Spain’s Tekniker is working with ESA on a piece of equipment that could help make future Mars missions more economical. To survive on Mars, future colonists will need to use all available resources as efficiently as possible. This also means recycling wherever possible, and for travel between Earth and Mars, in time the fuel for spacecraft return journeys should be produced on Mars. A team at the Spanish technology centre Tekniker is working on a system that would use sunlight to produce fuel from the Martian astronauts’ waste water, according to the European Space Agency (ESA).

According to a technician, the special reactor would use the 95% carbon dioxide air in the Martian atmosphere and the astronauts’ waste water to produce fuel, which would be powered by sunlight.
The so-called “photo-electrochemical” system would produce hydrocarbons, including methane, and alcohols from carbon dioxide and waste water in the Martian atmosphere. In the process, the wastewater filtered through the system would also be purified and recovered, so that the device would perform water purification in parallel with fuel production.
Jean-Christophe Berton, ESA’s Technical Supervisor for the project, believes that the research could provide the European Space Agency with valuable experience in the production of propellants on Mars, but also useful ideas for powering hard-to-reach facilities on Earth. In addition, the results of the research could be used to develop technologies to decarbonise the Earth. The research project is funded by ESA’s Open Space Innovation Platform.
In parallel with the successive moon missions and planned bases, the idea of conquering Mars has also regained momentum, although the planet is a much more challenging target than Earth’s celestial companion because of its distance. Moreover, as Mars only comes close enough to Earth to make it profitable to launch a spacecraft every two years, missions are often delayed by years – most recently, the ExoMars programme was postponed until at least 2026 because of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
So under the current circumstances, it is likely to be many years before humans set foot on Mars, let alone settle on its surface, so we won’t see anything like this equipment anytime soon, or at least not on the red planet.
Source: ESA
More articles you may be interested in...
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
EHang Secures Order for 50 Units of EH216-S from Guizhou and Partners with Anshun Government to Advance Low-Altitude Cultural Tourism
Drones News & Articles
AI-powered drones transform public health in Africa
Malaria, a life-threatening disease caused by Plasmodium parasites and transmitted by female Anopheles mosquitoes, remains a formidable challenge to global health, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
Electric airplane News & Articles
eVTOL vs. Electric airplanes: Which will dominate short-haul flights?
The aviation industry stands at a crossroads, with electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft and electric airplanes vying to...>>>...READ MORE
Drones News & Articles
How China is revolutionizing drone manufacturing
News & Articles Propulsion-Fuel
The VarEVolt battery’s 18-second charge breakthrough
Air taxi News & Articles
How will eVTOLs and modern aircraft be integrated into urban transport ?
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
China’s role in fast-tracking eVTOL development
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
Horizon Aircraft and Andrea Mocellin collaborate on the Cavorite X
On June 25, 2025, Horizon Aircraft, a Toronto-based advanced aerospace engineering company listed on NASDAQ...>>>...READ MORE
moreNews & Articles Points of interest
The ascent of iRonCub3, the world’s first jet-powered humanoid
News & Articles Points of interest
Vertiports vs. airports: Costs and urban planning challenges
Drones News & Articles
China’s mosquito-sized drone and the global race for micro-UAVs Introduction to micro-UAV technology
The National University of Defense Technology (NUDT) in Hunan, China, has unveiled a groundbreaking micro-unmanned...>>>...READ MORE
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
GAC’s Govy AirCab eVTOL unveiled
News & Articles Propulsion-Fuel
Achieving 90% fuel reduction in aviation
The aviation industry stands at a critical juncture, with global air travel demand projected to...>>>...READ MORE
moreDrones News & Articles
China’s plasma propulsion breakthrough
The China Aerodynamics Research and Development Center (CARDC), located in Mianyang, Sichuan Province, has pioneered a transformative advancement in drone technology through the development of plasma excitation technology.