Revolution in space travel: Bremen scientists master oxygen production

Revolution in space travel: Bremen scientists master oxygen production

In the Bremen drop tower, an international research team has developed a groundbreaking technique for oxygen production in space that could potentially revolutionize the future of space travel. Well-thought-out solutions are being used to develop a more efficient way of producing oxygen, which is particularly important for long-term missions. Current systems used on the International Space Station (ISS) are not only energy hungry, but also maintenance-intensive and heavy.

Current methods for producing oxygen mainly consist of complex centrifuge systems and water electrolysis, in which water is split into hydrogen and oxygen. However, in microgravity, gas bubbles behave differently: they stick to electrodes or remain trapped in liquid, which makes the separation of these gases much more difficult. However, the team, consisting of scientists from the University of Bremen, the University of Warwick and the Georgia Institute of Technology, is taking a more passive and sustainable approach to this challenge.

Magnetism as a solution

According to Merkur, the research team was able to develop an innovative method by specifically using magnetic fields to direct the gas bubbles away from electrodes without having to rely on complex mechanical components be. This system uses commercially available permanent magnets to direct gas bubbles to collection points, increasing the efficiency of the electrolytic cells by up to 240 percent.

The systems work with two approaches: On the one hand, the natural reaction of water to magnetic fields is used, while on the other hand, magnetic fields and electrical currents create a rotational movement in the liquid. This allows for significantly improved separation and movement of the gas bubbles, which significantly improves the entire process of oxygen production. Research into this technology has spanned four years and involved numerous experiments in the Bremen drop tower, where the team led by Ömer Akay carried out numerous tests.

Outlook for the future

The new technology could not only make oxygen production in space more efficient, but also provide the basis for sustainable long-term missions to the Moon or Mars. Fundamental insights into oxygen production using local resources on these celestial bodies have already been gained, and test runs are being planned. The next steps include testing the new system on sounding rockets, funded by key institutions such as the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA.

Overall, this revolutionary approach to oxygen production in space could not only optimize current space technology, but also significantly accelerate progress on future space missions. The research in the Bremen drop tower is therefore viewed as an important milestone within the international efforts for sustainable space travel, as DGLR states.