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Chinese astronauts make rocket fuel and oxygen in space
Astronauts on board China's "heavenly palace" space station have demonstrated a new way of making rocket fuel products and breathable oxygen by mimicking a chemical reaction in plants. The technology could be utilized in China's planned moon base.
The new experiments were carried out by members of the Shenzhou-19 crew living on board China's Tiangong space station(meaning "heavenly palace" in Chinese), which has been fully operational in low-Earth orbit since November 2022. The artificial photosynthesis technology, which has been in development since 2015, converts carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and rocket fuel ingredients using a simple "drawer-like" apparatus and a "semiconductor catalyst," according to Interesting Engineering. "This technology mimics the natural photosynthesis process of green plants through engineered physical and chemical methods, utilizing carbon dioxide resources in confined spaces or extraterrestrial atmospheres to produce oxygen and carbon-based fuels," Chinese state television channel CCTV reported Jan. 19.
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