NEW YORK — Air Company, a New York City-based startup that turns carbon dioxide into renewable products, has released concept images showing what a refueling station for rockets on Mars could look like.<br /><br />The renderings show fuel storage tanks and a rocket return launch pad as well as astronauts and a rover.<br /><br />Air Company last week announced plans to create rocket fuel from carbon dioxide. Such a technology would be vital for a sustainable habitat on the red planet. It would also greatly reduce the carbon footprint of space exploration on Earth.<br /><br />The company has already received two awards and a grant from NASA for its work on carbon conversion technology. Air Company says it has developed a working prototype that would take water from Mars' ice deposits and carbon dioxide from its atmosphere to produce liquid oxygen and liquid methane.<br /><br />In interviews with Fast Company and Inverse, company officials say they hope to work with industry players such as SpaceX and Blue Origin to deploy the technology on a space station or Mars in the near future.
