New Energy Harvesting Method May Create Power for Colonists on Mars (VIDEO)

Settling on Mars isn't going to be easy, though plans are moving forward. Now, scientists have created an innovative new technique that may allow Martian colonists to harvest energy from carbon dioxide.

The new method is based on using a new kind of engine for producing energy based on the Leidenfrost effect. This effect is a phenomenon that occurs when a liquid comes into near contact with a surface much hotter than its boiling point. It's commonly seen in the way water appears to skitter across the surface of a hot pan, but also applies to solid carbon dioxide, also known as dry ice. Blocks of dry ice can actually levitate above hot surfaces protected by a barrier of evaporated gas vapor.

So what does this new technique entail? It proposes using the vapor created by this effect in order to power an engine. This method has exciting implications for working in extreme and alien environments, such as outer space, where it could be used to make long-term exploration and colonization sustainable by using naturally occurring solid carbon dioxide as a resource rather than a waste produce.

Dry ice isn't abundant on Earth, but increasing evidence from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) suggests that it may be a naturally occurring resource on Mars. This means that future colonists could potentially use dry ice to create power stations on the surface of the Red Planet.

"Carbon dioxide plays a similar role on Mars as water does on Earth," said Rodrigo Ledesma-Aguilar, one of the researchers, in a news release. "It is a widely available resource which undergoes cyclic phase changes under the natural Martian temperature variations. Perhaps future power stations on Mars will exploit such a resource to harvest energy as dry-ice blocks evaporate, or to channel the chemical energy extracted from other carbon-based sources, such as methane gas."

The findings are published in the journal Nature Communications.

Want to learn more? Check out the video below, coutesy of YouTube.

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