Scientists at the University of Central Florida and Honeybee Robotics have developed a prototype spacecraft, World Is Not Enough (WINE), which can extract water from asteroids and comets and use it as fuel for a steam jet engine. In theory, such a device is capable of infinitely generating fuel, flying from asteroid to asteroid, and extending its life. This was reported in a press release Phys.org.
The researchers tested the prototype on December 31, 2018. Scientists have created soil similar to that on the surface of small space objects. WINE successfully extracted water, made propellant from it, and released enough steam to push off the surface. According to experts, the technology is applicable to the study of such celestial bodies as the Moon, Ceres, Europa (satellite of Jupiter), Titan (satellite of Saturn) and Pluto.
A spacecraft the size of a microwave oven can use the energy produced by deployable solar panels to turn water into steam. However, the use of a small nuclear reactor is also envisaged, which expands the scope of the device to remote regions of the solar system.