This mysterious golden box containing the hope of all mankind is trying to create oxygen on Mars

It was quietly sent to Mars by NASA with the Perseverance rover, which is responsible for generating oxygen from the Red Planet’s atmosphere.

After safely landing on Mars on February 18, NASA’s newest rover, Perseverance, is embarking on a scientific exploration of the Red Planet. And one of its most important experiments, which will help pave the way for future human travel to this distant planet, is a small instrument called MOXIE, or “Resource Utilization Experiment.” oxygen in situ on Mars”.

MOXIE, responsible for removing oxygen from the toxic atmosphere of Mars, is a golden-colored box about the size of a bread box. It fits inside Perseverance’s chassis, where it will conduct its first test on another planet of what is called Local Resource Utilization (ISRU), In other words, it will use local resources. means to explore instead of bringing all the necessary materials from Earth.

NASA has long been interested in ISRU and made the call for an oxygen-generating experiment when the original idea of ​​Perseverance was conceived, according to Eric Daniel Hinterman, a doctoral student in aeronautical engineering at the Institute of Technology Massachusetts Technology and is also a member of the MOXIE development team.

Technicians are carefully lowering the Mars In situ Oxygen Resources Experiment (MOXIE) instrument into the belly of the Perseverance rover.

According to Hinterman, while oxygen is useful for astronauts’ breathing, a more important task is that it is a component of rocket propellant. When combined with hydrogen, oxygen ignites into a powerful explosion and it can be used to lift many modern rockets off their launchers.

In addition to the propellant needed to leave Earth and fly to Mars, a spacecraft responsible for sending humans to the Red Planet would need between 30,000 and 45,000 kilograms of oxygen to return home, according to NASA.

“We could send that oxygen from Earth to Mars, but if we can make it on the surface of Mars that could potentially save a lot of money.” Hinterman said. He also adds that any additional oxygen generated through ISRU technology could enter the life support systems for astronauts while on the Martian surface.

To land on the Martian surface, the Perseverance rover had to go through a complicated journey and “seven minutes of terror,” subjecting all of its parts to some pretty harsh pressures. So a few days after landing, the new MOXIE team put the device through a series of “survival” tests to make sure it was working properly.

“We turned it on and sent some data [để xác nhận] that it survived,‘ said Hinterman. “When we received the data transmission, we opened some champagne and celebrated.”

An artist’s depiction of NASA’s Mars 2020 probe, Perseverance, which stores rock samples on Mars in tubes for future delivery to Earth.

While MOXIE’s first oxygen production run has yet to be scheduled, it is expected to occur around the device’s first few months on the Red Planet. Hinterman says the device uses a technology called solid oxygen electrolysis.

The process involves capturing a small sample from the Martian atmosphere, almost entirely of carbon dioxide (CO2), which is a molecule containing one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms. MOXIE will heat the air up to almost 800 degrees Celsius and apply a voltage on it. That would separate the carbon dioxide, creating carbon monoxide (CO) and an oxygen atom.

Hinterman said MOXIE will not store any of the oxygen it produces, but will simply verify that the element has been successfully created and will then release it back into the Martian atmosphere. Simply because this is just a small prototype, about 200 times smaller than a similar machine that will be used for the task of creating oxygen for humans in the future, he added.

Refer livescience