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There is water on Mars, but much of it is frozen and the rest joins the salt, making it useless for future astronauts landing on the planet by 2033.
Now, a team from Washington University in St. Louise has developed a system that turns unusable water into fuel and oxygen.
The system uses electricity to break down salt water into oxygen and hydrogen and has been shown to work in a Martian atmosphere at -33 degrees Fahrenheit.
This brine electrolyzer also produces 25 times more oxygen than NASA’s Mars in situ oxygen resource utilization experiment launched with the Mars 2020 rover on Mars in July.
Vijay Ramani with Washington University said: “Our Martian brine electrolyser radically changes the logistical calculation of missions to Mars and beyond.”
“This technology is equally useful on Earth, where it opens up the oceans as a valuable source of oxygen and fuel.”
The device is designed with two sides: one divides the water to form a hydroxyl ion and the other divides it back to produce oxygen, Inverse reports.
The technology currently exists on Earth, but it is expensive and could not withstand the freezing temperatures of Mars.
Ramani and his team set out to create a portable version that would run continuously on the Red Planet and that could work without the need to heat or purify the water source.
Shrihari Sankarasubramanian, a research scientist in Ramani’s group and first joint author of the paper, said: “Paradoxically, the perchlorate dissolved in water, the so-called impurities, actually helps in an environment like that of Mars.”
“They prevent the water from freezing and also improve the performance of the electrolyser system by lowering the electrical resistance.”
The research comes from NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander which landed on Mars in 2008.
The vehicle “touched and tasted” the water vapor that came from the melted ice it dug along its journey.
Since then, the European Space Agency’s Mars Express has discovered several underground ponds of water that remain liquid thanks to the presence of magnesium perchlorate, salt.
Scientists are aware that to live on Mars, even temporarily, astronauts will have to produce some of their necessities on the Red Planet, particularly oxygen to breathe and fuel to travel back to Earth or beyond.
NASA’s Perseverance rover is currently traveling to Mars carrying instruments that will use high-temperature electrolysis.
However, the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) will only produce oxygen, from carbon dioxide in the air, and is not designed to produce hydrogen.
Pralay Gayen, an associate postdoctoral researcher in Ramani’s group and also first joint author of this study, said: “ Having demonstrated these electrolysers under demanding Martian conditions, we intend to deploy them under much milder conditions on Earth to use brackish water as well. or salt it feeds to produce hydrogen and oxygen, for example through the electrolysis of sea water “.
The team hopes to work with NASA to further develop the system and also see it used to help divers explore uncharted environments closer to home, in the deep sea.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
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