Equipment would help astronauts create oxygen from alien soils
November 13, 2008 - Mauna Kea, Hawaii

NASA wrapped two weeks of tests on the volcanic soil of the Big Island of Hawaii's Mauna Kea, and invited the media to take a look at the technological concepts that will assist future space missions.

The goal was to test systems that will one day assist astronauts in maintaining a sustainable and affordable lunar outpost, by drilling into alien soil and extracting water that could be used to create oxygen.

NASA's lunar exploration plan currently projects that lunar resources could generate one to two tons of oxygen annually, or the same amount that four to six people living at a lunar outpost might breathe in a year.

The tests were held on Hawaii because Mauna Kea's soil is so similar to the regolith that covers the moon's surface. Three prototype systems were tested.

The tests were hosted by Pacific International Space Center, or PISCES, based at the University of Hawaii - Hilo.

In this video, William Larson, Chief of NASA's Applied Sciences Division, explains the tests in greater detail.