It is worthy of note that the process that is described is exactly the one that Elon Musk was already planning to use on Mars. This is exactly why finding water on Mars is critical to his plans, and is also why Starship is designed to run on methane-oxygen. (Starship will be the second methane rocket ever. And the first, Starhopper, used the same raptor engine.)
It is also worth pointing out that producing methane here on Earth for use around Earth is not particularly helpful. Methane is hard to store and is a better greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Then if you use it for a rocket, you put that carbon dioxide back in the atmosphere. We benefit a bit from the shade provided by the water vapor so it isn't quite net neutral, but it is pretty close.
Ironically, both are UC. I even though at the beginning that OP's article was from the University of California. Pretty big coincidence.
> It is also worth pointing out that producing methane here on Earth for use around Earth is not particularly helpful. Methane is hard to store and is a better greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
Couldn't we run the methane through one of those electric generators used in farming for cows' feces ? I honestly don't know how efficient these processes are, not an expert by any means.
It is worthy of note that the process that is described is exactly the one that Elon Musk was already planning to use on Mars. This is exactly why finding water on Mars is critical to his plans, and is also why Starship is designed to run on methane-oxygen. (Starship will be the second methane rocket ever. And the first, Starhopper, used the same raptor engine.)
It is also worth pointing out that producing methane here on Earth for use around Earth is not particularly helpful. Methane is hard to store and is a better greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Then if you use it for a rocket, you put that carbon dioxide back in the atmosphere. We benefit a bit from the shade provided by the water vapor so it isn't quite net neutral, but it is pretty close.