A groundbreaking experiment on Mars has concluded with remarkable success, marking a significant achievement for NASA’s Perseverance rover. The experiment, known as MOXIE (Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment), was designed to produce oxygen on the Red Planet and has exceeded NASA’s initial goals.
Over the course of more than two years, since the rover’s landing on Mars, MOXIE has successfully generated 122 grams of oxygen. To put this into perspective, it’s equivalent to what a small dog breathes in over the course of 10 hours. MOXIE achieved this by converting the abundant carbon dioxide in Mars’ atmosphere into oxygen.
What’s even more impressive is that MOXIE exceeded NASA’s oxygen production targets, reaching a peak of 12 grams per hour at a remarkable purity level of 98% or better. On August 7, the 16th operation of MOXIE was successfully completed, meeting all requirements and objectives.
NASA’s director of technology demonstrations, Trudy Kortes, praised MOXIE for its groundbreaking contributions to advancing technology that will support future exploration missions. This achievement brings us one step closer to the exciting prospect of astronauts being able to sustain themselves on Mars, making long-term missions to the Red Planet more feasible.
