Mars is predicted to promise many possibilities for future life beyond Earth. Most recently, scientists proposed Mars as a potential source of one of the most valuable elements in space, hydrogen.
A new paper from Dr. Mikhail Shubov at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, discusses such a possibility. Hydrogen can be applied in many ways.
From creating water, to exploding as rocket fuel. This most abundant element in the universe has many uses. The problem is, it is relatively difficult to gain access to the wider Solar System.
Quoted from Universe Today, Friday (10/29/2021) hydrogen content is found on Jupiter or even the Sun. But extracting material light from the enormous gravity well is certainly not easy and requires a lot of money.
Smaller orbiting bodies, such as asteroids, have some water that can be used as a hydrogen source, but not large enough to meet all the needs of the Solar System.
Well, Mars has a potential source of abundant hydrogen and relatively weak gravitational wells. Indeed, hydrogen on Mars is liquid. However, scientists propose a hydrolysis method which is a fairly common reaction for power sources.
The fuel can later be used using air, water and sunlight. This technology can be used for astronauts' return flights back to Earth.
After all, it is a viable solution to get astronauts rocket fuel back to Earth. Dr. argument. Shubov's idea of how hydrogen could be 'harvested' in such a way seems plausible.
But right now we are still very far from the need for a hydrogen market of such a scale, even on Earth, let alone in outer space. However, that will never stop leaders and visionaries from creating scenarios that could fundamentally change the Solar System's economy.