Before anyone can live on Mars, they have to learn to breathe on the Moon first

Researchers demonstrated solar vacuum pyrolysis to extract oxygen from lunar regolith using concentrated sunlight in a French solar furnace.

Tests on ESA’s EAC-1 Moon dust simulant produced measurable oxygen, along with materials that could yield useful metals.

The finding points to in-situ resource use on the Moon, reducing reliance on Earth-supplied oxygen.

Local oxygen production could help sustain future lunar bases and provide a valuable testbed for Mars mission life-support systems.