Exploring Planet Mars: China Achieves Progress in Power Generation & Storage

Exploring Planet Mars: China Achieves Progress in Power Generation & Storage

Scientists from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) believe they have overcome a major technical challenge in exploring Mars—how to make and store energy.

They have developed a special battery that is fueled by a material widely available on the Red Planet, its air. USTC researchers say 95 percent of Mars' atmosphere is made up of carbon dioxide (CO2). In harnessing the atmospheric CO2 molecules, scientists have created a self-fueling battery that can power things like rovers and living quarters.

Scientists say the same operating principles apply to their Mars battery as those for lithium-CO2 batteries.

Using the Martian atmosphere as the medium not only significantly reduces the overall weight of the battery system, but also enables in-situ energy acquisition and self-sufficiency, providing a new energy storage solution for Mars development and research.

China has been accelerating its Mars exploration in recent years. The Tianwen-3 probe is scheduled to be launched in 2028 and will return samples to Earth three years later in 2031.

After its successful Tianwen-1 Mission in 2020, China became the second country after the United States to make a successful soft landing and to establish communication from the Martian surface.

Video Credit: Shanghai Eye
Duration: 1 minute, 45 seconds
Release Date: June 27, 2025

 

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Planet #Mars #RedPlanet #Atmosphere #CarbonDioxide #CO2 #BatteryTechnologies #EnergyStorage #SpaceTechnology #CNSA #USTC #Hefei #Anhui #China #中国 #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #STEM #Education #HD #Video