NASA's Milestone: Extracting Oxygen from Moon's Surface for Future Missions.

NASA scientists have successfully extracted oxygen from lunar soil, which could allow the moon's surface to be used as a launch pad for future space exploration activities. The Carbothermal Reduction Demonstration (CaRD) experiment separated oxygen from a lunar soil simulation using a high-powered laser to create a carbothermal reaction. This breakthrough could enable the production of oxygen gas for breathing and transport propellers, and potentially produce several times its own weight in oxygen per year on the lunar surface. NASA plans to establish the moon as its operational base for space exploration activities, with the Artemis mission aiming to take humans back to the moon in 2025.