Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

On the prowl at Jezero Crater, NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover is loaded with scientific equipment.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

The Perseverance Mars rover is busy wheeling and dealing with Jezero Crater, prowling about that Red Planet scenery, stuffed with science gear. It landed on Mars in February 2021.

Tucked into the belly of this on-the-move Mars machinery is a novel device for producing oxygen from the carbon dioxide-rich Martian atmosphere.

Pre-launch lowering of the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) instrument into the belly of the Perseverance rover.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

In shorthand space lingo it’s called MOXIE – a verbal stand-in for Mars Oxygen In Situ Resource Utilization Experiment. The toaster-sized device is the first experiment to harvest and process a native resource on the surface of another planet.

That technology milestone occurred on April 20, 2021 when MOXIE first converted atmospheric carbon dioxide into oxygen via its solid-oxide electrolysis assembly.

Artist’s concept depicts astronauts and human habitats on Mars. NASA’s Mars Perseverance robot carries an oxygen-generating unit, viewed as a precursor for technologies that could make Mars safer and easier to explore for humans.
Image credit: NASA

In no small measure — albeit a humble whiff of 5 grams or so of oxygen was cranked out on its first run — MOXIE signifies something huge for the future.

For detailed information on this innovative experiment, go to my new Multiverse Media’s SpaceRef story – “Huffing and Puffing on Mars: It Takes MOXIE” at:

https://spaceref.com/science-and-exploration/huffing-puffing-mars-oxygen-moxie/