Jakarta –
An explorer or rover robot Perseverance belong to NASA managed to create oxygen in Mars using one of the instruments. This achievement came just a day after the Ingenuity helicopter made its historic flight over Mars.
Perseverance succeeded in converting Mars air which is dominated by carbon dioxide into oxygen using the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment or MOXIE instrument. This technology could later be used to help astronauts be able to breathe while exploring Mars and power the rockets that take them back to Earth.
“This is the first important step in converting carbon dioxide into oxygen on Mars,” said Jim Reuter, Associate Administrator for NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, in his official statement, as quoted by Space, Thursday (22/4/2021).
“MOXIE has a lot more work to do, but the results of this demonstration of technology are full of potential as we move towards our goal of seeing humans one day in the world. Mars, “he added.
MOXIE, a scientific instrument the size of a toaster, produces oxygen from carbon dioxide and emits carbon monoxide as a waste product.
This conversion process requires a very high temperature of 800 degrees Celsius, so MOXIE is made with heat-resistant material and has a thin gold layer so that the heat from this process does not come out to the Perseverance body.
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Illustration of elements of the MOXIE instrument Photo: NASA / JPL– |
The MOXIE team heated the instruments for two hours, before producing oxygen for one hour. In that period, MOXIE produces 5.4 grams of oxygen that can help astronauts breathe for 10 minutes.
This is not the optimal performance of the MOXIE as this instrument can produce about 10 grams of oxygen in one hour. The NASA team plans to carry out nine conversion processes in the next Martian year, so it’s likely that MOXIE will be able to reach that level in the near future.
In its current version, MOXIE cannot produce enough oxygen to assist the exploration process Mars in the future. To launch four astronauts to the surface of Mars requires 7,000 kg of rocket fuel and 25,000 kg of oxygen.
But the successor to the larger MOXIE has the potential to support this exploration process and help astronauts reduce dependence on oxygen and fuel supplies from Earth.
Watch Video “NASA’s Advanced Perseverance Robot Seamless Landing on Mars“
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