The milestone, which the MOXIE instrument achieved by converting carbon dioxide into oxygen, points the way to future human exploration of the red planet.
The growing list of “novelties” from Perseverance, NASA’s latest six-wheeled robot on the Martian surface, includes the conversion of some fine, carbon-rich atmosphere of the red planet into oxygen. An experimental toaster-sized instrument aboard Perseverance called the Mars In situ Oxygen Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) carried out the task. The test took place on April 20, the 60th Martian day, or sun, since the mission landed on February 18.
While the technological demonstration is just beginning, it could pave the way for science fiction to become a science fact: isolate and store oxygen on Mars to help rockets that could lift astronauts off the planet’s surface. These devices can also one day provide breathable air to the astronauts themselves. MOXIE is an exploration technology exploration, as is the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) weather station, and is sponsored by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Management (STMD) and the Mission’s Space Management Directorate. Exploration and Human Operations.
“This is a critical first step in converting carbon dioxide into oxygen on Mars,” said Jim Reuter, associate administrator at STMD. “MOXIE has more work to do, but the results of this technology demonstration are full of promise as we move toward our goal of one day seeing humans on Mars. Oxygen is not just what we breathe. The propellant of rockets depend on oxygen and future explorers will depend on the production of propellant on Mars to make the trip home.
For rockets or astronauts, oxygen is key, said Michael Hecht, principal investigator at MOXIE at the Haystack Observatory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
After a two-hour warm-up period, MOXIE began producing oxygen at a rate of 6 grams per hour. It was reduced twice during the test (labeled as “current bars”) in order to assess the condition of the instrument. After an hour of operation, the total oxygen produced was about 5.4 grams, enough to keep an astronaut healthy for about 10 minutes of normal activity.
Credit: MIT Haystack Observatory
To burn fuel, a rocket must have more oxygen by weight. To remove four astronauts from the Martian surface on a future mission would require approximately 15,000 pounds (7 metric tons) of rocket fuel and 55,000 pounds (25 metric tons) of oxygen. In contrast, astronauts living and working on Mars would require much less oxygen to breathe. “Astronauts who spend a year on the surface may use a metric ton between them,” Hecht said.
Transporting 25 metric tons of oxygen from Earth to Mars would be a daunting task. Transporting a one-ton oxygen converter, a larger and more powerful descendant of MOXIE that could produce those 25 tons, would be much cheaper and more practical.
Mars’ atmosphere has 96% carbon dioxide. MOXIE works by separating oxygen atoms from carbon dioxide molecules, which are made up of one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms. A waste product, carbon monoxide, is emitted into the Martian atmosphere.
The conversion process requires high heat levels to reach a temperature of approximately 1,470 degrees Fahrenheit (800 Celsius). To accommodate this, the MOXIE unit is made of heat-tolerant materials. These include 3D-printed nickel alloy pieces, which heat and cool the gases circulating in them, and a lightweight airgel that helps keep you warm. A thin golden layer on the outside of MOXIE reflects infrared heat, preventing it from radiating to the outside and damaging other parts of perseverance.
Illustration of the MOXIE instrument, which represents the elements of the instrument. Credits: NASA / JPL
In this first operation, MOXIE’s oxygen production was quite modest: about 5 grams, equivalent to about 10 minutes of breathable oxygen for an astronaut. MOXIE is designed to generate up to 10 grams of oxygen per hour.
This technological demonstration was designed to ensure that the instrument survived the launch from Earth, a nearly seven-month journey through deep space, and contact with Perseverance on February 18th. MOXIE is expected to extract oxygen at least nine times over the course of a Martian Year (almost two years on Earth).
These oxygen production operations will be carried out in three phases. The first phase will check and characterize the function of the instrument, while the second phase will operate the instrument in different weather conditions, such as different times of day and seasons. In the third phase, Hecht said, “we will push the wrapper,” testing new modes of operation or introducing “new wrinkles, such as a race where we compare operations at three or more different temperatures.”
“MOXIE is not just the first instrument to produce oxygen in another world,” said Trudy Kortes, director of technology demonstrations at STMD. It is the first technology of its kind to help future missions “live off the earth,” using elements from another world’s environment, also known as on-site resource utilization.
“It’s about taking regolith, the substance that’s on the ground, and putting it through a processing plant, turning it into a big structure, or taking carbon dioxide (most of the atmosphere) and turn it into oxygen, ”he said. “This process allows us to turn these abundant materials into useful things: propellant, breathable air or, combined with hydrogen, water.”
Learn more about perseverance
A key goal of Perseverance’s mission to Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet’s past geology and climate, pave the way for human exploration of the red planet, and be the first mission to collect and hide rock and Martian regolith (broken rock and dust).
Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.
The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA’s approach to exploring the Moon to Mars, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare you for human exploration of the red planet.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, managed by NASA for Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and managed the operations of the Perseverance rover.
For more information on perseverance:
https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/
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https://www.nasa.gov/perseverance
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