NASA’s new rover has a tool called MOXIE that produces oxygen from carbon dioxide. Could this be the key to having life on mars? (Photo from NASA)
NASA’s new rover, Perseverance, is a six-wheeled robot looking for signs of ancient life on Mars. During one of its mission, the rover made a different significant discovery. Perseverance recently pulled carbon dioxide from Mars’ atmosphere and converted it into oxygen. The rover was able to do this thanks to the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment, or MOXIE for short.
The toaster-sized MOXIE helped Perseverance separate oxygen atoms from carbon dioxide molecules by heating the gas at approximately 1,470 degrees Fahrenheit and creating carbon monoxide as a byproduct. The tool was able to produce roughly five grams of oxygen, which would be enough for an astronaut to get 10 minutes of breathable air. But how does it work?
MOXIE is made with heat-tolerant materials, including 3D-printed nickel alloy parts that can cool and heat gasses that flow through it, and a lightweight aerogel that helps hold the heat. The thing gold coating outside of MOXIE reflects infrared heat that prevents it from radiating outward and potentially damaging other parts of the rover.
These results are promising for future missions, especially those involving human astronauts seeing as both people and the rockets they travel on require oxygen to operate. According to NASA, a single rocket carrying four people will need about 55,000 pounds of oxygen just to get off the ground. That’s too much oxygen to transport to Mars. This is where MOXIE would step in and help make exploring the planet more viable.
“This is a critical first step at converting carbon dioxide to oxygen on Mars,” said Jim Reuter, associate administrator for STMD. “MOXIE has more work to do, but the results from this technology demonstration are full of promise as we move toward our goal of one-day seeing humans on Mars. Oxygen isn’t just the stuff we breathe. Rocket propellant depends on oxygen, and future explorers will depend on producing propellant on Mars to make the trip home.”
MOXIE will continue playing a critical role as Perseverance explores the Red Planet. As NASA puts it, it’s the first instrument to produce oxygen on another planet and the first technology of its kind that can help future missions “live off the land” using elements of another planet’s environment. As MOXIE shows, life on Mars could be a real concept soon, not just a David Bowie song.
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