Much has been written to hype colonization of the Moon, Mars, and other bodies in our solar system. But there are still many challenges faced by potential colonists in such a future. Chief among those concerns it that of fuel. We can carry much of the fuel we need to get to these places from Earth, but what happens when we get there? Outposts will need ways to synthesize their own fuel in order to return to Earth or to maintain their equipment and habitats. Enter a team at MIT that is looking to the Martian atmosphere itself for answers.

MIT Ph.D. Candidate Lanie McKinney is working on a device that would pull gases from Mars’ heavy atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide into oxygen and carbon monoxide to support life support systems and propellant systems.

According to Universe Today, McKinney and a team of cross-discipline researchers are examining ways that a unique device called the Nanosecond Repetitively Pulsed Dielectric Barrier Discharge (NRP-DBD) that uses an oxygen-selective membrane to extract oxygen rapidly from carbon dioxide. While the proof-of-concept work seems promising, there are still some efforts that need to be undertaken to address concerns after oxygen conversion.

An interesting point that is not addressed in the article is how this kind of technology could be utilized on our own planet. If carbon dioxide is seen as such a dangerous gas in our own atmosphere, it seems like this would be an exceptional option for creating pollution-reductant fuels…

Read More: https://www.universetoday.com/articles/mit-research-could-lead-to-refueling-depots-on-mars