Magnets could be simple way to enhance oxygen generation on a mission to Mars

Commercially available magnets could significantly improve the efficiency of water splitting in microgravity that is used to supply astronauts with oxygen during long-term missions.

An international team of researchers, from the US, UK and Germany, who made the discovery, also developed two proof-of-concept devices which they claim could, with further testing in low gravity environments, be used in future space travel. Ensuring astronauts have access to a reliable and continuous supply of oxygen during deep space missions has been a challenge since the early days of space exploration in the 1960s.