NASA’s Perseverance rover has accomplished a groundbreaking experiment, generating enough oxygen on Mars to sustain an astronaut for several hours. This experiment has been conducted over a period of more than two years since the rover’s landing in February 2021.
The Device Behind the Success: MOXIE
Utilizing a device called MOXIE (Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment), which is roughly the size of a microwave, the rover was able to generate 122 grams of oxygen. This amount is sufficient to sustain an astronaut for approximately three hours. The device has generated oxygen on 16 separate occasions, exceeding NASA’s initial expectations.
How MOXIE Works
MOXIE achieves its task by burning through the Martian atmosphere’s carbon dioxide to generate small amounts of oxygen. Each batch generated contained at least 98% purity and in one instance, the device was able to produce 12 grams of oxygen in an hour, doubling NASA’s goal for the experiment.
What This Means for Future Missions
NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy stated that MOXIE’s performance validates the feasibility of extracting oxygen from Mars’ atmosphere for future manned missions. This technology could play a pivotal role in long-term lunar presence and in initial exploration campaigns to Mars.
Beyond Breathable Air: Rocket Propellant and More
The experiment has potential applications beyond sustaining astronauts. It could also be used to generate rocket propellant, offering the possibility of “living off the land” during future missions. This is aligned with the concept of in-situ resource utilization, a growing area of research aimed at using materials found on other celestial bodies for human use.
Perseverance’s Primary Mission
As for the Perseverance rover, its primary mission remains the search for signs of ancient microbial life on Mars. The mission is also paving the way for human exploration and will collect and cache Martian rock and regolith for future missions that aim to bring samples back to Earth for further analysis.
