European researchers say they have created a process that can produce oxygen from moon dust. The process could provide a major source of oxygen for humans taking part in moon exploration activities in the future. Researchers from the European Space Agency, or ESA, carried out the experiments at a laboratory in the Netherlands. They reported their results in a study published in Planetary and Space Science. The team says ESA’s experimental “plant” was able to successfully produce oxygen from simulated moon dust. The dust is part of a material known as regolith, a top layer of dirt and rock pieces that sit on the surface of the moon.