3 ms·
You also need to cool down and liquify the hydrogen. That doesn't seem simple.
by maxxxxx 8y ago
You also need to cool down and liquify the hydrogen. That doesn't seem simple.
- Sharlin 8y agoNot if you feed it to a Sabatier [1] reactor to produce methane, which is what most ISRU-based mission designs call for. A LH2 based return vehicle would indeed make things considerably trickier. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabatier_reaction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabatier_reaction
- arijun 8y agoMost plans that use water to make fuel on Mars don't use liquid hydrogen at all. The two most well known plans are the BFR/SSH and Zubrin's Mars Direct, both of which use liquid methane. You still have to cool it, but not nearly as much, and it doesn't come with the other problems of hydrogen like embrittlement.
- trhway 8y agoMethane can also be used to make food https://www.newscientist.com/article/2112298-food-made-from-natural-gas-will-soon-feed-farm-animals-and-us/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/2112298-food-made-from-... Thus no need to grow potatoes :)