# 5. Making Rocket Fuel on Mars, Sustainable Transparent Wood, Plants Preventing Poisoning

- Show: [The Next Byte Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast)
- Published: 2021-02-16
- Length: 15m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2021-02-16-5-making-rocket-fuel-on-mars-sustainable-transparent-wood-plants-preventing-pois
- Listen: https://the-next-byte-wevolver.simplecast.com/episodes/5-making-rocket-fuel-on-mars-sustainable-transparent-wood-plants-preventing-poisoning-7Dq1C8Jc

## Summary

Daniel Scott Mitchell and Farbod Moghaddam discuss three engineering breakthroughs: NASA's MOXIE instrument, which extracts oxygen from Mars' CO2 atmosphere to enable rocket fuel production for return flights; University of Maryland researchers' scalable method for creating transparent wood by decolorizing lignin with hydrogen peroxide and UV light; and MIT’s SMART Alliance team's development of nanosensors embedded in plants to detect arsenic in real-time. The hosts highlight how these technologies address critical challenges in space exploration, sustainable materials, and agricultural safety.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2021-02-16-5-making-rocket-fuel-on-mars-sustainable-transparent-wood-plants-preventing-pois#t=0) Introduction: The Next Byte Podcast
- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2021-02-16-5-making-rocket-fuel-on-mars-sustainable-transparent-wood-plants-preventing-pois#t=0) NASA's MOXIE: Making Rocket Fuel on Mars
- [4:39](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2021-02-16-5-making-rocket-fuel-on-mars-sustainable-transparent-wood-plants-preventing-pois#t=279) Transparent Wood: Scalable Manufacturing from UMD
- [9:43](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2021-02-16-5-making-rocket-fuel-on-mars-sustainable-transparent-wood-plants-preventing-pois#t=583) Smart Plants: Real-Time Arsenic Detection via MIT SMART Alliance
- [14:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2021-02-16-5-making-rocket-fuel-on-mars-sustainable-transparent-wood-plants-preventing-pois#t=858) Conclusion and Listener Appreciation

## Topics

- [Energy & climate tech](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/energy-and-climate-tech)
- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Sensors & measurement in products](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sensors)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- NASA (company)
- MOXIE (product)
- University of Maryland (company)
- MIT (company)
- SMART Alliance (company)
- Raspberry Pi (chip)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Turning Plants into Living Sensors: Making Farming More Sustainable with Shely Aronov, Founder and CEO of InnerPlant](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2023-08-17-turning-plants-into-living-sensors-making-farming-more-sustainable-with-shely-ar) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [Episode 102: Soft robots inspired by plants - Isabella Fiorello](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2024-12-13-episode-102-soft-robots-inspired-by-plants-isabella-fiorello) (Robot Talk)
- [Ep 255: Balloon on the Moon, Nanotech Goblets, and USB All the Way](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2024-02-02-ep-255-balloon-on-the-moon-nanotech-goblets-and-usb-all-the-way) (Hackaday Podcast)
- [Episode Thirty-Seven: Yang Gao](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2023-02-17-episode-thirty-seven-yang-gao) (Robot Talk)
- [Clean Hydrogen on Demand with Max Mankin, CTO and Co-founder of Modern Electron, and Mothusi Pahl, Vice President of Business Development at Modern Electron](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2022-10-27-clean-hydrogen-on-demand-with-max-mankin-cto-and-co-founder-of-modern-electron-a) (Hardware to Save a Planet)

## Citing this page

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