Title: NASA’s Mars Rover Successfully Produces Oxygen with Breakthrough Instrument
Publication Date: September 13, 2023
Author: Emilee Speck, FOX Weather
NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover has achieved a major milestone with the success of its breakthrough instrument, the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE). The device, about the size of a microwave, has successfully converted unbreathable Martian air into oxygen, an essential requirement for humans and even animals like dogs.
Since the rover’s landing on Mars, MOXIE has been functioning flawlessly, generating a total of 122 grams of oxygen since 2021. This translates to approximately 12 grams of oxygen per hour, enough to sustain a small dog for about 10 hours. Surpassing NASA’s initial goal, MOXIE has proven its capability and efficiency in producing oxygen on the Red Planet.
The oxygen produced by MOXIE is of remarkable quality, with a purity level of 98% or higher. This breakthrough has significant implications for future manned missions to Mars, as it demonstrates the feasibility of extracting oxygen directly from the Martian atmosphere. This achievement opens up possibilities for generating breathable air and rocket propellant to support astronauts during long-duration missions.
NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy acknowledged the instrumental success of MOXIE, stating that the technology is essential for establishing a long-term lunar presence, building a robust lunar economy, and enabling a successful human exploration campaign to Mars.
MOXIE utilizes an electrochemical process that separates carbon dioxide molecules into oxygen and carbon monoxide molecules. The system continually analyzes the gases to ensure the purity and quantity of the oxygen produced.
This breakthrough is a significant step towards achieving in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) on Mars. ISRU involves utilizing materials available on the planet’s surface to facilitate human survival and mission objectives, reducing reliance on Earth-bound resources. MOXIE’s success has inspired the ISRU community and bolstered the development of future technologies in space resource exploration.
The concept behind MOXIE’s achievement can potentially be scaled up to create a full-scale system with an oxygen generator and storage facility. This technology will enable astronauts to produce oxygen and fuel directly on Mars, eliminating the need to transport massive amounts of resources from Earth.
NASA has also shared audio recordings of MOXIE’s air compressor operating on Mars, providing an exciting glimpse into the instrument’s functionality on the Red Planet.
On August 7, MOXIE concluded its operations onboard the rover after successfully generating oxygen for the 16th time. This marks a significant milestone in NASA’s mission to explore Mars and develop technologies that will pave the way for future manned space missions to the Red Planet.
As humanity prepares for interplanetary travel, breakthroughs like MOXIE’s successful production of oxygen on Mars bring us one step closer to realizing our ambitions of sustaining life beyond Earth.