moxie_being_installed_in_perseverance.jpeg Technicians at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory lower the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) instrument into the belly of the Perseverance rover. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech The growing list of firsts for Perseverance, NASAs newest six-wheeled robot on the Martian surface, includes converting some of the Red Planets thin, carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere into oxygen. A toaster-size, experimental instrument aboard Perseverance called the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) accomplished the task. The test took place April 20, the 60th Martian day, or sol, since the mission landed Feb. 18. While the technology demonstration is just getting started, it could pave the way for science fiction to become science fact isolating and storing oxygen on Mars to help power rockets that could lift astronauts off the planets surface. Such devices also might one day provide breathable air for astronauts themselves. MOXIE is an exploration technology investigation as is the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) weather station and is sponsored by NASAs Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) and Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate.