Study suggests that microwave heating can help extract water from lunar soil

A recent study has proposed a potential method for extracting water from lunar soil using microwaving.

The British-American research team discovered that exposing water molecules in the soil to microwave heat results in their migration to the surface due to high excitation. The effectiveness of this technique was tested on two variations of simulated lunar regolith samples. The scientists extracted 55 to 67% of the water within thirty minutes using a low-energy microwave oven that consumed only 250 watts.

However, the study also revealed that this method may be less effective on materials with higher water content. The findings from this research could be instrumental in determining the optimal approach for extracting water ice deposits in permanently shadowed regions at the lunar poles for future scientific and technological missions.