A viable solution for future astronauts heading to the Red Planet?
If NASA’s Perseverance rover traveled 78 million kilometers, it wasn’t just to photograph rocks on the surface of Mars.
Oxygen production on Mars
It’s full of tools to help us better understand the peculiarities of the red planet and possibly recognize traces of life. One of the systems is even named MOXIE able to change the atmosphere loaded with carbon dioxide into oxygen. We are not yet in a terraforming project, but this technology could still be relevant for future manned missions.
Photo credit: NASA
Michael Hecht, lead researcher on the project, explains in an interview with Space.com that engineers have pushed the limits of MOXIE by doubling its oxygen production capacity from its original 6 grams per hour 12 grams per hour“We sort of threw the dice. “Hold your breath and see what happens.” The system uses an electrochemical process to separate the oxygen atom from the carbon dioxide, leaving a solid carbon residue. The risk then is that it accumulates inside and eventually affects the system.
By pushing the boundaries of MOXIE, the researchers wanted to show that it is possible to increase the performance of such a device. The team is now hoping Design a system that can produce 30 tons of oxygen and thus accompany the people on Mars.
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