Fuel and oxygen harvesting from Martian regolithic brine.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
; 117(50): 31685-31689, 2020 12 15.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-33257545
ABSTRACT
NASA's current mandate is to land humans on Mars by 2033. Here, we demonstrate an approach to produce ultrapure H2 and O2 from liquid-phase Martian regolithic brine at â¼-36 °C. Utilizing a Pb2Ru2O7-δ pyrochlore O2-evolution electrocatalyst and a Pt/C H2-evolution electrocatalyst, we demonstrate a brine electrolyzer with >25× the O2 production rate of the Mars Oxygen In Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) from NASA's Mars 2020 mission for the same input power under Martian terrestrial conditions. Given the Phoenix lander's observation of an active water cycle on Mars and the extensive presence of perchlorate salts that depress water's freezing point to â¼-60 °C, our approach provides a unique pathway to life-support and fuel production for future human missions to Mars.
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01-internacional
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MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2020
Tipo de documento:
Article