Scientific Dissemination

  • Highlight in Europhysics News Making oxygen on Mars thanks to plasma technology
    "Sending a manned mission to Mars is one of the next major steps in space exploration. Creating a breathable environment, however, is a substantial challenge. Plasma technology could hold the key to creating a sustainable oxygen supply on the red planet, by converting carbon dioxide directly from the Martian atmosphere."
    EPN 49, vol.1, page 12 (2017)
  • Highlights of 2017 from PSST The case for in situ resource utilisation for oxygen production on Mars by non-equilibrium plasmas
    "Herein, it is argued that Mars has nearly ideal conditions for CO2 decomposition by non-equilibrium plasmas. It is shown that the pressure and temperature ranges in the $\sim 96 \% $ CO2 Martian atmosphere favour the vibrational excitation and subsequent up-pumping of the asymmetric stretching mode, which is believed to be a key factor for an efficient plasma dissociation, at the expense of the excitation of the other modes. Therefore, gas discharges operating at atmospheric pressure on Mars are extremely strong candidates to produce O2 efficiently from the locally available resources."
    Published 18 October 2017, Volume 26, Number 11
  • Cover and Feature Article of Europhysics News

Media Coverage

  • Interview in Antena 2 Interview in the Portuguese radio station
    "Respirar em Marte pode vir a ser conseguido graças a tecnologias de plasmas. Antena 2 Ciência, hoje com Vasco Guerra, investigador do Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear do Instituto Superior Técnico."
    13 Nov, 2017
  • Article in TESLArati New plasma technology could help SpaceX colonize Mars
    "Elon Musk’s vision of establishing a human settlement on Mars just became a lot more feasible, after a study conducted by a team of Portuguese-French scientists concluded that plasma technology could help foster the production of oxygen on the Red Planet’s atmosphere."
    9 Feb, 2018
  • Article in Newsweek Living on Mars: Settlers could create oxygen from carbon dioxide with Cold Plasma
    "Lead author Vasco Guerra, a physicist at the University of Lisbon in Portugal, had been using plasma to break down carbon dioxide here on Earth, a goal many research teams are looking to tackle to address challenges in climate change and clean energy."
    19 Oct, 2017
  • Article in New Scientist How we could make oxygen on Mars, plus fuel to get home
    "The atmosphere on Mars is 96 per cent carbon dioxide, says Vasco Guerra at the University of Lisbon in Portugal. This can be split to extract breathable oxygen and carbon monoxide, a fuel that could give us a “gas station on the Red Planet”, he says. He and his team calculate that creating a carbon dioxide plasma — a mush of ions made by passing an electric current through a gas — could split carbon dioxide from oxygen more easily on Mars than on Earth."
    25 Oct, 2017
  • Article in chinese website "Mysteries of the World" 重大突破!科学家研究:5年内人类可望定居火星
    美国太空总署(NASA)计划在2030年把太空人送上火星地表,若行动顺利,这将是人类史上的另一个里程碑,在此同时,另一群科学家的研究指出,人类在火星上定居的关键技术可望在5年内研发完成。
    30 Jan, 2018
  • Article in Вести.Ru Химики нашли идеальный способ добывать кислород на Марсе
    Будут ли на Марсе яблони цвести? Чтобы эта мечта стала реальностью, нужно решить массу проблем. Например, найти способ защитить межпланетных путешественников от космической радиации.
    25 Oct, 2017
  • Article in Futura Sciences Mars : on a trouvé comment y produire de l'oxygène
    "Pour les missions humaines sur Mars, envisagées dans le courant de la décennie 2030, l'approvisionnement en oxygène a toujours été imaginé comme venant d'une extraction à partir de l'environnement martien. Mais l'idée reste théorique. Une équipe des universités de Lisbonne et de Porto, ainsi que de l'École Polytechnique (Paris) a peut-être trouvé une piste prometteuse. Olivier Guaitella, chercheur au Laboratoire de physique des plasmas et co-auteur de l'étude, nous explique tout."
    26 Oct, 2017
  • Article in Público Inventar uma atmosfera marciana aqui na Terra
    "Respirar em Marte é um dos maiores desafios à sobrevivência humana no planeta vermelho. Mas uma tecnologia de plasma, que permite transformar dióxido de carbono em oxigénio, pode ser a resposta."
    26 Dec, 2017
  • Article in Red Planet Report Missions could make oxygen on Mars using plasma technology
    "Plasma technology could hold the key to creating a sustainable oxygen supply on Mars, a new study has found.
    It suggests that Mars, with its 96 per cent carbon dioxide atmosphere, has nearly ideal conditions for creating oxygen from CO2 through a process known as decomposition."

    19 Oct, 2017
  • Article in Spaceflight Insider Plasma technology could help produce sustainable oxygen supply for human colonies on Mars
    "A future human colony on Mars will need a sustainable oxygen supply for its operations in the harsh Martian environment. A new research conducted by a team of Portuguese-French scientists suggests that plasma technology could be the key to producing the necessary amount of oxygen for crew activities on the Red Planet."
    30 Jan, 2018
  • Article in Astronaut Oxygen from Plasma could help astronauts breathe on Mars
    "The researchers, who published an article about their work in the journal Plasma Sources Science and Technology, say that we could create oxygen from the cold atmosphere of Mars, which is 96 percent composed of carbon dioxide, through a process called decomposition. This process breaks up the carbon dioxide molecule into oxygen and carbon monoxide."
    27 Oct, 2017
  • Article in AstroBiology Magazine A mission to Mars could make its own oxygen, thanks to Plasma Technology
    "Plasma technology could hold the key to creating a sustainable oxygen supply on Mars, a new study has found. It suggests that Mars, with its 96 per cent carbon dioxide atmosphere, has nearly ideal conditions for creating oxygen from CO2 through a process known as decomposition."
    23 Oct, 2017
  • Article in UPI Plasma technology could supply Mars mission with oxygen
    "Researchers in Portugal and France believe the Martian atmosphere could host plasma technology capable of producing oxygen. A reliable source of oxygen will be essential to any future manned explorations of Mars.
    'This ISRU approach could help significantly simplify the logistics of a mission to Mars,' researcher Vasco Guerra said."

    18 Oct, 2017
  • Article in The Engineer Mars explorers could breathe oxygen made by plasma
    "Existing cold-plasma technology could convert Martian CO2 atmosphere into breathable oxygen for astronauts, says Portuguese study.
    Researchers from Lisbon and Porto Universities believe that future crewed missions to Mars could make their own oxygen for exploring the surface from the local atmosphere. “Sending a manned mission to Mars is one of the next major steps in our exploration of space. Creating a breathable environment, however, is a substantial challenge,” said the lead author of the study in the journal Plasma Sources Science and Technology, Vasco Guerra."

    18 Oct, 2017
  • Article in SpaceRef A mission to Mars could make its own oxygen thanks to plasma technology
    "Published today in the journal Plasma Sources Science and Technology, the research by the universities of Lisbon and Porto, and École Polytechnique in Paris, shows that the pressure and temperature ranges in the Martian atmosphere mean non-thermal (or non-equilibrium) plasma can be used to produce oxygen efficiently."
    18 Oct, 2017
  • Article in IFL Science Astronauts Might End Up Making Their Own Oxygen On Mars
    "When it comes to space travel, there’s a simple rule. If you didn’t bring it with you, you need to make it there. This usually refers to building material but it might soon apply to oxygen too.
    In a study published in Plasma Sources Science and Technology, Portuguese and French researchers showed that both the temperature and pressure of the Martian atmosphere are good enough to efficiently produce oxygen. Astronauts would use nonthermal plasma to break down carbon dioxide, which makes up most of the Red Planet's atmosphere."

    19 Oct, 2017
  • Article in CM Cientistas portugueses empenhados em criar ar respirável para missão a Marte
    "O investigador Vasco Guerra, do Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear, associado ao Instituto Superior Técnico, disse à agência Lusa que o método consistirá em aplicar "campos elétricos" ao ar de Marte, que é 96 por cento dióxido de carbono, e dividi-lo em monóxido de carbono e oxigénio, conseguindo criar ar respirável em ambientes fechados."
    24 Oct, 2017
  • Video by Land of Science Astronauts Might End Up Making Their Own Oxygen On Mars

    29 Oct, 2017
  • Video by TomoNews US Turning carbon dioxide to oxygen on Mars maybe possible with plasma, study suggests

    28 Oct, 2017