Future astronauts could use methane to make rocket fuel on Mars

[Admin]

How will future astronauts get back home to Earth from Mars? According to a new study, they could make rocket fuel from the methane that's already on the Red Planet.

Future astronauts could use methane to make rocket fuel on Mars : Read more

 

[Fourth Root]

Liquid hydrogen rockets do not produce carbon residues. As suggested by the name, they burn hydrogen, not carbon. However, RP-1, another common rocket fuel, does. Also, title and first couple paragraphs of the article are misleading. The proposal isn't to use methane already on mars. But to make methane from other materials while there. Mars has far to little methane naturally present in its atmosphere for any meaningful extraction.

 

[Ken Fabian]

I am not optimistic about Humans on Mars but others clearly are. For me it is pretty much purely hypothetical, exploration through thought experiments, with the real Mars exploring better done with Remote Landers/Rovers and other probes.

Making methane does seem to be more roundabout than using Hydrogen burning rockets. Any Mars Base occupants will need to be cracking water into H2 and O2, for air supply. I think H2 and O2 produced by solar power could also serve as energy storage (using fuel cells) that can last through long dust storms. The technologies are likely to see significant improvements given Earthly need for low emissions energy and low emissions smelting of iron. And long term energy storage. For all the claims that space tech drives Earthly innovation I think space tech is just one aspect of Earthly innovation for Earth based purposes.

 

[newtons_laws]

Alternatively for production of methane on Mars they could just take along a plentiful supply of baked beans......