Abigail Ryan ,

Abigail Ryan works on solid oxide fuel cell technologies at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. It’s a power source that uses oxygen and methane to create power and water – that’s pretty resourceful. This type of fuel cell technology could be used to power future lander spacecraft touching down on Mars. Her team is also looking at ways for future Mars missions to develop multi-purpose technologies. Common components used across multiple technologies will be easier to fix and the mission won’t have to travel to Mars with as many spare parts – which will save fuel because of the lighter load. Finding new ways to make the best use of what’s available will definitely help on NASA’s Journey to Mars.