decade and it has cost them over $1.5 billion. "Historic Launch Ahead... NISAR will scan the entire globe every 12 days, providing high-resolution, all-weather, day-and-night data. It can detect even subtle changes in Earth's surface like ground deformation, ice sheet shifts, and vegetation dynamics," Isro posted on X. Speaking to TOI on Tuesday, space minister Jitendra Singh said, "NISAR will open a new horizon in Indo-US collaboration. The satellite will take images of every piece of Earth. It will not only have scientific applications but also provide new earth science". The minister, who wanted to witness the crucial launch but may not be able to go to Sriharikota due to Parliament being in session, said that "crucial data generated from NISAR will, besides being beneficial for the US and India, help other countries in disaster management. Thus, it will live up to PM Modi's dream of Bharat playing the role of Vishwa Bandhu." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like No annual fees for life UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo India's GSLV-F16 rocket will inject the satellite into a 743-km sun-synchronous orbit with an inclination of 98.4 degrees. NISAR will observe Earth with a swath of 242 km and high spatial resolution, using SweepSAR technology for the first time. The satellite, weighing 2,392 kg, will be the first one to observe the Earth with a dual frequency synthetic aperture radar, with one each provided by Isro (S-band) and Nasa (L-band). The NISAR mission is designed to observe and measure some of the planet's most complex natural processes, including ecosystem disturbances and natural hazards like quakes, tsunamis, volcanoes and landslides.
The Print
2 days ago
- The Print
Lift the veil, abandon Soviet-era approach. Indian science community wants ISRO to up its PR game
'A kid growing in India learns about NASA (US-based National Aeronautics and Space Administration) before it does ISRO because NASA puts so much effort into taking its work to its citizens and the public, from the smallest of things to the biggest,' 'Gareeb Scientist' said in a post on Tuesday. Since then, at least 11,000 people have viewed it. He is part of a digital war. The aim is to awaken the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from its 55-year-old slumber by demanding better public outreach and engagement by the space agency around its space missions and technology development. New Delhi: A science communicator and space enthusiast on social media under the pseudonym 'Gareeb Scientist' sat determined behind his keyboard Tuesday. As soon as the clock struck one, he hit enter on a flurry of posts on X, with the hashtag, 'ISROfixyourPR'. The Indian science community is currently waging a war against the veil around ISRO-supported operations, fighting with memes, personal anecdotes and a carefully crafted list of its work, which has remained hidden from public discourse. Many Indian social media accounts, which dedicatedly post space updates from ISRO, said the campaign started with the aim to highlight the lack of PR from the space agency. The issue also extended to big-ticket missions, such as the recent partnership between ISRO and US-based Axiom Space to jointly send Indian Air Force group captain Shubhanshu Shukla to the International Space Station (ISS). Experts said that the visibility of ISRO missions had improved over the last decade. However, they added, the burden of information dissemination remained limited to media houses and independent science communicators, who often obtained information outside of official statements. Radha Krishna Kavuluru, a space technology expert and former ISRO scientist, said ISRO, in the coming years, would conduct some inspiring missions that could inspire an entire generation of future space scientists. Kavuluru said that maximum public engagement would ensure that the public had an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of ISRO while they witnessed the indigenous scientific advancements. 'Keeping everything behind walls is a tradition of the Soviets. I am sure we are well past that age. Time to inspire and talk the walk,' Kavuluru told ThePrint. Also Read: ISRO commercial arm invites private players to build LVM3 rocket that delivered Chandrayaan mission Silence around recent missions On 25 June, IAF group captain Shubhanshu Shukla kicked off his journey to the ISS as a member of the US-run Axiom-4 mission. He became the first Indian to set foot on the ISS, and after Rakesh Sharma, the second Indian to travel to space. However, the buzz around the mission was limited to newspaper front pages and TV screens. The official social media pages of ISRO stayed content with reposting updates from the Union Minister of Science and Technology, Jitendra Singh. Between the 1 June Axiom-4 launch and its 15 July return to Earth, ISRO made 24 posts on its X account about the Axiom-4 mission, including 19 reposts of posts by the science minister, the Prime Minister's Office, or the Public Information Bureau. The remaining five posts on the ISRO X account informed about the multiple postponements of the launch and the technical faults that SpaceX's Falcon-9 rocket experienced. In the same period, NASA, through its various X handles, did a run-up to the launch with at least one post per day, while reposting engagement posts by Axiom Space and SpaceX. The US space agency, in partnership with Axiom Space, organised interaction sessions with the astronauts and released not only individual profile films for each but also infographics for the rocket launch and space capsule travel trajectory, among other actions. More recently, updates on missions, such as the demonstration of the advanced technology behind rendezvous, docking, and undocking of a spacecraft in space—SpaDeX—and the upcoming one-of-a-kind NASA-ISRO SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) Mission or NISAR, a joint Earth observation mission, have been few and far in between. On Monday, during the announcement of the NISAR launch date, ISRO's PR was limited to a post on X, as NASA held a formal press conference led by the team that will undertake the mission from the US space agency's end. The team members answered all media questions on all aspects of the mission. However, ISRO was not part of the press conference. Vikranth Jonna, a 22-year-old engineer with Hyderabad-based space tech startup Dhruva Space, listed the 'crazy cool' work ISRO has done for the mission. 'ISRO is currently building methalox engines, quantum communications, human spaceflight, reusable rockets, two landers to the Moon, a mission to Venus and a lander to Mars,' Jonna said. 'Give us more opportunities to appreciate our scientists and engineers. Show us your glory,' he added. ISRO refused to respond to ThePrint's request for a response to the ongoing social media campaign. A senior scientist confirmed to ThePrint that ISRO had 'gotten better' in its PR game but accepted that compared to its counterparts, such as NASA or European Space Agency (ESA), there is a long way to go. 'Of course, there is always room for improvement. But you need to acknowledge that the space sector in India has only started opening up, and some projects still need to operate with secrecy,' the scientist said. Also Read: Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka to serve as 'manufacturing hubs' for India's homegrown space dreams Global competition From photos of astronauts working on the ISS and open-source data from active satellites to an easy-to-understand space glossary, the space PR game of NASA and its laboratories is top-class. Apart from its active presence, all over social media, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and X, NASA has also been engaging with the general public through its programmes, such as the 'Get involved with NASA', where they invite members of the public to contribute their time and expertise to advancing research and solving problems, as well as potentially winning prizes as a result of their work. Its 'Citizen Science' project is open to the public all over the world and aims to collaborate with volunteers to promote discoveries. 'More than 450 NASA citizen scientists have been [so far] named as co-authors on refereed scientific publications,' the NASA website reads. Over the last few years, the ESA, China National Space Administration and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency have also caught on. The agencies realised the global space domain was not only about what happened inside the laboratories, but that a significant portion of their space programme success also depended on how they presented themselves. For instance, the Japanese agency has been organising open houses, town meetings and laboratory tours to help promote the work happening at those sites. Mobilising interest in space When his 16-year-old nephew asked Kavuluru where he could find the link to a documentary on the ISRO Astrosat and Aditya-L1 missions—something on the lines of NASA's 'Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey' and 'Apollo-11'—the former ISRO scientist was hit with a sensation of embarrassment. 'He wanted to study how ISRO does deep space missions. I had no response because no such documentaries exist … Why is this the case? When we have done such complex missions and are observing the Sun and the stars, shouldn't Indian students have the luxury to observe them too?' Kavuluru asked. While ISRO missions remain under the shadows of mystery, the movie, as well as the OTT industry, has so far been cashing in on the public appetite for India's space success story. The Indian audiences have accepted 'Mission Mangal', 'Rocket Boys', 'Rocketry—The Nambi Effect', and 'Mission over Mars' with rave reviews. Be it Akshay Kumar portraying space pioneer Rakesh Dhawan, or R. Madhavan acting as senior scientist Nambi Narayanan—they have happily lapped it all up, with a feeling of pride. Now, they need an opportunity to applaud their real heroes. (Edited by Madhurita Goswami) Also Read: Russian rocket takes off with US astronaut on board, Putin's envoy hails joint space effort
