Methane-based rocket fuel can be made on Mars

ISLAMABAD-Physicists at the University of California, Irvine have set out solve a pressing problem for space travelers: How can astronauts have enough fuel to travel back to Earth from Mars? The idea of making methane-based fuel on the Red Planet has been floating around the scientific community for years, but many propose methods requiring large facilities and multiple steps.Now, Houlin Xin and his team at UCI devised a process that uses a single-atom zinc catalyst, allowing for just one step with a small portable device. This method anatomically disperses zinc to act as a synthetic enzyme that catalyzes carbon dioxide, both of which are found on Mars, to initiate the process for making methane-based fuel. The idea of making methane on Mars to fuel returning rockets was initially conceived by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.SpaceX’s Raptor rocket that is set to power Starships 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 using a solar infrastructure to generate electricity, resulting in the electrolysis of carbon dioxide, which, when mixed with water from the ice found on Mars, produces methane.

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