{"id":91624,"date":"2023-09-15T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-15T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/?post_type=ftm_article&#038;p=91624"},"modified":"2023-10-12T14:12:07","modified_gmt":"2023-10-12T18:12:07","slug":"t-minus-space-news-091523","status":"publish","type":"ftm_article","link":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/space\/t-minus-space-news-091523","title":{"rendered":"T-Minus Weekly: The end of O2 on Mars and the week&#8217;s other big space stories"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>This is <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/collections\/t-minus\">T-Minus<\/a><\/em>, where we count down the biggest developments in space, from new rocket launches to discoveries that advance our understanding of the universe and our place in it. Humanity is reaching new heights in space exploration. Make sure you\u2019re part of the journey.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Subscribe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/subscribe\">here<\/a> to get T-Minus delivered straight to your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left\" id=\"h-3-vikram-sleeps\">3&#8230; Vikram sleeps<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In August, India became just the fourth nation in history to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/space\/lunar-south-pole\">soft land a spacecraft on the moon<\/a> \u2014 and the first ever to land on the south pole. Now, the primary part of that mission has come to an end, with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-asia-india-66704451\">confirming<\/a> on September 4 that its Vikram lander had entered sleep mode.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"f-block f-block--subscribe f-subscribe p-0\">\n\t<div class=\"f-subscribe__inner line-t md:line-l\">\n\t\t<div class=\"f-subscribe__content\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"mb-3 text-xl font-bold leading-none md:text-right f-subscribe__header font-archivo\">\n\t\t\t\tSubscribe to T-Minus\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"mb-5 text-sm font-normal leading-tight tracking-wide text-gray-800 f-subscribe__text dark-theme-text-gray-30 font-archivo md:text-sm lg:text-sm md:leading-tight lg:leading-tight\">\n\t\t\t\tA weekly newsletter where we count down the <mark class=\"highlight\">biggest developments in space<\/mark>. Humanity is reaching new heights in space exploration. Subscribe to T-Minus to make sure you\u2019re part of the journey.\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"f-subscribe__form\"><noscript class=\"ninja-forms-noscript-message\">\n\tNotice: JavaScript is required for this content.<\/noscript>\n<div id=\"nf-form-21-cont\" class=\"nf-form-cont form-subscribe-inline form-subscribe-series fm-nf-one-row\" aria-live=\"polite\" aria-labelledby=\"nf-form-title-21\" aria-describedby=\"nf-form-errors-21\" role=\"form\">\n\n    <div class=\"nf-loading-spinner\"><\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n        <!-- That data is being printed as a workaround to page builders reordering the order of the scripts loaded-->\n        <script>var formDisplay=1;var nfForms=nfForms||[];var form=[];form.id='21';form.settings={\"objectType\":\"Form Setting\",\"editActive\":\"1\",\"title\":\"Tminus subscribe without checkboxes (inline)\",\"created_at\":\"2023-09-14 20:24:08\",\"form_title\":\"Tminus subscribe without checkboxes (inline)\",\"default_label_pos\":\"above\",\"show_title\":\"0\",\"clear_complete\":\"1\",\"hide_complete\":\"1\",\"logged_in\":\"0\",\"wrapper_class\":\"form-subscribe-inline form-subscribe-series fm-nf-one-row\",\"element_class\":\"\",\"key\":\"\",\"add_submit\":\"0\",\"changeEmailErrorMsg\":\"Please enter a valid email address!\",\"changeDateErrorMsg\":\"Please enter a valid date!\",\"confirmFieldErrorMsg\":\"These fields must match!\",\"fieldNumberNumMinError\":\"Number Min Error\",\"fieldNumberNumMaxError\":\"Number Max Error\",\"fieldNumberIncrementBy\":\"Please increment by \",\"formErrorsCorrectErrors\":\"Please correct errors before submitting this form.\",\"validateRequiredField\":\"This is a required field.\",\"honeypotHoneypotError\":\"Honeypot Error\",\"fieldsMarkedRequired\":\"Fields marked with an <span class=\\\"ninja-forms-req-symbol\\\">*<\\\/span> are required\",\"currency\":\"\",\"repeatable_fieldsets\":\"\",\"unique_field_error\":\"A form with this value has already been submitted.\",\"not_logged_in_msg\":\"\",\"sub_limit_msg\":\"The form has reached its submission limit.\",\"calculations\":[],\"formContentData\":[{\"order\":0,\"cells\":[{\"order\":0,\"fields\":[\"email_address\"],\"width\":\"59\"},{\"order\":1,\"fields\":[\"subscribe_1626191813380\"],\"width\":\"41\"}]},{\"order\":1,\"cells\":[{\"order\":0,\"fields\":[\"rejoiner_preference_tags\"],\"width\":\"25\"},{\"order\":1,\"fields\":[\"mailchimp_list_action\"],\"width\":\"25\"},{\"order\":3,\"fields\":[\"mailchimp_internal_source\"],\"width\":\"25\"},{\"order\":4,\"fields\":[\"form_page_url\"],\"width\":\"25\"}]},{\"order\":2,\"cells\":[{\"order\":0,\"fields\":[\"conversion_type\"],\"width\":\"100\"}]},{\"order\":3,\"cells\":[{\"order\":0,\"fields\":[\"form_placement\"],\"width\":\"100\"}]}],\"drawerDisabled\":\"\",\"container_styles_show_advanced_css\":\"0\",\"title_styles_show_advanced_css\":\"0\",\"row_styles_show_advanced_css\":\"0\",\"row-odd_styles_show_advanced_css\":\"0\",\"success-msg_styles_show_advanced_css\":\"0\",\"error_msg_styles_show_advanced_css\":\"0\",\"form_title_heading_level\":\"3\",\"allow_public_link\":0,\"embed_form\":\"\",\"ninjaForms\":\"Ninja Forms\",\"fieldTextareaRTEInsertLink\":\"Insert Link\",\"fieldTextareaRTEInsertMedia\":\"Insert Media\",\"fieldTextareaRTESelectAFile\":\"Select a file\",\"formHoneypot\":\"If you are a human seeing this field, please leave it empty.\",\"fileUploadOldCodeFileUploadInProgress\":\"File Upload in Progress.\",\"fileUploadOldCodeFileUpload\":\"FILE UPLOAD\",\"currencySymbol\":\"&#36;\",\"thousands_sep\":\",\",\"decimal_point\":\".\",\"siteLocale\":\"en_US\",\"dateFormat\":\"m\\\/d\\\/Y\",\"startOfWeek\":\"1\",\"of\":\"of\",\"previousMonth\":\"Previous Month\",\"nextMonth\":\"Next Month\",\"months\":[\"January\",\"February\",\"March\",\"April\",\"May\",\"June\",\"July\",\"August\",\"September\",\"October\",\"November\",\"December\"],\"monthsShort\":[\"Jan\",\"Feb\",\"Mar\",\"Apr\",\"May\",\"Jun\",\"Jul\",\"Aug\",\"Sep\",\"Oct\",\"Nov\",\"Dec\"],\"weekdays\":[\"Sunday\",\"Monday\",\"Tuesday\",\"Wednesday\",\"Thursday\",\"Friday\",\"Saturday\"],\"weekdaysShort\":[\"Sun\",\"Mon\",\"Tue\",\"Wed\",\"Thu\",\"Fri\",\"Sat\"],\"weekdaysMin\":[\"Su\",\"Mo\",\"Tu\",\"We\",\"Th\",\"Fr\",\"Sa\"],\"recaptchaConsentMissing\":\"reCaptcha validation couldn&#039;t load.\",\"recaptchaMissingCookie\":\"reCaptcha v3 validation couldn&#039;t load the cookie needed to submit the form.\",\"recaptchaConsentEvent\":\"Accept reCaptcha cookies before sending the form.\",\"currency_symbol\":\"\",\"beforeForm\":\"\",\"beforeFields\":\"\",\"afterFields\":\"\",\"afterForm\":\"\"};form.fields=[{\"objectType\":\"Field\",\"objectDomain\":\"fields\",\"editActive\":false,\"order\":1,\"idAttribute\":\"id\",\"label\":\"Email\",\"type\":\"email\",\"key\":\"email_address\",\"label_pos\":\"hidden\",\"required\":1,\"default\":\"\",\"placeholder\":\"\",\"container_class\":\"\",\"element_class\":\"\",\"admin_label\":\"\",\"help_text\":\"\",\"custom_name_attribute\":\"\",\"personally_identifiable\":1,\"value\":\"\",\"drawerDisabled\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"label_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"element_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"cellcid\":\"c3642\",\"field_label\":\"Email\",\"field_key\":\"email_address\",\"wrap_styles_border\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_width\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_margin\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_padding\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_float\":\"\",\"label_styles_border\":\"\",\"label_styles_width\":\"\",\"label_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"label_styles_margin\":\"\",\"label_styles_padding\":\"\",\"label_styles_float\":\"\",\"element_styles_border\":\"\",\"element_styles_width\":\"\",\"element_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"element_styles_margin\":\"\",\"element_styles_padding\":\"\",\"element_styles_float\":\"\",\"manual_key\":1,\"id\":143,\"beforeField\":\"\",\"afterField\":\"\",\"parentType\":\"email\",\"element_templates\":[\"email\",\"input\"],\"old_classname\":\"\",\"wrap_template\":\"wrap\"},{\"objectType\":\"Field\",\"objectDomain\":\"fields\",\"editActive\":false,\"order\":2,\"idAttribute\":\"id\",\"label\":\"Subscribe\",\"type\":\"submit\",\"processing_label\":\"Processing\",\"container_class\":\"container-submit-inline container-submit-arrow\",\"element_class\":\"\",\"key\":\"subscribe_1626191813380\",\"wrap_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"element_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"submit_element_hover_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"cellcid\":\"c3645\",\"wrap_styles_border\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_width\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_margin\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_padding\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_float\":\"\",\"element_styles_border\":\"\",\"element_styles_width\":\"\",\"element_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"element_styles_margin\":\"\",\"element_styles_padding\":\"\",\"element_styles_float\":\"\",\"submit_element_hover_styles_border\":\"\",\"submit_element_hover_styles_width\":\"\",\"submit_element_hover_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"submit_element_hover_styles_margin\":\"\",\"submit_element_hover_styles_padding\":\"\",\"submit_element_hover_styles_float\":\"\",\"drawerDisabled\":\"\",\"field_label\":\"Subscribe\",\"field_key\":\"subscribe_1626191813380\",\"id\":144,\"beforeField\":\"\",\"afterField\":\"\",\"value\":\"\",\"label_pos\":\"above\",\"parentType\":\"textbox\",\"element_templates\":[\"submit\",\"button\",\"input\"],\"old_classname\":\"\",\"wrap_template\":\"wrap-no-label\"},{\"objectType\":\"Field\",\"objectDomain\":\"fields\",\"editActive\":false,\"order\":3,\"idAttribute\":\"id\",\"type\":\"hidden\",\"label\":\"Hidden\",\"key\":\"rejoiner_preference_tags\",\"default\":\"t-minus\",\"admin_label\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_border\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_width\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_margin\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_padding\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_float\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"label_styles_border\":\"\",\"label_styles_width\":\"\",\"label_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"label_styles_margin\":\"\",\"label_styles_padding\":\"\",\"label_styles_float\":\"\",\"label_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"element_styles_border\":\"\",\"element_styles_width\":\"\",\"element_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"element_styles_margin\":\"\",\"element_styles_padding\":\"\",\"element_styles_float\":\"\",\"element_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"cellcid\":\"c3648\",\"drawerDisabled\":\"\",\"manual_key\":1,\"field_label\":\"Hidden\",\"field_key\":\"rejoiner_preference_tags\",\"id\":145,\"beforeField\":\"\",\"afterField\":\"\",\"value\":\"t-minus\",\"label_pos\":\"above\",\"parentType\":\"hidden\",\"element_templates\":[\"hidden\",\"input\"],\"old_classname\":\"\",\"wrap_template\":\"wrap-no-label\"},{\"objectType\":\"Field\",\"objectDomain\":\"fields\",\"editActive\":false,\"order\":4,\"idAttribute\":\"id\",\"type\":\"hidden\",\"label\":\"Hidden\",\"key\":\"mailchimp_list_action\",\"default\":\"subscribe\",\"admin_label\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_border\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_width\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_margin\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_padding\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_float\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"label_styles_border\":\"\",\"label_styles_width\":\"\",\"label_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"label_styles_margin\":\"\",\"label_styles_padding\":\"\",\"label_styles_float\":\"\",\"label_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"element_styles_border\":\"\",\"element_styles_width\":\"\",\"element_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"element_styles_margin\":\"\",\"element_styles_padding\":\"\",\"element_styles_float\":\"\",\"element_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"cellcid\":\"c3650\",\"drawerDisabled\":\"\",\"manual_key\":1,\"field_label\":\"Hidden\",\"field_key\":\"mailchimp_list_action\",\"id\":146,\"beforeField\":\"\",\"afterField\":\"\",\"value\":\"subscribe\",\"label_pos\":\"above\",\"parentType\":\"hidden\",\"element_templates\":[\"hidden\",\"input\"],\"old_classname\":\"\",\"wrap_template\":\"wrap-no-label\"},{\"objectType\":\"Field\",\"objectDomain\":\"fields\",\"editActive\":false,\"order\":6,\"idAttribute\":\"id\",\"type\":\"hidden\",\"label\":\"Hidden\",\"key\":\"mailchimp_internal_source\",\"default\":\"Freethink.com signup form: inline Tminus\",\"admin_label\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_border\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_width\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_margin\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_padding\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_float\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"label_styles_border\":\"\",\"label_styles_width\":\"\",\"label_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"label_styles_margin\":\"\",\"label_styles_padding\":\"\",\"label_styles_float\":\"\",\"label_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"element_styles_border\":\"\",\"element_styles_width\":\"\",\"element_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"element_styles_margin\":\"\",\"element_styles_padding\":\"\",\"element_styles_float\":\"\",\"element_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"cellcid\":\"c3652\",\"drawerDisabled\":\"\",\"manual_key\":1,\"field_label\":\"Hidden\",\"field_key\":\"mailchimp_internal_source\",\"id\":147,\"beforeField\":\"\",\"afterField\":\"\",\"value\":\"Freethink.com signup form: inline Tminus\",\"label_pos\":\"above\",\"parentType\":\"hidden\",\"element_templates\":[\"hidden\",\"input\"],\"old_classname\":\"\",\"wrap_template\":\"wrap-no-label\"},{\"objectType\":\"Field\",\"objectDomain\":\"fields\",\"editActive\":false,\"order\":7,\"idAttribute\":\"id\",\"type\":\"hidden\",\"label\":\"Page Url\",\"key\":\"form_page_url\",\"default\":\"{wp:post_url}\",\"admin_label\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_border\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_width\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_margin\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_padding\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_float\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"label_styles_border\":\"\",\"label_styles_width\":\"\",\"label_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"label_styles_margin\":\"\",\"label_styles_padding\":\"\",\"label_styles_float\":\"\",\"label_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"element_styles_border\":\"\",\"element_styles_width\":\"\",\"element_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"element_styles_margin\":\"\",\"element_styles_padding\":\"\",\"element_styles_float\":\"\",\"element_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"cellcid\":\"c3654\",\"manual_key\":1,\"drawerDisabled\":\"\",\"field_label\":\"Page Url\",\"field_key\":\"form_page_url\",\"id\":148,\"beforeField\":\"\",\"afterField\":\"\",\"value\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.freethink.com\\\/space\\\/t-minus-space-news-091523\",\"label_pos\":\"above\",\"parentType\":\"hidden\",\"element_templates\":[\"hidden\",\"input\"],\"old_classname\":\"\",\"wrap_template\":\"wrap-no-label\"},{\"objectType\":\"Field\",\"objectDomain\":\"fields\",\"editActive\":false,\"order\":8,\"idAttribute\":\"id\",\"type\":\"hidden\",\"label\":\"Conversion Type\",\"key\":\"conversion_type\",\"default\":0,\"admin_label\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_border\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_width\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_margin\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_padding\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_float\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"label_styles_border\":\"\",\"label_styles_width\":\"\",\"label_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"label_styles_margin\":\"\",\"label_styles_padding\":\"\",\"label_styles_float\":\"\",\"label_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"element_styles_border\":\"\",\"element_styles_width\":\"\",\"element_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"element_styles_margin\":\"\",\"element_styles_padding\":\"\",\"element_styles_float\":\"\",\"element_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"cellcid\":\"c3657\",\"drawerDisabled\":\"\",\"manual_key\":1,\"field_label\":\"Conversion Type\",\"field_key\":\"conversion_type\",\"id\":149,\"beforeField\":\"\",\"afterField\":\"\",\"value\":\"\",\"label_pos\":\"above\",\"parentType\":\"hidden\",\"element_templates\":[\"hidden\",\"input\"],\"old_classname\":\"\",\"wrap_template\":\"wrap-no-label\"},{\"objectType\":\"Field\",\"objectDomain\":\"fields\",\"editActive\":false,\"order\":9,\"idAttribute\":\"id\",\"type\":\"hidden\",\"label\":\"Form Placement\",\"key\":\"form_placement\",\"default\":5,\"admin_label\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_border\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_width\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_margin\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_padding\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_float\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"label_styles_border\":\"\",\"label_styles_width\":\"\",\"label_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"label_styles_margin\":\"\",\"label_styles_padding\":\"\",\"label_styles_float\":\"\",\"label_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"element_styles_border\":\"\",\"element_styles_width\":\"\",\"element_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"element_styles_margin\":\"\",\"element_styles_padding\":\"\",\"element_styles_float\":\"\",\"element_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"cellcid\":\"c3660\",\"drawerDisabled\":false,\"manual_key\":1,\"field_label\":\"Form Placement\",\"field_key\":\"form_placement\",\"id\":150,\"beforeField\":\"\",\"afterField\":\"\",\"value\":\"5\",\"label_pos\":\"above\",\"parentType\":\"hidden\",\"element_templates\":[\"hidden\",\"input\"],\"old_classname\":\"\",\"wrap_template\":\"wrap-no-label\"}];nfForms.push(form);<\/script>\n                <script id=\"nf-tmpl-cell\" type=\"text\/template\">\n            <nf-fields><\/nf-fields>\n        <\/script>\n\n        <script id=\"nf-tmpl-row\" type=\"text\/template\">\n            <nf-cells><\/nf-cells>\n        <\/script>\n\n        <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The mission has already met all of its primary objectives \u2014 soft land on the moon, deploy and demonstrate a rover, and conduct experiments on the lunar surface (which included maybe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/india-lunar-lander-finds-evidence-of-moonquake\">detecting<\/a> a moonquake) \u2014 but ISRO hopes to reawaken the lander and its companion, the Pragyan rover, when the current lunar night ends on September 22, so that they can continue exploring the moon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The lander and the rover have been prepped for when the day breaks again. So they are parked in the right spot and with [the] right solar orientation \u2026 We are hopeful, but you can never tell,\u201d former ISRO chief Kiran Kumar <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-asia-india-66704451\">told BBC News<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2&#8230; XRISM launches<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>After multiple delays due to poor weather conditions, Japan\u2019s space agency JAXA finally launched the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/space\/x-ray-observatory\">X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission<\/a> (XRISM) on September 7.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A collaboration between JAXA, NASA, and ESA, XRISM (pronounced \u201ccrism\u201d) is expected to give astronomers an unprecedented look at some of the universe\u2019s most energetic objects, including black holes, galaxy clusters, and stellar explosions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBut of course, we\u2019re most excited about all the unexpected phenomena XRISM will discover as it observes our cosmos,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/feature\/goddard\/2023\/jaxa-nasa-xrism-mission-ready-for-liftoff\">said<\/a> Richard Kelley, NASA\u2019s XRISM principal investigator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1&#8230; Moxie wraps<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>On September 6, NASA announced that it was shutting down its oxygen generator on Mars \u2014 the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/space\/oxygen-on-mars-isru\">Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE)<\/a>, which hitched a ride to Mars <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/space\/oxygen-on-mars\">aboard the Perseverance rover<\/a> in 2021.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While on the Red Planet, MOXIE used a combination of heat and electricity to extract oxygen from the CO2 in Mars\u2019 thin atmosphere. Though it only generated enough O2 to sustain a small dog for 10 hours, the machine exceeded NASA\u2019s efficiency goals and proved it\u2019s possible to create oxygen for future astronauts using resources (specifically, carbon dioxide) already available on Mars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBy proving this technology in real-world conditions, we\u2019ve come one step closer to a future in which astronauts \u2018live off the land\u2019 on the Red Planet,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/feature\/jpl\/nasa-s-oxygen-generating-experiment-moxie-completes-mars-mission\">said<\/a> Trudy Kortes, director of technology demonstrations, Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), for NASA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" src=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/t-minus-moxie.jpg\" alt=\"NASA engineers lowering a golden box into the Perseverance rover\" class=\"wp-image-91813\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/t-minus-moxie.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/t-minus-moxie.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/t-minus-moxie.jpg?resize=320,180 320w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/t-minus-moxie.jpg?resize=600,338 600w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/t-minus-moxie.jpg?resize=1000,563 1000w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/t-minus-moxie.jpg?resize=213,120 213w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/t-minus-moxie.jpg?resize=355,200 355w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/t-minus-moxie.jpg?resize=533,300 533w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/t-minus-moxie.jpg?resize=711,400 711w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/t-minus-moxie.jpg?resize=1067,600 1067w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/t-minus-moxie.jpg?resize=330,186 330w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/t-minus-moxie.jpg?resize=540,304 540w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/t-minus-moxie.jpg?resize=850,478 850w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/t-minus-moxie.jpg?resize=175,98 175w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/t-minus-moxie.jpg?resize=275,155 275w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/t-minus-moxie.jpg?resize=400,225 400w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/t-minus-moxie.jpg?resize=360,203 360w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/t-minus-moxie.jpg?resize=500,281 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><div class=\"img-caption\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">NASA engineers lowering MOXIE into the Perseverance rover in 2020. Credit: NASA \/ JPL-Caltech<\/figcaption><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>We\u2019d love to hear from you! If you have a comment about this article or if you have a tip for a future Freethink story, please email us at&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"mailto:tips@freethink.com\"><em>tips@freethink.com<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Freethink&#8217;s weekly countdown of the biggest developments in space, featuring the launch of XRISM, the end of MOXIE, and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":91779,"template":"","ftm_taxonomy_fields":[44,53],"ftm_taxonomy_challenges":[],"ftm_taxonomy_statuses":[36],"ftm_taxonomy_hidden_tags":[1761],"class_list":["post-91624","ftm_article","type-ftm_article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","ftm_taxonomy_fields-aerospace","ftm_taxonomy_fields-astronomy","ftm_taxonomy_statuses-featured"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.9 (Yoast SEO v26.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>T-Minus Weekly: Major space stories from September 4-10, 2023<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Freethink&#039;s weekly countdown of the biggest developments in space, featuring the launch of XRISM, the end of MOXIE, and more.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/space\/t-minus-space-news-091523\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"T-Minus Weekly: The 3 biggest space stories from September 4-10, 2023\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Freethink&#039;s weekly countdown of the biggest developments in space, featuring the launch of XRISM, the end of MOXIE, and more.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/space\/t-minus-space-news-091523\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Freethink\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-10-12T18:12:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/tminus-resized.gif?resize=1200,630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/gif\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"T-Minus Weekly: The end of O2 on Mars and the week&#039;s other big space stories\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"A new space telescope, making oxygen on Mars, and more from the week of September 4-10, 2023. \" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"T-Minus Weekly: Major space stories from September 4-10, 2023","description":"Freethink's weekly countdown of the biggest developments in space, featuring the launch of XRISM, the end of MOXIE, and more.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/space\/t-minus-space-news-091523","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"T-Minus Weekly: The 3 biggest space stories from September 4-10, 2023","og_description":"Freethink's weekly countdown of the biggest developments in space, featuring the launch of XRISM, the end of MOXIE, and more.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/space\/t-minus-space-news-091523","og_site_name":"Freethink","article_modified_time":"2023-10-12T18:12:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/tminus-resized.gif?resize=1200,630","type":"image\/gif"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"T-Minus Weekly: The end of O2 on Mars and the week's other big space stories","twitter_description":"A new space telescope, making oxygen on Mars, and more from the week of September 4-10, 2023. ","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/space\/t-minus-space-news-091523#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/space\/t-minus-space-news-091523"},"author":{"name":"kristinhouser","@id":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e45bf79276f6c14454ee4e1dfa7aca8c"},"headline":"T-Minus Weekly: The end of O2 on Mars and the week&#8217;s other big space stories","datePublished":"2023-09-15T15:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-10-12T18:12:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/space\/t-minus-space-news-091523"},"wordCount":514,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/space\/t-minus-space-news-091523#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/tminus-resized.gif?quality=75","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/space\/t-minus-space-news-091523","url":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/space\/t-minus-space-news-091523","name":"T-Minus Weekly: Major space stories from September 4-10, 2023","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/space\/t-minus-space-news-091523#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/space\/t-minus-space-news-091523#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/tminus-resized.gif?quality=75","datePublished":"2023-09-15T15:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-10-12T18:12:07+00:00","description":"Freethink's weekly countdown of the biggest developments in space, featuring the launch of XRISM, the end of MOXIE, and more.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/space\/t-minus-space-news-091523#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/space\/t-minus-space-news-091523"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/space\/t-minus-space-news-091523#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/tminus-resized.gif?quality=75","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/tminus-resized.gif?quality=75","width":1200,"height":675,"caption":"Credit: NASA"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/space\/t-minus-space-news-091523#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Articles","item":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/articles"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"T-Minus Weekly: The end of O2 on Mars and the week&#8217;s other big space stories"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/","name":"Freethink","description":"Move the world","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/#organization","name":"Freethink Media","url":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/logo.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/logo.svg","width":651,"height":124,"caption":"Freethink Media"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e45bf79276f6c14454ee4e1dfa7aca8c","name":"kristinhouser","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ff88759e0ed195de655c7703310050f17b921ae4fc276d7eb5930cddafa694f9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ff88759e0ed195de655c7703310050f17b921ae4fc276d7eb5930cddafa694f9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"kristinhouser"},"url":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/author\/kristinhouser"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ftm_article\/91624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ftm_article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/ftm_article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"ftm_taxonomy_fields","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ftm_taxonomy_fields?post=91624"},{"taxonomy":"ftm_taxonomy_challenges","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ftm_taxonomy_challenges?post=91624"},{"taxonomy":"ftm_taxonomy_statuses","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ftm_taxonomy_statuses?post=91624"},{"taxonomy":"ftm_taxonomy_hidden_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ftm_taxonomy_hidden_tags?post=91624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}