SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk is often condemned for avoiding Earth’s dilemmas to operate his space program. However, these allegations are not solely valid and reasonable. Despite this, the space entrepreneur also governs an electric car company appreciated for being environmentally friendly.
Presently, the space entrepreneur has declared a new enterprise on Twitter, and probably flying to space could aid Earth as well.
“SpaceX is launching a program to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere – turning it into rocket fuel. Join if interested,” he tweeted.
Human-caused climate change, affected by the emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, is the obsession of many in the government and the media.
Musk’s plan has fascinating significance for the climate change issue, condemning him to wish to evacuate Earth and breathe on Mars. So this project won’t only alter Earth’s climate change, but it will have an enormous part in Musk’s urge to build settlements on Mars.
Making rocket fuel from CO2 is a manageable part of the proposal. The century-old process, discovered by Nobel chemist Paul Sabatier, combines CO2 with hydrogen and a catalyst to produce methane and water.
Additionally, Musk’s rocket, formulated by SpaceX in Boca Chica, Texas, operates an engine that burns liquid methane and liquid oxygen. NASA utilizes the Sabatier system on the International Space Station (ISS) to make water for astronauts. Methane was removed from the International Space Station.
The first part of Musk’s plan, pulling carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, could be more challenging. The belief that capturing carbon from the air would lessen the planet’s greenhouse gases, thereby slowing climate change, is a controversial idea.
According to Techcrunch, one of these projects is being carried out in Iceland by Climeworks. Until now, the company has spent $600 to $800 to remove a ton of carbon dioxide, which is assumed very costly.
Climeworks hopes to bring the cost down to between $100 and $200 per metric ton to make the project more economically viable.
Another form of carbon capture involves absorbing carbon dioxide directly from power plants. For example, NET Power has a pilot plant a few hours’ drive from Boca Chica in La Porte, Texas. It burns natural gas but saves and stores carbon dioxide emissions.
After all, Musk is interested in developing carbon capture and Sabatier technology from the air for his planned Mars settlement. The intention is to eliminate CO2 from the Martian atmosphere and hydrogen from the water ice. Further, renovate it into rocket fuel for spacecraft returning from the red planet to Earth.
Moreover, Elon Musk also invested the $100 million X-Prize in stimulating the advancement of carbon capture technology, pointing out that “to win the top prize, the team must demonstrate a solution that is at least 1,000 tonnes in size.
Which are phased out each year; model their cost at a million-ton-per-year scale; and demonstrate future approaches to gigaton-per-year scale.
A win-win outcome can be achieved if an air capture solution is reached immediately. Then, human civilization will have one or more technologies to help solve the climate crisis.
While Musk will have a source of carbon dioxide to make his rocket fuel. He continues to pursue his grand design for a settlement on Mars, not to mention bringing humans back to the moon and many other destinations.
The rocket, whose engines burn liquid methane and liquid oxygen, will produce water and CO2 in its exhaust. But a world with technologies capable of capturing carbon from the atmosphere may well handle the situation.
Senator Bernie Sanders (C) condemned carbon capture as a “wrong solution.” But the irony is that while green new dealers have plans to tackle climate change involving disruption to the fossil fuel industry.
Like this, the other capitalists such as Musk formulate solutions that don’t include tragic economic disasters.
Musk and people like him are more likely to succeed when politicians and activists fail on his proposals. Thus, Musk guarantees to protect Earth and go to Mars.
