This is good news for astronauts, future settlers, and spacecraft designers.

The Mars rover Perseverance has achieved a groundbreaking feat by setting a new record for producing oxygen on the Red Planet, thanks to an instrument called MOXIE, which stands for Mars Oxygen In Situ Resource Utilization Experiment. 

Housed within the Perseverance rover, MOXIE is the first experiment to extract the planet's thin atmosphere, rich in carbon dioxide, and convert it into breathable oxygen. Notably, this toaster-sized device has the potential for larger-scale applications, including the production of oxygen for astronauts in space, future Mars colonists, and even rocket fuel.

The Mars Oxygen In Situ Resource Utilization Experiment instrument. Credit: Wikipedia

Importantly, the instrument could be employed to fix the climate problem here on Earth.

In the recent milestone last month, MOXIE successfully operated at a maximum production level that exceeded previous records by a factor of two, producing 12 grams of oxygen per hour for 58 minutes. To achieve this, MOXIE utilizes a pump to draw in Martian air. An electrochemical process then separates one oxygen atom from each carbon dioxide molecule, resulting in carbon monoxide and solid carbon residue. Close attention to voltage is necessary during high-temperature oxygen production.

The experiment, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's team behind the project, is a little bit of gambling, because the 18-kilogram device isn’t supposed to increase its oxygen production over time.

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MOXIE has completed its 15th run on Mars since its deployment on 20 April 2021. Throughout 2021, MOXIE ran seven times, primarily aimed at demonstrating its functionality under different Martian conditions. In 2022, the focus shifted to pushing the limits of MOXIE's capabilities and developing new operating modes, accumulating a total of 1,000 minutes of operating time.

However, MOXIE's future is uncertain due to its status as a technology demonstration, reliant on funding. Research funding for MOXIE is expected to end by the end of the year, prompting the MIT lab to seek new collaborations for this project.

Nonetheless, the success of the experiment is encouraging for scientists looking for ways to develop a full-scale system on Earth, capable of continuously producing 25 to 30 tons of oxygen to support future human missions to Mars.

Hold your breath, let’s see what happens next.