at 8:33 am NPR
After making the first-ever powered flight on another world, NASA s Mars 2020 mission has managed another key first that could pave the way for future astronauts by making breathable oxygen out of the wispy Martian air.
After making the first-ever powered flight on another world, NASA s Mars 2020 mission has managed another key first that could pave the way for future astronauts by making breathable oxygen out of the wispy Martian air.
NASA announced that an instrument aboard the rover had successfully extracted carbon dioxide from the atmosphere on Mars and then electrochemically split oxygen atoms from carbon dioxide molecules.
NASA extracts oxygen from Mars in extraterrestrial first
The conversion could pave the way to sustaining human life on Mars. It marks the first time that a resource was extracted from another planet for use by humans.
The six-wheeled Perseverance rover landed on Mars in February
NASA converted carbon dioxide from Mars atmosphere into pure, breathable oxygen, marking another extraterrestrial first for the space agency, NASA officials said.
The Perseverance rover extracted the oxygen using a toaster-sized device called MOXIE, marking the first time that a resource was extracted from another planet for use by humans. This is a critical first step, 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.
By Bill Galluccio
NASA Perseverance Rover Lands On Mars
NASA announced that the Mars rover Perseverance successfully converted martian air into breathable oxygen. The space agency said that the rover used a special instrument called the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) to extract carbon dioxide from the air. The machine then superheated the carbon dioxide to separate the carbon and oxygen molecules. The device, which is the size of a toaster, stores the oxygen molecules and releases carbon monoxide back into the air.
In two hours, MOXIE produced 5.4 grams of oxygen, which equates to roughly ten minutes of breathable air.
By Bill Galluccio
NASA Perseverance Rover Lands On Mars
NASA announced that the Mars rover Perseverance successfully converted martian air into breathable oxygen. The space agency said that the rover used a special instrument called the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) to extract carbon dioxide from the air. The machine then superheated the carbon dioxide to separate the carbon and oxygen molecules. The device, which is the size of a toaster, stores the oxygen molecules and releases carbon monoxide back into the air.
In two hours, MOXIE produced 5.4 grams of oxygen, which equates to roughly ten minutes of breathable air.