2023-09-14 15:15:20
When the first astronauts land on Mars, they may have to thank the descendants of a device the size of a microwave oven for the air they breathe and the oxygen destined for the propulsion system of the ship that will take them back. to home. That device, called MOXIE (Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment), has generated oxygen for the sixteenth and final time aboard NASA’s Perseverance robotic rover. After the oxygen generator achieved much more success in its pioneering work than its creators at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) expected, its operations are ending.
The impressive performance of MOXIE demonstrates that it is feasible to extract oxygen from the Martian atmosphere for use in the applications discussed. That would avoid having to transport oxygen from Earth, which will be needed in large quantities.
Since Perseverance landed on Mars in 2021, MOXIE has generated a total of 122 grams of oxygen, about what a small dog breathes in 10 hours. It may not seem like much, but this version of the device was built just to test the proper functioning of the technology. Operating at full capacity, MOXIE was able to produce 12 grams of oxygen per hour (double the maximum output NASA had initially set for the instrument) at 98% purity or higher.
In its last session, MOXIE produced 9.8 grams of oxygen. With this, the device successfully fulfilled its mission, having achieved all the technical objectives.
Above, MOXIE in a photograph shortly before being installed on Perseverance. Below, a drawing with MOXIE’s location on Perseverance, marked in yellow. (Images: NASA JPL/Caltech)
Throughout an entire Martian year (687 Earth days), MOXIE operated on various occasions, and under very different conditions, which allowed the device’s developers to thoroughly verify the validity of their technology.
MOXIE produces molecular oxygen through an electrochemical process that separates an oxygen atom from each carbon dioxide molecule pumped from Mars’ thin atmosphere. As these gases flow through the system, they are analyzed for the purity and quantity of oxygen produced. (Source: NCYT from Amazings)
#Generate #oxygen #Mars #fully #demonstrated #capacity