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This article comes from the official account of Wechat: SF Chinese (ID:kexuejiaodian), author: SF

On February 18, 2023, NASA released the latest photos taken by perseverance. (photo: NASA) just a few days ago, on February 18, the perseverance rover roamed Mars alone for two years, accompanied only by the Smart Mars helicopter. In the latest panoramic photo taken by perseverance released by NASA on February 18, we see a titanium sample tube containing Martian soil and rock samples. So far, perseverance has filled 18 of a total of 38 sample tubes. According to the plan, these Mars samples will be sent back to Earth in 2033.

/ Zhao Jiaming / tr. by Phil Newell)

Production / editorial Department of Science focus

When it comes to Mars, it is the "main destination" for science fiction and space exploration in the real world of mankind. Because Mars is relatively close to Earth and has many similarities with Earth, we pay special attention to Mars. Scientists even imagine that humans can settle on Mars.

At present, this sounds a little mysterious-it is too difficult, now that it is difficult for humans to settle in both the South Pole and the North Pole, let alone settle on Mars. In fact, scientists' recent discoveries in Mars exploration may be a big help-there may be liquid lakes on Mars.

Is there liquid water on Mars? In 2018, scientists speculated that there may be liquid water below the surface of Mars' South Pole through some observations. The team, led by the Italian planetologist Roberto Orosei, found evidence of underground lakes in radar data from the Mars Express rover (Mars Express). "there is likely to be life on Mars," Orosei said, "but we are not sure if there is still life here."

Photos taken by the Mars Express rover. By analyzing radar data, scientists speculate that there are underground lakes (white areas) in this area. After further research, the scientists found that there is not only one liquid lake, but there seem to be three around-with a total area of 75000 square kilometers, slightly smaller than that of Chongqing.

"We also found underground lakes discovered in 2018, but we also found three other bodies of water around this lake," said Helene Petinelli, a planetologist at the University of Rome and a member of the team. "these underground lakes make up a complex water system."

The possible existence of liquid lakes on Mars not only adds new evidence for the existence of life on Mars, but also gives scientists a new idea that the water may help humans settle on Mars.

People imagine the future Mars base, which is the first step for human beings to settle on Mars. Decomposing carbon dioxide VS electrolyzing water the first problem that humans have to solve when they settle on Mars is human breathing. However, the main component of the Martian atmosphere is carbon dioxide, and there is too little oxygen, so for humans to settle on Mars, there must be enough oxygen. Artificial oxygen production is the main research direction of scientists at present.

At first, scientists wanted to break down carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere to produce carbon monoxide and oxygen. From 2021 to 2022, the Mars oxygen in situ Resource Utilization experiment (MOXIE) on board perseverance conducted seven experiments in more than a year after landing-one hour at a time, stable oxygen production for about 15 minutes under various harsh conditions, totaling 50 grams of oxygen, equivalent to 100 minutes of breathing by an astronaut. However, some scientists believe that this method does not seem to produce enough oxygen, and the carbon monoxide produced is dangerous-flammable, explosive and toxic.

As a result, some scientists have set their sights on liquid lakes-electrolysis of water has become a new solution.

In December 2020, scientists invented a device to produce oxygen by electrolysis of water. The research team led by Vijay Ramani (Vijay Ramani), an engineer at Washington University in St. Louis, not only tested the salt water electrolysis system they developed under terrestrial conditions, but also simulated the Martian surface environment under the condition of-36 ℃.

Schematic diagram of the electrolyzer (photo source: PNAS) "our Martian salt water electrolyzer has fundamentally changed the cost accounting method for space missions to Mars and beyond." "not only that, but this technology also works on Earth-it makes the ocean the raw material for oxygen and fuel," Ramani said. "

Ramani's team said the brine electrolysis system they developed produced 25 times more oxygen than the MOXIE device at the same power. At the same time, the system can also produce hydrogen, which can be used as fuel for space travel and Mars exploration.

"in this new type of brine electrolytic cell, we use lead ruthenium pyrochlore anode and carbon cathode developed by the research team, and connect the two poles through metal platinum." "these well-designed components, coupled with the optimal use of traditional electrochemical engineering principles, ensure such a high performance of the system," Ramani said. "

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