Methane rocket fuel ‘can be made on MARS in one step’

Physicists at the University of California, Irvine have decided to solve an urgent problem for space travelers: How can astronauts have enough fuel to return to Earth from Mars?

The idea of ​​making methane fuel on the Red Planet has been floating around in the scientific community for years, but many have come up with methods that require large installations and multiple steps.

Now, Houlin Xin and his UCI team have developed a process using a single atom zinc catalyst, allowing a single step with a small portable device.

This method anatomically disperses the zinc to act as a synthetic enzyme that catalyzes carbon dioxide, both found on Mars, to initiate the process of making methane-based fuel.

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Physicists at the University of California at Irvine (UCI) set out to solve a pressing problem for space travelers: How can astronauts have enough fuel to return to Earth from Mars?

The idea of ​​making methane on Mars to power return rockets was originally conceived by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

SpaceX’s Raptor rocket, which is expected to power spacecraft traveling to Mars, runs on methane, and Musk is working on developing ways to refuel his rockets for the return trip to Earth.

Musk proposes to use solar infrastructure to generate electricity, resulting in the electrolysis of carbon dioxide, which, when mixed with ice water found on Mars, produces methane.

This is the same method, called the Sabatier process, that is used on the International Space Station to turn water into breathable oxygen for astronauts.

The idea of ​​making methane fuel on the Red Planet has been floating around in the scientific community for years, but many of the proposed methods require large facilities and multiple steps.

The idea of ​​making methane on Mars to power return rockets was originally conceived by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. SpaceX’s Raptor rocket (pictured) that is expected to power spacecraft to Mars, runs on methane

The Sabatier process uses a nickel catalyst to interact with hydrogen and carbon dioxide at extremely high temperatures and pressures – a two-step procedure that must be performed in a large facility.

And although successful on the massive orbiting lab, Xin knows it isn’t effective on Mars.

Its process requires less space and can work using materials, such as zinc and carbon dioxide, on the red planet, as well as working in an extreme environment.

“The process we have developed bypasses the water-hydrogen process and instead efficiently converts CO2 to methane with high selectivity,” Xin said.

Now, Houlin Xin and his UCI team have developed a process using a single atom zinc catalyst, allowing a single step with a small portable device. This method anatomically disperses the zinc to act as a synthetic enzyme that catalyzes carbon dioxide, both found on Mars, to initiate the process of manufacturing methane-based fuel.

The key to the new, simpler method is the discovery of the use of zinc as a catalyst.

“Zinc is basically a great catalyst,” Xin said.

“It has time, selectivity and portability – a big plus for space travel.”

Despite the breakthrough, the process Xin developed is still a “ proof of concept, ” meaning it has been successfully produced in a lab, but has yet to be done under real conditions. .

“A lot of engineering and research is needed before this can be fully implemented,” he says. “But the results are very promising.”