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<title>Navigating Martian Terrain: NASA's Innovative Rocket Fuel from Mars' Soil – Big Think</title><br />
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<span class="absolute uppercase font-emphasis-eyebrow ">Surprising Science — <time class="entry-date published" datetime="2018-11-01T19:45:56-04:00">November 1, 2018</time></span> <br />
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NASA researchers are currently working on methane-producing robots to tackle this significant challenge.<br />
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<span class="bg-black-90 absolute left-0 top-[2px] md:top-[6px] h-[20px] w-[20px] rounded-full"/><br/>NASA is addressing the significant challenge of transporting fuel to Mars by proposing to extract fuel from the water found in Martian soil. <br />
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<span class="bg-black-90 absolute left-0 top-[2px] md:top-[6px] h-[20px] w-[20px] rounded-full"/><br/>This method involves extracting hydrogen from Martian water and combining it with atmospheric carbon to create methane. <br />
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<span class="bg-black-90 absolute left-0 top-[2px] md:top-[6px] h-[20px] w-[20px] rounded-full"/><br/>This groundbreaking approach could effectively resolve the fuel weight dilemma for upcoming Mars missions. </li><br />
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<p>NASA's endeavors in space exploration may soon resemble a form of modern-day alchemy, enhancing the feasibility of missions to Mars. Without such innovations, we risk the fate of astronauts becoming stranded on the planet, echoing scenes from classic science fiction where crews are left with no means of return.</p><br />
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<p>The core challenge lies in the logistics of transporting fuel to Mars, a task that not only proves inefficient but also consumes essential cargo space. To tackle this issue, NASA is looking to leverage resources that are already available on Mars.</p><br />
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<p>One of the innovative concepts involves extracting water, known as “regolith,” from the Martian surface and breaking it down into hydrogen and oxygen. Once this extraction is complete, the next step is to combine carbon sourced from Mars' atmosphere with hydrogen to synthesize… methane!</p><br />
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<h3>Harnessing Regolith for Fuel</h3><br />
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<p>The robotic system designed for this task, called RASSOR (Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot), is currently undergoing testing. This robot exemplifies how Martian soil can be utilized not only as rocket fuel but also as a power source for potential colonies on the planet.</p><br />
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