Scientists invent technology to extract oxygen and fuel from Mars salt water in a huge step towards colonization of the Red Planet

Humanity’s quest to create a base on Mars has received a boost as scientists have now claimed to have discovered a way that can help extract oxygen and fuel from the salt water found on the red planet.

Salt water due to the Martian soil cannot be used for drinking. Electrolysis, the usual method of using electricity to break it down into oxygen (for breathing) and hydrogen (for fuel) also requires salt removal, a cumbersome method that can be an expensive endeavor in a harsh environment like Mars.

But now researchers at Washington University in St Louis have developed an electrolysis system that can directly separate oxygen and hydrogen from brackish water in a less complicated and costly way.

They examined their system in a simulated Martian atmosphere where the temperature was around -36 ° C, as well as testing it under typical terrestrial conditions.

“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, “said Vijay Ramani of Washington University.

In the summer of 2008, NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander “touched and tasted” Martian water, the vapors of the lander’s melted ice. Since then, the European Space Agency’s Mars Express has discovered several underground water ponds that remain liquid thanks to the presence of magnesium perchlorate – salt.

For example, to live on Mars and return to Earth, astronauts would have to produce some of the necessities, including water and fuel, and this research could be very useful for that purpose.

In the years to come, space agencies, both private and public, aim to send manned missions to Mars and even try to live there temporarily.

SpaceX space exploration company founder and CEO Elon Musk said on Tuesday he expected humans to land on Mars within six years. He also said SpaceX plans to launch an unmanned spacecraft and land on Mars in two years, with the possibility of the first human landing on Mars in four years instead of six.

The US space agency NASA’s Perseverance rover, launched in July 2020, is expected to land at the Jezero Crater on Mars on February 18, 2021. It will analyze signs of ancient life and collect rock and soil samples for possible return to Earth.

It is carrying tools that will use high-temperature electrolysis, but the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) will only produce oxygen, from carbon dioxide in the air.

However, this latest research claims that the system developed in Mr. Ramani’s lab can produce 25 times more oxygen than MOXIE using the same amount of energy and can also produce hydrogen which can be used to power the return journey.

Previously, several underground ponds of water have been discovered on Mars that remain liquid thanks to the presence of magnesium perchlorate.

Shrihari Sankarasubramanian, researcher and joint first author of the article, 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.”

Researchers intend to use it on Earth as well. They believe it could be useful in defense, creating oxygen on demand in submarines and could also provide oxygen when exploring the deep sea.

The research was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.