2003-12-03 | TECHNOLOGIES
Membranes on Mars
NASA-funded researchers are developing membranes that could help human explorers return to Earth after a mission to Mars. Using these specially developed membranes, explorers could extract carbon dioxide from the Martian atmosphere, mix it with hydrogen and then heat it to produces methane  a useful propellant for rockets or rovers.
A membrane that separates carbon dioxide from other gases can do more than provide the raw material for rocket fuel. It could, for example, be used to filter air on the space station or on a spaceship bound for Mars. On Earth, these membranes could potentially help slow global greenhouse warming by extracting carbon dioxide from factory smoke stacks.
Allowing humans to explore environments beyond Earth is of great importance to the study of astrobiology, and may help scientists search for signs of life beyond our own planet.
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from NASA, Dec 03, 2003
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