Perseverance MOXIE instrument sets record for oxygen production on Mars
(NASA / JPL-Caltech https://bit.ly/3pvljzq)
The team of the Martian MOXIE experiment announced a new record for the rate of oxygen production from the Martian atmosphere.
The device, installed on the Perseverance rover, was able to receive up to 12 grams of oxygen per hour in early June of this year.
MOXIE (Mars Oxygen In-situ Resource Utilization Experiment) has been operating since April 2021 and installed on the Perseverance.
This is the first experimental facility to produce oxygen directly on Mars.
The experiment is based on a solid oxide electrolysis cell, where carbon dioxide from the planet's atmosphere decomposes into oxygen ions and carbon monoxide.
Then oxygen is neutralized, and the mixture of other gases is released into the atmosphere.
In 2022, the highest rate of MOXIE oxygen production was 6-8 grams per hour.
By May 2023 the device worked for a total of 1083 minutes, while producing 106 grams of oxygen and achieving a rate of 10.5 grams of oxygen per hour.
In June of this year, project leader Michael Hecht at the 23rd meeting of the Roundtable on Space Resources reported that on the night of June 6, MOXIE set a new record.
During the fifteenth work session, which lasted 58 minutes, the device generated up to 12 grams of oxygen per hour.
Now the researchers intend to understand how the device will behave when it is operated for a very long time in high efficiency mode, or if it is turned off for a long time.
Sources:
- Space.com: https://www.space.com/mars-perseverance-rover-oxygen-experiment-moxie-record
- Futurism: https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-amazing-results-generating-oxygen-mars
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