NASA’s Perseverance rover has just completed yet another milestone on the red planet. It could also pave the way for astronauts to explore Mars one day. Thanks to the Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXI), the rover has managed to produce oxygen from the thin Martian atmosphere that is dominated by carbon dioxide . This historical fact would allow astronauts to breathe on Mars.
The first time this happens on another planet
The technology demonstration took place on April 20 and it is expected that future versions of the experimental instrument could pave the way for human exploration in the future. Not only can the process produce oxygen for future astronauts to breathe, it could also make it unnecessary to transport large amounts of oxygen from Earth to use as a rocket propellant on the return trip.
“This is a critical first step in converting carbon dioxide to oxygen on Mars ,” Jim Reuter, associate administrator for NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, said in a statement. “MOXIE has more work to do, but the results of this technology demonstration are promising as we move toward our goal of one day seeing humans on Mars .”
MOXIE
The MOXIE experiment is a gold box the size of a car battery and is located inside the right front side of the rover. Nicknamed the “mechanical tree,” it uses electricity and chemistry to split carbon dioxide molecules, which are made up of one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms. It also produces carbon monoxide as a waste by-product.
The conversion process occurs at temperatures around 800 degrees Celsius , which is why MOXIE is made of heat-tolerant materials and features a thin layer of gold to prevent potentially harmful heat from radiating out of the Perseverance rover body.
How is oxygen created on Mars?
After “ingesting” carbon dioxide, the Martian CO2 is compressed and filtered inside MOXIE to remove any type of contaminant . Then it is heated, a process that causes the separation of oxygen and carbon monoxide. The oxygen is isolated by a hot ceramic component and the oxygen ions fuse into O2, while the carbon monoxide is expelled harmlessly into the Martian atmosphere.
MOXIE’s first oxygen test produced 5.4 grams of oxygen in one hour , the equivalent of about 10 minutes of breathable oxygen for an astronaut performing normal activity. The power supply limits potential production to 12 g / hr, roughly the same amount that a large tree would produce on Earth. MOXIE engineers will now run more tests and try to increase their performance. In sum, the team plans to carry out about nine more executions over the course of a Mars year (about 687 Earth days).
Although MOXIE will not be able to produce enough oxygen to support future exploration, since launching four astronauts from the Martian surface would likely require about 7,000 kilograms of rocket fuel and 25,000 kg of oxygen, it does mark a before and after in the target: Mars. For what reason? Because generating oxygen directly from the atmosphere is much more feasible than the option of extracting ice from below the surface to electrolyze it and transform it into oxygen.
Thus, as Ingenuity marks its own milestones and Perseverance moves through Jezero Crater looking for signs of ancient Martian life and collecting samples that would return to Earth, MOXIE will continue to pump small amounts of carbon monoxide into the dusty air of Mars.
Reference: NASA
