Oddly enough when the process was demonstrated by French scientists in the 1800s they did it in space, so the earth has yet to see this advanced technology.

We have flown this experiment on the ISS. It is a chemical process that is over 100 years old and is well understood.

It’s also the only way to lift any significant mass off of mars, because as you said we have no manufacturing or refueling there. So the rocket must refuel itself.

It then follows that if Mars is the next major target of exploration, and methane is cheap and abundant, why not get started now? The alternative is to spend a decade qualifying an engine for human space flight after the green light for a crewed mission.

Correct. It’s called the Sabatier reaction and it’s over 100 years old.

Importantly they use methane because you can generate methane on Mars(especially if you bring some spare hydrogen).

Fuck Schweikert. He’s almost never voted for more taxes. Just a clown running cover for the destruction of the federal government.