Astronauts have created rocket fuel and oxygen in space for the first time using an innovative technology.

Astronauts aboard the Chinese space station "Tiangong" have successfully demonstrated a new method for producing rocket fuel and breathable oxygen through artificial photosynthesis. This groundbreaking technology, which utilizes relatively simple equipment and minimal energy, could be implemented at China's future lunar base, reports Live Science.

The new experiments in orbit were conducted by the crew members of the "Tiangong" space station, which has been fully operational since November 2022.

For long-term space exploration, including human colonization of the Moon, oxygen and rocket fuel are essential. This means that these resources need to be transported to the Moon in significant quantities. However, rocket fuel and breathable oxygen can be produced in space, and Chinese scientists are actively working on this.

Chinese researchers began exploring the possibilities of artificial photosynthesis in space a decade ago, a process that can yield rocket fuel and oxygen. The technology of artificial photosynthesis converts carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and rocket fuel ingredients using simple apparatus and semiconductor catalysts. This reaction resembles the photosynthesis that occurs in plants, which produces glucose.

In these experiments, semiconductor catalysts were used to convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and ethylene. The latter can be utilized as rocket fuel. Additionally, by employing different catalysts in the reaction, methane can also be produced, which can serve as rocket fuel, according to Chinese scientists.

Chinese researchers have not disclosed all the details of this technology, but it is known that it requires significantly less energy than the electrolysis technology used to extract oxygen from water on the International Space Station (ISS). Electrolysis consumes up to one-third of the ISS's output power.

The new technology is expected to be utilized by China at its future lunar base, which is planned to be constructed by 2035. It is anticipated that astronauts will be able to use the water available on the Moon to generate breathable air and rocket fuel for their return trips to Earth.

Before establishing a lunar base, China plans to send its astronauts to the Earth's satellite by 2030.