When the first astronauts land on Mars, they may have the descendants of a microwave-oven-size device to thank for the air they breathe and the rocket propellant that gets them home. That device, called MOXIE (Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment), has generated oxygen for the 16th and final time aboard NASA's Perseverance rover. After the instrument proved far more successful than its creators at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) expected, its operations are concluding.
"MOXIE's impressive performance shows that it is feasible to extract oxygen from Mars' atmosphere—oxygen that could help supply breathable air or rocket propellant to future astronauts," said NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy."Developing technologies that let us use resources on the moon and Mars is critical to build a long-term lunar presence, create a robust lunar economy, and allow us to support an initial human exploration campaign to Mars.
Since Perseverance landed on Mars in 2021, MOXIE has generated a total of 122 grams of oxygen—about what a small dog breathes in 10 hours. At its most efficient, MOXIE was able to produce 12 grams of oxygen an hour—twice as much as NASA's original goals for the instrument—at 98% purity or better. On its 16th run, on Aug. 7, the instrument made 9.8 grams of oxygen.
"We're proud to have supported a breakthrough technology like MOXIE that could turn local resources into useful products for future exploration missions," said Trudy Kortes, director of technology demonstrations, Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington."By proving this technology in real-world conditions, we've come one step closer to a future in which astronauts 'live off the land' on the Red Planet.
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