When astronauts depart for long-duration missions, a sufficient amount of oxygen without unnecessary payload would prove significant in deep space exploration. While scientists have found a way to produce oxygen from water in the microgravity of the International Space Station (ISS), it has proven to be unfeasible due to the use of heavy machinery and its maintenance. 

In what could prove to be a breakthrough, a team of experts from the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom, the University of Colorado Boulder and Freie Universitäet Berlin in Germany have developed a method to separate oxygen from hydrogen in water using magnets. If successful, this idea could be used in technologies to ensure unlimited oxygen supply to astronauts on missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond. 

According to an official statement by Warwick University, this idea emerged from research on magnetic phase separation under simulated microgravity conditions. Through this research, the experts are aiming to extract oxygen from water and eliminate the need for heavy equipment.

Currently, oxygen is produced aboard the ISS using an electrolytic cell that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. While this process might sound easy, the gases produced in the process need to be vented out. Notably, these gases are forced out using centrifuges, which are large and require significant mass, power, and maintenance. 

[The Environmental Control and Life Support System which consists of the Water Recovery System (WRS) and the Oxygen Generation System (OGS) installed aboard the ISS; Image: NASA]

Much to scientists' disappointment, a recent analysis of the electrolytic cell by NASA Ames Research Center revealed that "the same architecture on a trip to Mars would have such significant mass and reliability penalties that it wouldn’t make any sense to use." Through their new microgravity experiment, the experts demonstrated that the same results could be achieved using magnets in some cases. 

"Efficient phase separation in reduced gravitational environments is an obstacle for human space exploration and known since the first flights to space in the 1960s," Dr. Katharina Brinkert of the University of Warwick said in an official statement. "This phenomenon is a particular challenge for the life support system onboard spacecraft and the International Space Station (ISS) as oxygen for the crew is produced in water electrolyzer systems and requires separation from the electrode and liquid electrolyte."

Through this new technology, the experts aim to detach gas bubbles from the same electrode surfaces but without the hassle of heavy equipment. "This study demonstrates for the first time gas bubbles can be ‘attracted to’ and ‘repelled from’ a simple neodymium magnet in microgravity by immersing it in different types of aqueous solution," the experts noted. With their success, the team is confident that this technology involving magnets would work in the space environment and has immense scope in ensuring oxygen security during deep space missions.