Lunar soundwave tech offers new hope for extracting Moon ice

Lunar soundwave tech offers new hope for extracting Moon ice
by Sophie Jenkins
London, UK (SPX) Apr 01, 2025

The UK Space Agency has announced the winner of its Aqualunar Challenge, a Pounds 150,000 award recognizing pioneering technology to purify water extracted from frozen lunar soil. Gloucestershire-based Naicker Scientific claimed the top prize with its SonoChem System, an innovative device that uses high-frequency sound waves to clean water derived from lunar ice.

The prize, part of a larger Pounds 1.2 million initiative supported by the UK Space Agency's International Bilateral Fund and organized by Nesta's Challenge Works, seeks to advance life-supporting technology for future Moon missions. The announcement took place at Canada House in London, where UK Space Agency astronaut reserve member Meganne Christian unveiled the results.

"NASA has set the goal of establishing a permanent crewed base on the Moon by the end of the decade," said Christian, who chairs the challenge's judging panel. She noted that astronauts will require water not only for drinking and agriculture but also for generating oxygen and hydrogen. According to current estimates, up to 5.6% of lunar regolith near the south pole consists of ice. Effectively accessing and purifying this resource could make long-term habitation feasible.

Naicker Scientific's SonoChem System operates by generating intense acoustic energy that forms countless microscopic bubbles in water contaminated with lunar particulates. As these bubbles collapse, the extreme conditions inside produce reactive free radicals that break down impurities.

"Imagine digging up the soil in your back garden in the middle of winter and trying to extract frozen water to drink. Now imagine doing it in an environment that is -200 C, a nearly perfect vacuum, under low gravity, and with very little electrical power. That's what we will have to overcome on the Moon," explained Lolan Naicker, Technical Director of Naicker Scientific. "If we can make the SonoChem System work there, we can make it work anywhere, whether that's on Mars' glaciers, or here on Earth in regions where accessing clean water is still a challenge."

Science Minister Lord Vallance emphasized the broader potential of the technology: "The Aqualunar Challenge was set up to overcome one of the most significant obstacles to humans surviving on the Moon or other planets - the availability of clean drinking water. By teaming up with our Canadian partners and harnessing the wealth of talent and creativity found across the UK, the challenge has uncovered a range of new ideas, including Naicker Scientific's SonoChem system."

Two additional entries also received recognition. RedSpace Ltd of Aldershot won Pounds 100,000 as the first runner-up for their FRANK system (Filtered Regolith Aqua Neutralisation Kit). This three-stage method heats regolith in a sealed chamber, separates gases and liquids, filters out solids, and distills the remaining fluid to isolate clean water.

Queen Mary University of London earned the second runner-up prize of Pounds 50,000 for AquaLunarPure, a method that melts lunar ice and raises it to supercritical conditions above 373 C at 220 bars of pressure. In this unique state, water acts like a dense vapor, allowing complete oxidation of contaminants in a single step.

The ten finalist teams each received Pounds 30,000 in seed funding in July 2024 and were provided access to expert mentorship and specialized testing facilities.

Delivered by Challenge Works and supported by the Canadian Space Agency and Impact Canada, the Aqualunar Challenge split its prize funding between UK-led and Canadian-led teams.

"Challenge prizes are open innovation competitions that level the playing field for innovators whether they are well-established in a sector or coming to it for the first time - rewarding ideas rather than reputations," said Holly Jamieson, Executive Director of Challenge Works. "The Aqualunar Challenge successfully attracted new entrants to work in the space sector - a sector that already generates Pounds 19 billion of income a year in the UK, but where there is great potential for growth."

Many participating teams reported new commercial opportunities and investment interest as a result of their involvement, underlining the broader impact of the competition.

To learn more about the challenge and explore all ten competing teams, visit aqualunarchallenge.org.uk.