Breakthrough Device , Could Be the First Step , Toward Terraforming Mars.
'Newsweek' reports that a device capable of
converting carbon dioxide into oxygen on Mars
could open the door to colonization of the red planet.
The lunchbox-sized instrument generates breathable gas from Mars' thin atmosphere.
The device was able to reach a target of producing
six grams of oxygen per hour, which is equivalent
to the rate of an average tree on Earth.
'Newsweek' reports that the invention could
open the door to establishing farms on
a planet 100 million miles away from Earth.
It could also prove to be essential for
the future development of human
settlements on the red planet.
Since February 2021, the MIT-led Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource
Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) has successfully
converted Mars' CO2-rich atmosphere into oxygen.
This is the first demonstration of actually using resources on the surface of another planetary body, and transforming them chemically into something that would be useful for a human mission. , Dr. Michael Hecht, principal investigator, via 'Newsweek'.
It's historic in that sense, Dr. Michael Hecht, principal investigator, via 'Newsweek'.
Since landing on Mars as part of NASA's Perseverance
mission, MOXIE has been able to produce oxygen
out of a number of different atmospheric conditions.
We have learned a tremendous amount that
will inform future systems at a larger scale, Dr. Michael Hecht, principal investigator, via 'Newsweek'.
The team's findings were published
in 'Science Advances' on August 31