by Andy Tomaswick
October 28, 2021
https://www.universetoday.com/153121/a- ... ore-153121
Introduction:
Conclusion:(Universe Today) There are lots of potential uses for a Mars colony. It could be a research outpost, mining colony, or even a possible second home if something happens to go drastically wrong on our first one. But it could also be a potential source of what is sure to be one of the most valuable elements in the space economy – hydrogen.
A new paper from Dr. Mikhail Shubov at the University of Massachusetts Lowell discussing just such an eventuality. Hydrogen is useful in myriad applications. From creating water to exploding as rocket fuel, the most abundant element in the universe sure has many uses. The problem is it’s relatively hard to get access to in the broader solar system.
There is plenty of it in Jupiter or even the Sun, but extracting that light of a material from those enormous gravity wells is not particularly cost-effective. Smaller orbital bodies, such as asteroids, have some water that could be used as a hydrogen source, but they are not large enough to provide all of the solar system’s needs.
One particular place in the solar system does have an abundant potential source of hydrogen and a relatively weak gravity well – Mars. Admittedly the hydrogen on the Red Planet is in water form. However, hydrolysis is a fairly common reaction that requires power and has the added benefit of producing pure oxygen, which is valuable in its own right.
No matter the solution selected to get the valuable rocket fuel back home, Dr. Shubov’s argument of how such a hydrogen export system could work. We’re still very far from any need for such a hydrogen market, even on Earth, let alone in space. But that will never stop some dreamers from coming up with scenarios that could fundamentally alter the economics of the solar system.