In a research study published today (August 31, 2022) in the journal Science Advances, researchers report that, by the end of 2021, MOXIE was able to produce oxygen on seven speculative runs. In each experimental run, the instrument reached its target of producing six grams of oxygen per hour. In contrast, a major oxygen factory for Mars would consist of larger systems that would ideally run continually.
Despite the needed restraints in MOXIEs existing design, the instrument has actually revealed it can effectively and reliably convert Mars atmosphere into pure oxygen. Each time it takes a few hours to warm up, then another hour to make oxygen prior to powering back down.
In a study released today (August 31, 2022) in the journal Science Advances, scientists report that, by the end of 2021, MOXIE was able to produce oxygen on 7 experimental runs. In each experimental run, the instrument reached its target of producing six grams of oxygen per hour.
Service technicians at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory lower the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) instrument into the stubborn belly of the Perseverance rover. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Researchers imagine that a scaled-up version of MOXIE might be sent to Mars ahead of a human mission, where it might continuously produce oxygen at the rate of several hundred trees. At that capacity, the system needs to produce sufficient oxygen to sustain humans after they arrive, and likewise sustain a rocket for returning astronauts back to Earth.
MOXIEs constant production up until now is an appealing primary step towards that objective.
” We have actually learned a significant quantity that will notify future systems at a bigger scale,” states Michael Hecht, principal detective of the MOXIE objective at MITs Haystack Observatory.
MOXIEs oxygen production on Mars likewise represents the very first demonstration of “in-situ resource utilization.” This is the idea of harvesting and utilizing a planets basic materials (in this case, carbon dioxide on Mars) to make resources (such as oxygen) that would otherwise have to be transported from Earth.
Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE) is an exploration technology examination that will produce oxygen from Martian atmospheric carbon dioxide. Credit: NASA
” This is the very first demonstration of really utilizing resources on the surface of another planetary body, and changing them chemically into something that would work for a human mission,” says MOXIE deputy primary private investigator Jeffrey Hoffman, a professor of the practice in MITs Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. “Its historical in that sense.”
Hoffman and Hechts MIT co-authors consist of MOXIE employee Jason SooHoo, Andrew Liu, Eric Hinterman, Maya Nasr, Shravan Hariharan, and Kyle Horn, together with collaborators from several organizations including NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which managed MOXIEs development, flight software application, testing, and packaging prior to launch.
Seasonal air
The existing version of MOXIE is small by style, in order to fit aboard the Perseverance rover. It was constructed to run for short durations, beginning up and shutting down with each run, depending on the rovers exploration schedule and objective duties. In contrast, a major oxygen factory for Mars would consist of larger units that would preferably run continually.
Despite the necessary restraints in MOXIEs current design, the instrument has actually revealed it can efficiently and dependably convert Mars atmosphere into pure oxygen. This instrument, which was established and developed by OxEon Energy, electrochemically splits the carbon dioxide-rich air into oxygen ions and carbon monoxide.
MOXIE will collect co2 (CO2) from the Martian atmosphere and electrochemically split the it into oxygen and carbon monoxide gas molecules. Credit: NASA/JPL
The oxygen ions are then separated and recombined to form breathable, molecular oxygen, or O2. MOXIE then measures this output for amount and pureness before releasing it harmlessly back into the air, in addition to carbon monoxide gas and other atmospheric gases.
Considering that the rovers landing in February 2021, MOXIE engineers have actually launched the instrument 7 times throughout the Martian year. Each time it takes a couple of hours to warm up, then another hour to make oxygen prior to powering pull back. Each run was set up for a various time of day or night, and in various seasons, to examine whether MOXIE might accommodate shifts in the worlds atmospheric conditions.
” The atmosphere of Mars is far more variable than Earth,” Hoffman notes. “The density of the air can vary by an aspect of two through the year, and the temperature can differ by 100 degrees. One objective is to reveal we can run in all seasons.”
Far, MOXIE has actually demonstrated that it can make oxygen at nearly any time of the Martian day and year.
” The only thing we have actually not shown is running at dawn or dusk, when the temperature level is changing substantially,” Hecht says. “We do have an ace up our sleeve that will let us do that, and once we test that in the lab, we can reach that last turning point to reveal we can really run any time.”
Ahead of the game
As MOXIE continues to create oxygen on Mars, engineers prepare to press its capability, and increase its production, especially in the Martian spring, when atmospheric density and co2 levels are high.
” The next run coming up will be during the highest density of the year, and we just wish to make as much oxygen as we can,” Hecht says. “So well set everything as high as we attempt, and let it run as long as we can.”
They will likewise monitor the system for indicators of wear and tear. Given that MOXIE is just one experiment among numerous aboard the Perseverance rover, it can not run constantly as a full-scale system would. Rather, the instrument should start up and shut down with each run. This triggers thermal tension that can deteriorate the system over time.
If MOXIE can run effectively despite repeatedly turning on and off, this would suggest that a major system, designed to run constantly, could do so for thousands of hours.
” To support a human objective to Mars, we have to bring a lot of things from Earth, like computers, environments, and spacesuits,” Hoffman says. “But dumb old oxygen? If you can make it there, go for it– youre way ahead of the game.”
Referral: “Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE)– Preparing for human Mars exploration” by Jeffrey A. Hoffman, Michael H. Hecht, Donald Rapp, Joseph J. Hartvigsen, Jason G. SooHoo, Asad M. Aboobaker, John B. McClean, Andrew M. Liu, Eric D. Hinterman, Maya Nasr, Shravan Hariharan, Kyle J. Horn, Forrest E. Meyen, Harald Okkels, Parker Steen, Singaravelu Elangovan, Christopher R. Graves, Piyush Khopkar, Morten B. Madsen, Gerald E. Voecks, Peter H. Smith, Theis L. Skafte, Koorosh R. Araghi and David J. Eisenman, 31 August 2022, Science Advances.DOI: 10.1126/ sciadv.abp8636.
This research was supported, in part, by NASA.
This illustration portrays NASAs Perseverance rover operating on the surface of Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Day and night, and across seasons, the instrument reliably generates breathable oxygen from the Red Planets thin atmosphere.
Almost 100 million miles from Earth, on the dirty and red surface area of Mars, an instrument the size of a lunchbox is proving it can dependably do the work of a small tree.
The MIT-led Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment, or MOXIE, has actually been successfully producing oxygen from the Red Planets carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere because April 2021. That had to do with 2 months after it touched down on the Martian surface as part of NASAs Perseverance rover and Mars 2020 objective.