This process was discovered nearly one hundred years ago and is still used in many chemical plants today. A direct application of this technology to the martian atmosphere would allow for the production of oxygen, methane, and water by bringing only a small amount of hydrogen. Thus, large quantities of propellant could be leveraged from minimal import mass. As described earlier, a rocket engine using methane and oxygen could be developed for use in both lunar and martian spacecraft. This could enable another large cost savings for the SEI by utilizing those materials available at the Moon or Mars.
Planetary scientists agree that water is available at the poles of Mars in the form of ice.
It is likely, but not certain, that water is available elsewhere on the planet, perhaps as a permafrost layer or bound as a mineral hydrate. If the robotic missions in the early stages of the SEl provide evidence of water, there is every reason to believe that a process can be developed to make it available for human use. It is likely that one could even extract enough water to produce both hydrogen and oxygen propellant for the launch back to orbit and even the return trip to Earth, thus reducing the size of the spacecraft leaving Earth for Mars. Telerobotic mining at distances as far as Mars is not practical, however, and totally automated systems would need to be developed. And, at the more accessible latitudes near the equator, any water is likely to be found at a lower depth, compounding the problem.