Oxygen Production Starts on Mars!

A tool the size of a small bag has successfully produced breathable oxygen on Mars by doing the work of a small tree. Moxie, an oxygen-sourcing experiment on the red planet since February last year, has successfully produced oxygen from the red planet's carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere.

Researchers have suggested that a scaled-down version of Moxie could be sent to the red planet to continuously produce oxygen at the rate of several hundred trees before humans settle on the planet. Moxie landed on the Martian surface as part of NASA's Perseverance rover mission.

Moxie Becomes Oxygen Source to Mars

In one study, researchers reported that by the end of 2021, Moxie was able to produce oxygen in seven experimental runs in a variety of atmospheric conditions and different seasons, including day and night. Moxie achieved her goal of producing 6 g of oxygen per hour with each attempt; We can say that it is the same ratio as a modest tree in the world.

It is hoped that the system, at full capacity, can produce enough oxygen to feed humans when they reach Mars and create rocket fuel to return humans to Earth. "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," said Jeffrey Hoffman, Moxie deputy director.

The current version of the instrument is small by design to fit on the Perseverance rover and was made to run for short periods of time. A full-scale oxygen plant will ideally contain larger units that will operate continuously. So far, Moxie has shown that Mars can produce oxygen at almost any hour of the day and year.

NOTE: All of the findings we mentioned above were published in the journal Science Advances.