Moxie Is Successfully Experimenting With Oxygen Production On Mars

Day and night, and throughout the seasons, the instrument reliably produces breathable oxygen from the Red Planet’s thin atmosphere. Nearly 100 million miles from Earth, on the red and dusty surface of Mars, an instrument the size of a lunch box proves it can reliably do the job of a small tree. The MIT-led Mars Oxygen Resource Utilization Experiment, or MOXIE, has been successfully producing oxygen from the Red Planet’s carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere since April 2021. That was about two months after it landed on the Martian surface as part NASA’s Perseverance Rover and the Mars 2020 mission. In a 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 in seven experimental tests. These were conducted in a variety of atmospheric conditions, including day and night, and in different seasons of Mars. In each experimental run, the instrument reached its goal of producing six grams of oxygen per hour. That’s about the percentage of an average tree on Earth. Technicians at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory lower the Mars Oxygen Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) instrument into the belly of the Perseverance rover. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Scientists envision that a scaled-up version of MOXIE could be sent to Mars before a human mission, where it could continuously produce oxygen at the rate of several hundred trees. With this capability, the system should produce enough oxygen to sustain humans after they arrive and also fuel a rocket to return astronauts back to Earth. MOXIE’s steady production thus far is a promising first step toward that goal. “We’ve learned an enormous amount that will inform future systems on a larger scale,” says Michael Hecht, principal investigator of the MOXIE mission at MIT’s Haystack Observatory. MOXIE’s oxygen production on Mars also represents the first demonstration of “in situ resource use.” This is the idea of ​​collecting and using a planet’s raw materials (in this case, carbon dioxide on Mars) to produce resources (such as oxygen) that would otherwise have to be transported from Earth. The Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE) is an exploration technology probe that will produce oxygen from the carbon dioxide of the Martian atmosphere. Credit: NASA “This is the first demonstration of actually taking resources on the surface of another planetary body and converting them chemically into something that would be useful for a human mission,” says MOXIE deputy principal investigator Jeffrey Hoffman, a professor of practice in the Department of MIT. Aeronautics and Astronautics. “It’s historic in that sense.” Hoffman and Hecht’s MIT co-authors include MOXIE team members Jason SooHoo, Andrew Liu, Eric Hinterman, Maya Nasr, Shravan Hariharan, and Kyle Horn, along with collaborators from several institutions, including the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of NASA, which managed MOXIE’s development, flight software, packaging and pre-launch testing.

Seasonally active

The current version of MOXIE is small by design to fit inside the Perseverance rover. It was designed to operate for short periods, starting and ending with each run, depending on the rover’s exploration program and mission responsibilities. In contrast, a full-scale oxygen plant for Mars would involve larger units that would ideally operate continuously. Despite the necessary limitations in MOXIE’s current design, the instrument has shown that it can efficiently and reliably convert the Martian atmosphere into pure oxygen. It does this by first pulling the Martian air through a filter that cleans it of contaminants. The air is then compressed and sent through the Solid Oxide Electrolyte (SOXE). Developed and manufactured by OxEon Energy, this instrument electrochemically splits carbon dioxide-rich air into oxygen ions and carbon monoxide. MOXIE will collect carbon dioxide (CO2) from the Martian atmosphere and electrochemically break it down into oxygen and carbon monoxide molecules. Credit: NASA/JPL The oxygen ions are then dissociated and recombine to form respirable, molecular oxygen or O2. MOXIE then measures this output for quantity and purity before releasing it harmlessly back into the air, along with carbon monoxide and other atmospheric gases. Since the rover landed in February 2021, MOXIE engineers have launched the instrument seven times during the Martian year. Each time it takes a few hours to warm up, then another hour to produce oxygen before turning off again. Each run was planned for a different time of day or night and in different seasons, to test whether MOXIE could accommodate changes in the planet’s atmospheric conditions. “Mars’ atmosphere is much more variable than Earth’s,” notes Hoffman. “Air density can vary by a factor of two over time and the temperature can vary by 100 degrees. One goal is to show that we can run in all seasons.” So far, MOXIE has demonstrated that it can produce oxygen at almost any time of the Martian day and year. “The one thing we haven’t shown is running at dawn or dusk, when the temperature changes substantially,” Hecht says. “We have an ace up our sleeve that will allow us to do this, and once we test it in the lab, we can reach this final milestone to show that we can actually run at any time.”

Ahead of the game

As MOXIE continues to produce oxygen on Mars, engineers plan to advance its capacity and increase its output, particularly in the Martian spring, when atmospheric density and carbon dioxide levels are high. “The next run it takes is going to be during the highest density of the year, and we just want to produce as much oxygen as we can,” Hecht says. “So we’re going to put everything as high as we dare and let it run as long as we can.” They will also monitor the system for signs of wear and tear. Since MOXIE is only one experiment among many on the Perseverance rover, it cannot operate continuously as a full-scale system would. Instead, the instrument must be started and shut down with each operation. This causes thermal stress that can degrade the system over time. If MOXIE can operate successfully despite being turned on and off repeatedly, it suggests that a full-scale system, designed to run continuously, could do so for thousands of hours. “To support a human mission to Mars, we need to bring a lot of things from Earth, like computers, spacesuits and habitats,” says Hoffman. “But dumb old oxygen? If you can make it there, go for it – you’re way ahead of the game.” Reference: “Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE)—Preparation 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 This research was supported, in part, by NASA.

title: “Moxie Is Successfully Experimenting With Oxygen Production On Mars Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-13” author: “Heidi Hainley”

Day and night, and throughout the seasons, the instrument reliably produces breathable oxygen from the Red Planet’s thin atmosphere. Nearly 100 million miles from Earth, on the red and dusty surface of Mars, an instrument the size of a lunch box proves it can reliably do the job of a small tree. The MIT-led Mars Oxygen Resource Utilization Experiment, or MOXIE, has been successfully producing oxygen from the Red Planet’s carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere since April 2021. That was about two months after it landed on the Martian surface as part NASA’s Perseverance Rover and the Mars 2020 mission. In a 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 in seven experimental tests. These were conducted in a variety of atmospheric conditions, including day and night, and in different seasons of Mars. In each experimental run, the instrument reached its goal of producing six grams of oxygen per hour. That’s about the percentage of an average tree on Earth. Technicians at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory lower the Mars Oxygen Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) instrument into the belly of the Perseverance rover. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Scientists envision that a scaled-up version of MOXIE could be sent to Mars before a human mission, where it could continuously produce oxygen at the rate of several hundred trees. With this capability, the system should produce enough oxygen to sustain humans after they arrive and also fuel a rocket to return astronauts back to Earth. MOXIE’s steady production thus far is a promising first step toward that goal. “We’ve learned an enormous amount that will inform future systems on a larger scale,” says Michael Hecht, principal investigator of the MOXIE mission at MIT’s Haystack Observatory. MOXIE’s oxygen production on Mars also represents the first demonstration of “in situ resource use.” This is the idea of ​​collecting and using a planet’s raw materials (in this case, carbon dioxide on Mars) to produce resources (such as oxygen) that would otherwise have to be transported from Earth. The Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE) is an exploration technology probe that will produce oxygen from the carbon dioxide of the Martian atmosphere. Credit: NASA “This is the first demonstration of actually taking resources on the surface of another planetary body and converting them chemically into something that would be useful for a human mission,” says MOXIE deputy principal investigator Jeffrey Hoffman, a professor of practice in the Department of MIT. Aeronautics and Astronautics. “It’s historic in that sense.” Hoffman and Hecht’s MIT co-authors include MOXIE team members Jason SooHoo, Andrew Liu, Eric Hinterman, Maya Nasr, Shravan Hariharan, and Kyle Horn, along with collaborators from several institutions, including the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of NASA, which managed MOXIE’s development, flight software, packaging and pre-launch testing.

Seasonally active

The current version of MOXIE is small by design to fit inside the Perseverance rover. It was designed to operate for short periods, starting and ending with each run, depending on the rover’s exploration program and mission responsibilities. In contrast, a full-scale oxygen plant for Mars would involve larger units that would ideally operate continuously. Despite the necessary limitations in MOXIE’s current design, the instrument has shown that it can efficiently and reliably convert the Martian atmosphere into pure oxygen. It does this by first pulling the Martian air through a filter that cleans it of contaminants. The air is then compressed and sent through the Solid Oxide Electrolyte (SOXE). Developed and manufactured by OxEon Energy, this instrument electrochemically splits carbon dioxide-rich air into oxygen ions and carbon monoxide. MOXIE will collect carbon dioxide (CO2) from the Martian atmosphere and electrochemically break it down into oxygen and carbon monoxide molecules. Credit: NASA/JPL The oxygen ions are then dissociated and recombine to form respirable, molecular oxygen or O2. MOXIE then measures this output for quantity and purity before releasing it harmlessly back into the air, along with carbon monoxide and other atmospheric gases. Since the rover landed in February 2021, MOXIE engineers have launched the instrument seven times during the Martian year. Each time it takes a few hours to warm up, then another hour to produce oxygen before turning off again. Each run was planned for a different time of day or night and in different seasons, to test whether MOXIE could accommodate changes in the planet’s atmospheric conditions. “Mars’ atmosphere is much more variable than Earth’s,” notes Hoffman. “Air density can vary by a factor of two over time and the temperature can vary by 100 degrees. One goal is to show that we can run in all seasons.” So far, MOXIE has demonstrated that it can produce oxygen at almost any time of the Martian day and year. “The one thing we haven’t shown is running at dawn or dusk, when the temperature changes substantially,” Hecht says. “We have an ace up our sleeve that will allow us to do this, and once we test it in the lab, we can reach this final milestone to show that we can actually run at any time.”

Ahead of the game

As MOXIE continues to produce oxygen on Mars, engineers plan to advance its capacity and increase its output, particularly in the Martian spring, when atmospheric density and carbon dioxide levels are high. “The next run it takes is going to be during the highest density of the year, and we just want to produce as much oxygen as we can,” Hecht says. “So we’re going to put everything as high as we dare and let it run as long as we can.” They will also monitor the system for signs of wear and tear. Since MOXIE is only one experiment among many on the Perseverance rover, it cannot operate continuously as a full-scale system would. Instead, the instrument must be started and shut down with each operation. This causes thermal stress that can degrade the system over time. If MOXIE can operate successfully despite being turned on and off repeatedly, it suggests that a full-scale system, designed to run continuously, could do so for thousands of hours. “To support a human mission to Mars, we need to bring a lot of things from Earth, like computers, spacesuits and habitats,” says Hoffman. “But dumb old oxygen? If you can make it there, go for it – you’re way ahead of the game.” Reference: “Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE)—Preparation 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 This research was supported, in part, by NASA.