Magnets could help breathing in Space easier for astronauts

We take the gravitational force of Earth for granted, Walking, breathing, the atmosphere, etc everything is the way it is, because of gravity. However, as well all know things are different in Space. The micro-gravity situation in space creates multiple challenges, and sustaining life is the biggest one.
Earth-based life forms need oxygen to survive, and on board the International Space Station (ISS), oxygen is generated using an electrolytic cell that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen, and then these gases are taken out of the system.

Life support systems onboard spacecraft and ISS provide oxygen for the crew through electrolysis, while this is simple, taking the gases out of the system remains a challenge. On Earth, gases inside a liquid, quickly float to the top, but under micro gravity conditions, the gases just remain suspended in a liquid. The electrolysis produces hydrogen and oxygen, but taking them out of the system remains a challenge.
NASA currently uses centrifuges to forcefully pull the gases out, this comes at a cost of large size, weight, power, and maintenance. And in Space, these things are at a premium. New research suggests magnets could achieve the same results in some cases.
Research on such Space applications of the technology is difficult, because of Earth’s gravity and the technology is supposed to test in microgravity conditions. However, the Center for Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM) from Germany has conducted successful experiments at a special drop tower facility that simulates microgravity conditions for a short period of time – 9.2 secs.
The team from ZARM has developed a procedure that could pull the gas bubbles from electrodes in microgravity environments. The study demonstrates for the first time gas bubbles in microgravity can be attracted to and repelled from a simple neodymium magnet by immersing them in different types of liquid solutions.
Dr. Brinkert from ZARM says that “these effects have tremendous consequences for the further development of phase separation systems, such as for long-term space missions, suggesting that efficient oxygen and, for example, hydrogen production in water (photo-)electrolyzer systems can be achieved even in the near-absence of the buoyant-force.”
The research could form the backbone for developing life support systems as well as other space research involving liquid-to-gas phase changes.
The paper has been published in npj Microgravity