LunaSonic

AQUALUNAR CHALLENGE FINALIST

Developed by Shaun Fletcher and Dr Lukman Yusuf, School of Chemistry, University of Glasgow.

Dirty ice would be melted and large soil particles removed, before the water is pumped into a “sonoreactor” which uses ultrasound to split and remove volatile compounds and gases, destroy pollutants and cause lunar dust to clump together for easy removal. It then passes the water through a filter bed of lunar soil (rich in calcium, magnesium and aluminium oxides) to remove final contaminants – similar to how a household water filter works.

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Shaun Fletcher, a PhD student at the University of Glasgow shares his experience on the challenge and how the team’s research into ultrasound technology – designed to attack pollutants in water domestically here on Earth – is being adapted for lunar and space applications.