NASA Perseverance rover pulls breathable oxygen from air on Mars
Source: CNET
A golden, toaster-size device pulls oxygen from the Martian atmosphere, which is about 96% carbon dioxide.
A day after flying a tiny helicopter on another planet, the team behind NASA's Perseverance rover achieved another big first on Mars. The vagabonding science lab managed to pull a bit of oxygen out of the Martian atmosphere, which is about 96% carbon dioxide.
The rolling robot carries an experimental instrument about the size of a toaster called the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment, known as Moxie, and on Tuesday it succeeded in peeling the oxygen atoms off molecules of carbon dioxide to create oxygen.
"This is a critical first step at converting carbon dioxide to oxygen on Mars," Jim Reuter, associate administrator of NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, said in a statement. "MOXIE has more work to do, but the results from this technology demonstration are full of promise as we move toward our goal of one day seeing humans on Mars."
Read more: https://www.cnet.com/news/nasa-perseverance-rover-pulls-breathable-oxygen-from-air-on-mars/
Lars39
(26,116 posts)Never thought I'd read that in my lifetime.
wcmagumba
(2,892 posts)5X
(3,972 posts)OneCrazyDiamond
(2,032 posts)central scrutinizer
(11,662 posts)Best acronym ever!
turbinetree
(24,720 posts)Shanti Shanti Shanti
(12,047 posts)canuckledragger
(1,667 posts)Outfit one of these Rovers with something that mimics normal breathing, keep it going the whole time and use the logged results to create something like a 'breathing map' guide for future pioneers.
Mad Kirrua
(46 posts)Ah , yeah, no kidding. Maybe we should be making oxygen here. For Earthlings.