Mars mission: New technology could help astronauts on Red Planet get oxygen from water

Although the upcoming Mars missions are far away, space agencies like NASA are already planning ahead, especially if the goal is to colonize the neighboring planet. A group of scientists has developed a device that claims to help the astronauts on Mars get oxygen from its salty waters.

Researchers from the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University, St. Louis, have developed a kind of technology that could prove helpful to astronauts in the upcoming Mars missions. The technology could potentially turn the bodies of liquid water on Mars into sources of oxygen and fuel. This comes in the form of a small electrolyzer, but its system can be able to work without requiring the water source to be heated and purified. Thus, the technology would be very helpful to future residents of Mars as not only would they have breathable oxygen, they would also have fuel for their ships in preparation for the journey back to Earth.

While Mars appears to be dry and barren, it is also very cold, with an average temperature of -36 degrees Celsius. Although there are bodies of liquid water present on the red planet, these bodies are either very cold or very salty and thus would not be considered drinkable. With the technology the researchers have developed, the bodies of liquid water on Mars would become sources of drinkable water, oxygen, and fuel overall.

“Our novel brine electrolyzer incorporates a lead ruthenate pyrochlore anode developed by our team in conjunction with a platinum on carbon cathode,” said Vijay Ramani of the Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering. “These carefully designed components coupled with the optimal use of traditional electrochemical engineering principles has yielded its high performance.”

Elon Musk’s private space firm SpaceX is also taking part in upcoming Mars missions, with the colonization of the red planet as one of its main goals. Musk recently hinted when the first flight test of the Starship spacecraft that will be used to go to Mars will take place very soon. Musk also added that the launch may take place as soon as Wednesday, December 2. The goal of SpaceX when it comes to Starship in these initial tests involve launching the spacecraft 15 kilometers up before landing.