Scientists devise a new way to generate oxygen on Mars
An international team of researchers has devised a new, capable method that could give hope to the life on Mars project , by adopting a plasma-based approach to producing oxygen on the Red Planet.
"We are looking at these two steps in a comprehensive way to solve both challenges at the same time," author Vasco Guerra, a physicist at the University of Lisbon in Portugal, said in a statement carried by the Space News website. "This is where plasma can help."
Plasma contains free charged particles including electrons, which are light and can easily be accelerated to very high energies in electric fields.
"When the lead-like electrons hit a carbon dioxide molecule, they can either decompose it directly or transfer energy to make it vibrate," Guerra added. "This energy can be directed, to a large extent, into the decomposition of carbon dioxide."
The researchers hope that this technology will provide high rates of oxygen production using relatively lightweight devices, which is always a factor when launched from Earth.
The physicist from the Portuguese University of Lisbon continued: "Together with our colleagues in France and the Netherlands, we have experimentally proven the validity of these theories. Moreover, the heat generated in the plasma is also useful in the separation of oxygen."
This approach could complement NASA's Mars In Situ Oxygen Resource Experiment (MOXIE), a technology demonstration aboard the persistent rover. meaningful range, a similar device would need to consume an enormous amount of power.
Oxygen is vital. It is essential in habitable environments, produces fuel, and supports agriculture. The ability to harvest it locally on Mars will be vital for future manned missions. However, producing oxygen on the Red Planet is a major challenge.
Although there is a lot of oxygen in the Martian atmosphere, it is trapped in carbon dioxide molecules, which are very difficult to break down. The resulting oxygen needs to be separated from a gaseous mixture that also contains, for example, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide.
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