{"id":91729,"date":"2023-09-13T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-13T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/?post_type=ftm_article&p=91729"},"modified":"2023-09-27T09:28:36","modified_gmt":"2023-09-27T13:28:36","slug":"oxygen-on-mars-isru","status":"publish","type":"ftm_article","link":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/space\/oxygen-on-mars-isru","title":{"rendered":"NASA finishes the first experiment to make oxygen on Mars"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NASA has officially wrapped up the Mars Oxygen In Situ Resource Utilization Experiment<\/a> (MOXIE), which was the first demonstration of oxygen generation on another planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMOXIE\u2019s impressive performance shows that it is feasible to extract oxygen from Mars\u2019 atmosphere \u2014 oxygen that could help supply breathable air or rocket propellant to future astronauts,\u201d said<\/a> NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The challenge:<\/strong> Astronauts will need food<\/a>, oxygen<\/a>, and water<\/a> during missions to the moon and Mars, as well as enough fuel<\/a> to get them back home, but sending those resources from Earth is hugely expensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Developing technologies that let us use resources on the moon and Mars is critical.”<\/p>\nPam Melroy<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

To keep budgets viable, NASA plans for its astronauts to meet some of their needs using resources already available in space, an approach known as \u201cin-situ resource utilization<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDeveloping technologies that let us use resources on the moon and Mars is critical to build a long-term lunar presence, create a robust lunar economy, and allow us to support an initial human exploration campaign to Mars,\u201d said Melroy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oxygen on Mars: <\/strong>In April 2021, NASA achieved a huge milestone<\/a> when MOXIE<\/a> became the first device to generate oxygen on another world, having hitched a ride to Mars aboard the Perseverance rover<\/a> in February 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MOXIE generated about as much oxygen as a small dog breathes in 10 hours.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The toaster-sized device did this by heating a sample of Martian air to nearly 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit and then using electricity to split the CO2 in it into oxygen and carbon monoxide (MOXIE\u2019s flashy gold coating ensured the heat from the process wouldn\u2019t damage Percy).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MOXIE has generated oxygen on Mars 15 more times since then, but on September 6, NASA announced that the device\u2019s days of splitting CO2 had come to an end. It also revealed that, during its time on Mars, MOXIE generated a total of 122 grams of oxygen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s only about as much as a small dog breathes in 10 hours, but MOXIE actually outperformed efficiency expectations \u2014 NASA\u2019s original goal was for it to generate 6 grams of oxygen at 98% purity or better per hour, and at one point, it was generating 12 grams per hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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