Chinese space scientists are working out how future astronauts on Mars could make their own fuel out of thin air, a sign that Beijing is serious about one day sending people to the red planet. A team at the state-funded Deep Space Exploration Laboratory in Hefei has developed a catalyst that turns carbon dioxide – which makes up more than 95 per cent of the Martian atmosphere – into a liquid fuel called methanol. “Methanol can serve as fuel to generate electricity, provide heating and power Mars...