NASA begins generating oxygen on Mars via a small box
The atmosphere of Mars is currently not fit for breathing and does not support the continuation of life on it, as it is very thin and less dense than Earth's atmosphere. However, on the surface of the Red Planet there is now a small device the size of a handbag, pumping oxygen into the uninhabited atmosphere.
The device is called MOXIE (Mars Oxygen In-situ Resource Utilization Experiment), meaning it is equipped to use natural resources on site to produce oxygen, making it the first experiment of its kind.
These experiments aim to make the air breathable on Mars, to finally allow a human mission to be sent there. The return trip also requires tons of oxygen to propel the vehicle from the surface of the planet into space.
MOXIE was placed in the heart of the Perseverance Rover before it was sent to Mars in July 2020. It uses a method called electrolysis to separate carbon dioxide molecules into carbon monoxide (CO) and an oxygen ion. What helps matters is the composition of CO2, which consists of one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms, and its abundance on the surface of Mars, as it constitutes approximately 96% of the atmosphere there.
As previously mentioned, MOXIE has produced oxygen in 7 experiments, from its landing on the red planet in February 2021 until the end of that year, and will continue to produce more in the future.
MIT is supporting these experiments, and MIT professor Jeffrey Hoffman says: “This is the first experiment to use resources on the surface of another planet, and chemically transform them into something usable for human missions.” “This is a historic event.”
Hoffman, a former NASA astronaut, is MOXIE's deputy principal investigator.
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Using electrolysis to generate oxygen is not new. For example, astronauts on the International Space Station use this method to separate water molecules (H2O) into hydrogen and oxygen. But with water scarce on Mars, it should not be neglected if there is another way.
Scientists have studied the electrochemical separation of carbon dioxide into its main components in depth for decades. It is a well-understood and well-tried process in our world. But the challenge was to rig a system capable of doing this on Mars using the planet's local resources.
There are several steps to the MOXIE oxygen production process:
The Martian air enters through a HEPA filter and purifies it from dust and impurities.
It compresses the air and heats it to 800°C.
The air is passed to a device called an electrolytic solid oxygen analyzer, which splits the carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide and negative oxygen ions.
The oxygen ions then combine to become an O2 molecule, which the device measures for quality and quantity.
Finally, oxygen is released into the Martian atmosphere.
The scientists behind the experiment say that one operation requires several hours of warm-up, after which MOXIE works to produce oxygen for an hour, supposedly pumping out 10 grams - enough for one astronaut to breathe for 20 minutes - and then the system prepares for a shutdown state.
In each of its seven experiments, MOXIE made between 5.4g and 8.9g of molecular oxygen, for a total of 49.9g.
The climate of Mars is variable, not only between day and night but also between the seasons of the year, which affects temperatures and air density. Therefore there is a need to experience MOXIE in different climates and weather conditions. This is what the scientists did during several periods of operation, so all that remained was the task of operating it during the dawn and dusk periods, when temperatures change dramatically.
Regarding this, Michael Hecht, the principal researcher at MOXIE, says: “We have a winning card up our sleeve that will allow us to do this, and when we try it in the laboratory, we can then say that we have reached an important achievement that proves our ability to operate the device at any time.”
The ultimate goal is to build a system that operates on the same mechanism but on a much larger scale than MOXIE, and such a device would have to produce oxygen continuously.
Hecht previously said that a small team of astronauts would need a ton of breathable oxygen to survive on Mars for a full year. All of this is without taking into account the tons of oxygen that goes into making up the launch fuel for the return trip. This journey requires 50 tons of fuel - mostly oxygen - on the surface of Mars, and this requires bringing 500 tons of fuel from Earth, which hinders space exploration. To solve this problem, scientists will use an oxygen-generating system on Mars similar to the MOXIE device.
Scientists will conduct the next experiment at a time of year when the Martian atmosphere is denser than at any other time. The goal of this experiment is to use the device to its maximum potential to produce the largest amount of oxygen. The results will show the limits to which MOXIE's capabilities stand, in order to contribute to pushing these limits to the greatest extent in the future device.
Finally, Hoffman said: “To enable a human mission to Mars, we have to bring a lot of equipment from Earth, such as computers, space suits, and housing. But oxygen? “If you can make it there, do it, and you will be ahead of the race.”
Source : websites