this post was submitted on 09 Mar 2025
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Importantly they use methane because you can generate methane on Mars(especially if you bring some spare hydrogen).
They say this a lot, so I expect they have some machinery running to demonstrate the technology here on earth? We have plenty of hydrogen here after all.
Correct. It’s called the Sabatier reaction and it’s over 100 years old.
So where are the machines on earth demonstrating the process?
Oddly enough when the process was demonstrated by French scientists in the 1800s they did it in space, so the earth has yet to see this advanced technology.
Since it's been around so long, surely there exists a plant somewhere that is creating methane at scale? Or a system has been designed that will produce enough methane to fill a starship economically? This problem must be long solved, I should be able to buy an off the shelf methane generator, no?
Are you being obtuse or do you have a point? A Sabatier reactor has flown on the ISS, so they exist clearly. Audi had a pilot plant producing methane using this method as recently as 10 years ago.
It's obvious the technology exists, and has been tested in space, and is viable on mars according to numerous studies dating back from the 80s to current day.
Do you have any proof to the contrary? I'm a huge space nerd so if there's a fatal flaw in this plan I'd like to know.
My point is, if there's not a simple box you can buy that makes methane on earth, we're a long way away from a methane factory on Mars. Spacex has said they're not working on it and hope someone else does. Without this magical machine there will be no people landing on Mars. Or, more specifically, no people leaving Mars.
My further point is, the whole Mars thing is just a bullshit ruse to trick us into funding the launch of capitalism into space.
Your ideology begets your conclusions. You are a troll, intentional or not.
Fair. But before I leave, let me challenge you to consider how your ideology might be determining your own conclusions.
We've never launched from mars much less have an entire manufacturing plant and refueling station built, so it doesnt really seem pertinent at this juncture to be launching Vulcan rockets and frequent satellites that that technology.
They use methane because it's cheap and light. Any other justification is just bullshit greenwashing.
We have flown this experiment on the ISS. It is a chemical process that is over 100 years old and is well understood.
It’s also the only way to lift any significant mass off of mars, because as you said we have no manufacturing or refueling there. So the rocket must refuel itself.
It then follows that if Mars is the next major target of exploration, and methane is cheap and abundant, why not get started now? The alternative is to spend a decade qualifying an engine for human space flight after the green light for a crewed mission.
Alright cool but we've never used these rockets anywhere other than earth. Their development for future use isn't an excuse to use them over other types currently.
Also, Mars has lower gravity and little to no atmosphere, there are definitely other ways in that pointless hypothetical.