Among the obstacles for humans to explore space is the rocket propulsion system that requires a large amount of fuel. Until now, the ability of humans to explore beyond the starry sky like Star Trek and Firefly is still just a fiction. To solve this issue, fuel needs to be produced in space and now China has announced the success of doing so using the photosynthesis process.
According to the SCMP report, the experiment carried out on the Tiangong space station produced oxygen and also ethylene from carbon dioxide and water. It is the first time that these two substances have been produced using photosynthesis in space. However, it was not done using plants but through semiconductor catalysts and low electrical power. What is more interesting is that China said this process was also carried out at room temperature and atmospheric pressure.
Oxygen on the International Space Station is currently produced using an electrolysis process that uses a large amount of energy. The success of this experiment will help China carry out operations when opening marks on the surface in the coming decades.