A team of Chinese scientists says it has devised a new technique for producing water from lunar soil.

State-run China Central Television reported on Thursday that a group from the Chinese Academy of Sciences had come up with the method.

The team has been analyzing lunar soil samples brought back by the return capsule of the Chang'e-5 unmanned probe launched by China in 2020.

The team says that when lunar soil is heated at 1,000 degrees Celsius, hydrogen and iron oxides within it undergo a chemical reaction that produces water vapor.

It estimates that the process can create up to 76 milligrams of water from 1 gram of soil.

The team explains that it uses solar energy to heat the soil.

It intends to conduct lunar experiments using the Chang'e-8 mission, which could be launched by 2030.

China says it aims to build a research station on the moon by 2035 to carry out scientific experiments and resource development. Securing water, which can be used for oxygen production and fuel, is one of the major research themes.

Until now, attention has been focused on the ice contained in lunar soil, but China appears to have announced its new method to gain an edge in the competition with the United States over lunar exploration.