Mr. NASA announced that they have completed the mission of generating oxygen on Mars. With the help of the Perseverance rover, NASA has managed to generate the element necessary for breathing and as fuel, as part of the effort to prove that it is possible to extract oxygen from the atmosphere of the Red Planet. Using a device called the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE), NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy stated:
“MOXIE’s impressive results demonstrate that it is possible to extract oxygen from the Martian atmosphere – oxygen that could help supply breathing air or rocket fuel for future astronauts. Developing technologies that enable us to exploit the resources of the Moon and Mars is essential for to build a long-term presence on the Moon, create a robust lunar economy and enable us to support a first manned exploration campaign to Mars.”
As for how MOXIE manages to extract oxygen from the Martian atmosphere, we learn that it involves an electrochemical process that extracts one oxygen atom from each carbon dioxide molecule in the atmosphere, which is then analyzed and checked to ensure that it has reached the the quantity and purity required.
As for what NASA intends to use this breakthrough for, it is mentioned that the system can be used so that future space missions do not need to carry as much fuel on their trips, as MOXIE can potentially create the oxygen needed when the astronauts return home. In addition, MOXIE can of course also be used to create an oxygen-producing system for the astronauts themselves.
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NASA/JPL-Caltech
2023-09-11 14:42:15
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