NASA has confirmed that extracting oxygen to Mars is possible

An experiment he conducted Rover Perseverance Ha NASA It showed that Oxygen production On another planet is possible. As the US space agency announced this week, the experiment has been named Moxy (The Mars Oxygen Resource Utilization Experiment) confirmed that oxygen could be extracted from its thin atmosphere Mars maybe. With the help of the MOXIE device, the rover was able to break down particles from the Martian atmosphere to produce a small but small amount. A fixed amount of oxygen produced.

“MOXIE’s impressive performance shows that extracting oxygen from the Martian atmosphere — oxygen that could help provide breathing air or rocket fuel for future astronauts — is possible,” said NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Milroy.

“Developing technologies that allow us to utilize resources on the Moon and Mars is critical to building a long-term lunar presence, creating a robust lunar economy, and allowing us to support an initial human exploration campaign on Mars,” he added.

The MOXIE experiment, designed by MIT scientists, has been operating since Perseverance landed on Mars in February 2021. Sta 16 experiments Conducted, MOXIE produced in total 122 grams of oxygenThis is enough to keep a small dog alive for 10 hours or a human for 4 hours. The toaster-sized device did this by heating a sample of Martian air to approximately 816 degrees Celsius and using electricity to break down carbon dioxide into oxygen and carbon monoxide.

After several hours of warming up, the MOXIE collects oxygen for one hour per trial and then turns off. In this hour of operation, the MOXIE device is designed to produce up to 10 grams of oxygen. In the worst case, the device can operate in addition to other sources of oxygen, reducing the load that must be transported from the ground.

Now, researchers believe they can develop a large-scale system that includes a new and improved version of the oxygen extraction device, a way to liquefy this gas, and a way to store the liquid. However, there are still many problems that need to be solved before humans attempt an extended stay on the Red Planet. Oxygen is just one of them.

An article about the first 7 MOXIE trials was published in “Scientific progress” last year.

source: Science Alert