MOXIE being lowered into the rover. (Image credit: NASA)

The Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilisation Experiment or MOXIE experiment on board the Perseverance rover has been successfully producing oxygen in the carbon-rich atmosphere of Mars since April 2021, about two months after it landed on the surface. MOXIE has produced oxygen in a range of atmospheric conditions, during the day and night, and in different Martian seasons. In each of the runs, the target rate of production was about six grams of oxygen per hour, which is the same rate as a modest tree on Earth. MOXIE is a demonstration of a group of technologies known as In-Situ Resource Utilisation (ISRU), which allows for pioneering human missions to Mars to extract what they need for the mission from the local environment, including water, oxygen, material for building structures and rocket fuel.

NASA plans to send astronauts to Mars in the 2040s. Astrophysicist Morten Bo Madsen says "MOXIE has survived the powerful shaking of both launch and landing and now proven that it can produce oxygen by solid-state electrolysis directly from the Martian atmosphere while operating in the planet's often hostile environment. We've also learned a lot more about how MOXIE could be optimized and how it could be scaled up to produce enough oxygen for human missions, which is a big step forward."

The researchers envision that a scaled up version of the device will be dispatched to Mars ahead of a potential human mission, to produce oxygen at the rate of several hundred trees. The oxygen would be collected in tanks and waiting for the future astronauts when the land on Mars. While some of the oxygen will be used to sustain humans, most of it would be used as accelerant for the rocket fuel, needed for the return journey. Principle investigator of the MOXIE mission, Michael Hecht says, "We have learned a tremendous amount that will inform future systems at a larger scale."

This is also the first practical demonstration of ISRU technologies. Deputy principle investigator on the MOXIE mission, Jeffrey Hoffman says, "This is the first demonstration of actually using resources on the surface of another planetary body, and transforming them chemically into something that would be useful for a human mission. It's historic in that sense." A full scale oxygen generation plant would be a larger device that runs continuously. The atmosphere is drawn in from Mars and filtered, then processed by the Solid OXide Electrolyzer (SOXE) that electrochemically splits the carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide and oxygen. The carbon ions are then isolated to form molecular oxygen, which is the breathable gas. All the gases are then released back into the atmosphere by MOXIE.

Hoffman says, "The atmosphere of Mars is far more variable than Earth. The density of the air can vary by a factor of two through the year, and the temperature can vary by 100 degrees. One objective is to show we can run in all seasons. The only thing we have not demonstrated is running at dawn or dusk, when the temperature is changing substantially. We do have an ace up our sleeve that will let us do that, and once we test that in the lab, we can reach that last milestone to show we can really run any time."

Only 0.13 per cent of the Martian atmosphere is made up of oxygen. So far, MOXIE has produced around 50 grams of oxygen, which is enough to keep an astronaut alive for about an hour and a half. The factory version of the device would have to produce a lot more for the astronauts. Madsen says, "3,000 grams of oxygen per hour must be produced non-stop, for 14 months in a row, for six astronauts to be able to live on a base, explore the planet and, not least, get them home again. Here, it would be possible to use a small nuclear power plant, like those used in submarines, to supply a larger version of MOXIE with power. Another alternative NASA is looking into is the development of more advanced units that could convert heat from radioactive sources into electricity, so-called 'kilopower reactors.'"

Without the oxygen produced by the factory version of MOXIE, the astronauts would be stranded on the Red Planet, without the rocket fuel necessary to make the trip home. Madsen says, "The plan is for the machine to produce all of the oxygen that the astronauts need for the mission in advance, so that prior to leaving Earth, we know that they can survive on Mars and get home. By far, it is most economical to produce oxygen on Mars, as opposed to bringing it from Earth."

Apart from its benefit for deep space exploration, the technology in MOXIE can also be used to transition into a greener future. Madsen says, "The technology used to capture CO2 from the Martian atmosphere could also be used down on Earth to convert electrical energy from wind turbines and solar cells into chemical energy, which could either be converted back into electrical energy when needed, or as a starting point for producing liquid fuels for aircraft, ships and other means of transport."

The scientists plan to continue to test MOXIE in every conceivable scenario on Mars.

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