water seperation thru a screen good for a car?

[IKNOWNOTHING]

back in the sixties I recall an article in a paper or magazine that said NASA has this screen that they can pour water thru it and get hydrogen and oxygen on the other side.It was something they were playing with for air for the moon trips.Anyone know any thing about it?I dont know if electricity was put into the screen but it was an instantaneous thing.I thought at the time it might work under a carbuerator on a car to run on water.It was some kind of catalyst material i think I also remember my father at that time had a paper from Brazil about a guy who had succeeded in running his car on water but he had disappeared shortly after the announcement.
Andre