The process, known as the Leidenfrost effect, would allow dry ice to be used in an engine to fuel power stations in Mars, Prensa Latina News Agency reported.

Northumbria experts based their engine on the Leidenfrost effect - a phenomenon like dry ice or water skidding on a hot pan - both when a liquid comes into close contact with a surface much hotter than its boiling point.

Dry ice hovers above hot surfaces due to a protective barrier of evaporated gas vapor.

The team led by Dr Rodrigo Ledesma-Aguilar proposes using the vapor created by this effect to power an engine. This is the first time the Leidenfrost effect has been adapted as a way of harvesting energy.