NASA’s recent plans involve a process of turning carbon dioxide into oxygen using gold. The mission will be done by using the MOXIE (the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment). The tool is a golden box with which NASA engineers are ready to take a chance of converting carbon dioxide into oxygen, to the Perseverance rover. Liquid propellant made up into space could enhance the quality of space explorations.
How Will NASA Turn Carbon Dioxide Into Oxygen On The Moon?
MOXIE runs by propelling energy into the anode and cathode. According to Jim Lewis, the MOXIE engineer, the oxygen will be separated from the carbon dioxide easily. The box is made out of gold because it will diminish the impact with any electronic boxes from Perseverance. Gold is known not to radiate heat because it has extremely low emissivity. MOXIE, however, is still a test device. But, once it is ready, it will support next Mars explorers make oxygen utilizing carbon dioxide discovered on Mars.
The oxygen will help them breathe and propel on the Red Planet. The initial version will “require approximately 33 to 50 tons of fuel, about the weight of a Space Shuttle,” according to NASA. It will also function as a tree, inhaling carbon dioxide and exhaling oxygen on Mars. NASA detailed that if such a project works, the oxygen will be liquid-based, and it will supply 3/4 of the fuel that humans need to explore Mars.
A for Perseverance, its objective is to find any signs of ancient life and gather soil and rock samples for a possible return to Earth. The rover will support NASA’s mission of spending at least one Mars year or 687 Earth days. The samples will be sent back to our planet and help scientists discover if life did ever exist on the Red Planet. Helping Perseverance is the Mars Helicopter, developed as the first aircraft in history to possess a power-managed flight on another planet. The helicopter will be attached to the rover.
