NASA converts CO2 to oxygen – on Mars – 4 ounces over two years

Ironic.

From here:

NASA's Perseverance rover produces oxygen on Mars | Live Science

“NASA's Perseverance rover has generated 4.3 ounces of breathable oxygen while on the Red Planet — enough to sustain an adult human for three hours.

The rover, which first touched down on Mars in February 2021, produced the element using its Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) device — which generated the oxygen by converting carbon dioxide in periodic bouts over two years.

Since arriving on the Red Planet, the microwave-size device has generated 4.3 ounces (122 grams) of oxygen, according to NASA. This is equivalent to what a small dog breathes in 10 hours and gives scientists hope that human life could, one day, be sustained on the inhospitable planet.”

“Carbon dioxide is abundant on Mars, making up 95% of its thin atmosphere, according to NASA. By zapping small amounts of carbon dioxide over 16 experiments, the MOXIE device stripped oxygen atoms from CO2 and analyzed them for purity before sequestering them safely within a capsule. The leftovers were then emitted in the form of carbon monoxide.”

Well, would you look at that. Maybe the climate chicken littles could raise a bunch of taxes and build a few billion MOXIE’s on planet Earth.

Of course, it rather begs the question whether NASA could have planted a few tree seeds – after all there is water on Mars, right?

Is There Water on Mars? We Asked a NASA Scientist | NASA

Well, water ice + CO2 – so maybe a new species is needed – one that can access sunlight whilst allowing its oxygen to be captured – a little far fetched but surely not beyond the capability of scientists that can split a few CO2 molecules into O2 and CO?

Anyways, the folks at NASA are “chuffed to bits”.

“"MOXIE's impressive performance shows that it is feasible to extract oxygen from Mars' atmosphere — oxygen that could help supply breathable air or rocket propellant to future astronauts," Pamela Melroy, NASA's deputy administrator,  said in the statement.

"Developing technologies that let us use resources on the Moon and Mars is critical to build a long-term lunar presence, create a robust lunar economy, and allow us to support an initial human exploration campaign to Mars."

Reminds me of the story about the problems of writing using ink pens in the weightless state of the upper atmosphere. The Americans struggled, the Russians used… a pencil.

Onwards!

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