Can oxygen be produced on Mars?
An experiment on Mars has shown that it is possible to extract breathable oxygen from Mars’ thin atmosphere.
“The Moxy’s impressive performance shows that it is possible to extract oxygen from the Martian atmosphere, which could help provide breathable air or rocket fuel for future astronauts,” said NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Milroy. .
Since February 2021, over the course of 16 runs, Moxy has produced a total of 122 grams of oxygen, which NASA says is enough to keep a small dog breathing for 10 hours, or a human for 4 hours.
In April of the same year, the US Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said that it was able to convert carbon dioxide from the atmosphere of the red planet into pure oxygen that can be breathed. This feat was achieved using an experimental device on board a rover.
Read also: Scientific precedent… Oxygen extraction on Mars
It produced about 5 grams of oxygen, which is enough for an astronaut to breathe for about ten minutes, which represents the first experimental extraction of natural resources from the environment of another planet for direct use by humans.
It works by electrolysis, where Martian air is drawn through a filter that cleans it. The purified Martian air is then compressed, heated, and sent through the electrolyser. The electrolyzer splits the carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide and oxygen ions, and the oxygen atoms are recombined to form O2.
Each run takes a few hours, and in that hour of operation, the experiment is designed to produce up to 10 grams, the equivalent of roughly 20 minutes, of breathable oxygen for a single astronaut.
This shows that, although the Martian atmosphere is thin and fragile, it can produce a supply of oxygen.
Researchers under the supervision of MIT physicist Michael Hecht believe they can develop a large-scale system including a new and improved version of an oxygen extraction device, a way to liquefy this gas and a method of storing the liquid.
Breaking! @NASA Confirms Breathable Oxygen Really Can Be Extracted on #Mars 😲
An experiment that took place on Mars has shown that it’s feasible to extract breathable oxygen from the thin Martian atmosphere.#Space pic.twitter.com/8X59hrO1u1
— Go Physics (@thegophysics) September 16, 2023
Among the breathing requirements for a team of astronauts living on Mars for a year, and the liquid fuel needed to power the spacecraft, about 500 metric tons of oxygen would be needed, according to a study published in Science Alert magazine Scientific.
“We have to make decisions about what things to validate on Mars, and I think there are many technologies on that list, and I’m very happy that Moxy was the first,” Hecht explained.
