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The achievement could address the effects of climate change and help us travel from Mars to Earth.

Last Updated: Astronauts Could Use Methane-based Rocket Fuel To Return From Mars: Study The idea of creating methane-based rocket fuel is not new as it was initially suggested by billionaire Elon Musk and his team at SpaceX. One of the stumbling blocks in sending humans to Mars is how astronauts will carry enough rocket fuel to return safely back to Earth. The challenge may have found its solution in research carried out by a group of scientists at the University of California. The study suggests astronauts could use methane to make their rocket fuel to start their journey back to Earth....

"The setup is a CO 2/water electrolyzer," UCI physicist Huolin Xin, who is leading the research, told SYFY WIRE. "In a water electrolyzer, you have H 2 produced in the cathode and O 2 produced in the anode. In a CO 2/water electrolyzer, in the anode, O 2 is produced by oxidizing water. In the cathode, CO 2 is reduced into methane." Xin has developed the Organic Combustion Method, which is similar to the Sabatier process used to extract breathable oxygen from water on the ISS. The Sabatier process takes advantage of solar power to generate electricity that hits H2O molecules and triggers elec...

As a result, cargo space and weight is precious and where costs can be cut, they will be. Taking enough fuel to Mars so that there is enough for the return journey could feasibly cost billions of dollars extra, so scientists are looking at ways to create fuel on the Red Planet. A team from the University of California, Irvine (UCI) may now have found a solution to the conundrum. They believe that a methane-based rocket fuel could theoretically be created on the surface of Mars. Mars Mission: Methane-based fuel could be created on Red Planet to return astronauts home (Image: GETTY)