Oxygen is mandatory for humans and human habitats. Producing oxygen for astronauts where there is no air or little air has been a goal of many scientists. Scientists have discovered a way to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen and producing fuels, fertilizers on red planet using a plasma based method. A plasma based way to produce oxygen within Mars has been devised by international team of researchers.
With this new finding such as system it can make life support in Martian environment. It could produce feed stock and base chemicals necessary for processing fuels. building material and fertilizers. The findings were published in Journal of Applied physics. The atmosphere in Mars in formed by carbon dioxide and it can be split to produce oxygen. Its pressure in favorable for plasma ignition.
” The decomposition of carbon dioxide molecules to extract oxygen is a difficult molecule to break. Secondly the separation of produced oxygen from gas mixture also contains carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. This is where plasma can help,” said Author Vasco Guerra of University of Lisbon. Plasmas the fourth state of matter contains free charged particles such as electrons and ions. Electrons are light and easily accelerated up to very high energies with electrical fields.
Oxygen is key to create breathable environment and it is also starting point to produce fuels and fertilizer for future Martian agriculture. Local production of fuels will be required for future mission. And this could be a new potential for human settlement on Mars. By dissociation of carbon dioxide to produce green fuels the plasma technology may be helpful for human settlement on Mars.
