NASA successfully ran MOXIE experiments, converting Martian atmospheric gases into breathable oxygen. The lunchbox-sized device produces six grams of oxygen per hour. (Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
NASA successfully performed a crucial Mars experiment that involved converting carbon dioxide from the Martian atmosphere into oxygen. The process relies on using the Mars Oxygen In Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) device aboard the Mars Perseverance rover. It has churned out approximately six grams of oxygen per hour in the Jezros Crater.
“This is the first demonstration of actually using resources on the surface of another planetary body and transforming them chemically into something that would be useful for a human mission,” Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor of aeronautics and astronautics and principal investigator for MOXIE Jeffery Hoffman said. “It’s historic in that sense.”
NASA and other space agencies are currently exploring different approaches to pulling in resources from a planet’s atmosphere since it means that the resulting material won’t need to be transported from Earth. NASA and the ESA plan to run tests with similar technologies on the moon.
Starting in April 2021, the lunchbox-sized MOXIE was turned on seven times to prove it acquires carbon dioxide from the air and turns it into oxygen. “The atmosphere of Mars is far more variable than Earth,” Dr. Hoffman said. “The density of the air can vary by a factor of two through the year, and the temperature can vary by 100 degrees. One objective is to show we can run in all seasons.”
MOXIE uses a HEPA filter, scroll compressor, and heaters with insulation to collect, compress, and heat gases from Mars’ atmosphere before splitting them into oxygen ions and carbon monoxide via solid oxide electrolysis. It follows nearly the same electrochemical process for oxygen and hydrogen production from water in a fuel cell. Afterward, MOXIE isolates and recombines the oxygen ions to create breathable molecular oxygen.
The system then measures the oxygen for quantity and purity before releasing it into the atmosphere. On the other hand, up-scaling MOXIE means the oxygen would be pumped into a storage tank during a future Mars mission. This would effectively supply astronauts with breathable oxygen or even liquid oxygen to produce rocket fuel.
MOXIE continually starts up and shuts down during each run, which may lead to system degradation. (Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
NASA engineers also plan on making MOXIE more productive, especially during the Spring, due to high atmospheric density and carbon dioxide levels. “The next run coming up will be during the highest density of the year, and we just want to make as much oxygen as we can,” Hecht says. “So we’ll set everything as high as we dare and let it run as long as we can.”
In addition, they expect to monitor the system for degradation signs. MOXIE cannot operate at all times because the Perseverance rover has more than one experimental system. The carbon dioxide conversion device powers on and off with each run, which causes thermal stress that degrades the system.
If MOXIE fully operates despite the constant start-up and shutdown procedures, then a full-scale system could therefore run for thousands of hours. “To support a human mission to Mars, we have to bring a lot of stuff from Earth, like computers, spacesuits, and habitats,” Hoffman says. “But dumb old oxygen? If you can make it there, go for it — you’re way ahead of the game.”
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