عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

NASA Extracts Breathable Oxygen on March

Technicians carefully lower the MOXIE instrument into the belly of the Perseverance rover at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in March 2019. (NASA via AFP)
Technicians carefully lower the MOXIE instrument into the belly of the Perseverance rover at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in March 2019. (NASA via AFP)
TT
20
TT

NASA Extracts Breathable Oxygen on March

Technicians carefully lower the MOXIE instrument into the belly of the Perseverance rover at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in March 2019. (NASA via AFP)
Technicians carefully lower the MOXIE instrument into the belly of the Perseverance rover at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in March 2019. (NASA via AFP)

NASA's Perseverance rover has logged another extraterrestrial first on its latest mission to Mars: converting carbon dioxide from the Martian atmosphere into pure, breathable oxygen.

"This is a critical first step at converting carbon dioxide to oxygen on Mars," said Jim Reuter, associate administrator for NASA.

According to AFP, the technology demonstration took place on April 20, and NASA hopes future versions of the used experimental instrument could pave the way for future human Martian explorations.

Not only can the process produce oxygen for future astronauts to breathe, but it could make hauling vast amounts of oxygen over from Earth to use as rocket propellant for the return journey unnecessary. The instrument, dubbed MOXIE (short for Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment), is a golden box the size of a car battery, and is located inside the front right side of the rover.

It uses electricity and chemistry to split carbon dioxide molecules, to produce oxygen and carbon monoxide. In its first run, MOXIE produced 5 grams of oxygen, equivalent to about 10 minutes of breathable oxygen for an astronaut carrying out normal activity.

MOXIE's engineers will now run more tests and try to step up its output. It is designed to be able to generate up to 10 grams of oxygen per hour. Designed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MOXIE was built with heat-resistant materials and designed to tolerate the searing temperatures of 800 Celsius required for it to run. A thin gold coating ensures it doesn't radiate its heat and harm the rover.

MIT engineer Michael Hecht said a one-ton version of MOXIE (the currently used instrument weighs 17 kg) could produce the approximately 25 tons of oxygen needed for a rocket to blast off from Mars.

Producing oxygen from Mars' 96 percent carbon dioxide atmosphere might be a more feasible option than extracting ice from under its surface then electrolyzing it to make oxygen. Perseverance landed on the Red Planet on February 18 on a mission to search for signs for past life.

Most Viewed

 
Varieties

Volcano Begins Erupting in Southwestern Iceland

File Photo: The Klyuchevskoy volcano, one of the highest active volcanoes in the world, erupts in Russia's northern Kamchatka Peninsula, Russian Far Eat, on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Yuri Demyanchuk)
File Photo: The Klyuchevskoy volcano, one of the highest active volcanoes in the world, erupts in Russia's northern Kamchatka Peninsula, Russian Far Eat, on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Yuri Demyanchuk)
TT
20
TT

Volcano Begins Erupting in Southwestern Iceland

File Photo: The Klyuchevskoy volcano, one of the highest active volcanoes in the world, erupts in Russia's northern Kamchatka Peninsula, Russian Far Eat, on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Yuri Demyanchuk)
File Photo: The Klyuchevskoy volcano, one of the highest active volcanoes in the world, erupts in Russia's northern Kamchatka Peninsula, Russian Far Eat, on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Yuri Demyanchuk)

A volcano began erupting in southwestern Iceland on Tuesday, just hours after authorities evacuated a nearby community and the Blue Lagoon spa.

Flames and smoke shot through the air as the volcanic fissure opened near the town of Grindavik, where some 40 homes have been evacuated, national broadcaster RUV reported. The community, located on the Reykjanes Peninsula, was largely evacuated a year ago when the volcano came to life after lying dormant for 800 years, The AP news reported.

Webcams showed molten rock spewing out toward the community.

“The fissure is now about 500 meters (yards) long and has reached through the protective barrier north of Grindavík,'' Iceland's Met Office said in a statement. ”The fissure continues to grow, and it cannot be ruled out that it may continue to open further south.''

The magma flow began at about 6:30 a.m. local time (0630 GMT) accompanied by an intense earthquake storm similar to previous eruptions, the Icelandic Met Office said.