Super-magnets extract oxygen from water

What would happen if you opened a bottle of soda in space? Nothing. At least it would not fizz, as the bubbles of released carbon dioxide would remain suspended in the liquid. While one can do without carbon dioxide if necessary, a completely different gas is vital in space: oxygen.

In a groundbreaking experiment, an international team of researchers has now succeeded in extracting this gas from water during free fall. To achieve this, they dropped a capsule from the Bremen Drop Tower to reconstruct the conditions found in space.

In the simulated weightlessness, neodymium magnets detached the oxygen from an electrode surface, causing it to bubble out of the water like carbon dioxide. This is a result that could facilitate the future supply of astronauts.