NASA's MOXIE extracts 5.4 grams of oxygen on Mars in 2021

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NASA's MOXIE extracts 5.4 grams of oxygen on Mars in 2021

NASA's MOXIE experiment aboard the Perseverance rover produced about 5.4 grams of oxygen from Martian carbon dioxide on April 20, 2021. The demonstration marked the first time a useful consumable was generated on another planet from local resources. The oxygen yield was enough for roughly ten minutes of astronaut breathing.

Key Facts

MOXIE produced about 5.4 grams of oxygen during its first test on April 20, 2021, enough for roughly ten minutes of astronaut breathing.
The experiment operated for about one hour after a two-hour warm-up, starting at a production rate of six grams per hour.
MOXIE was bolted inside the Perseverance rover, which landed in Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021.
The first test occurred on Sol 60, one day after the Ingenuity helicopter made the first powered flight on another world.

First Oxygen Production

On April 20, 2021, the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) produced about 5.4 grams of oxygen from Martian carbon dioxide. The experiment warmed for two hours before beginning production at an initial rate of six grams per hour. Engineers reduced the production rate twice during the run to assess instrument performance. The final yield was enough for an astronaut to breathe for about ten minutes of normal activity.

Mission Context

Perseverance landed in Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021, carrying MOXIE and the Ingenuity helicopter. MOXIE's first production test occurred on Sol 60, one day after Ingenuity's first powered flight on April 19, 2021. The experiment demonstrated that a useful consumable could be generated on another planet without being launched from Earth. MOXIE did not store its oxygen or supply it to a person or rocket; its success was the first physical proof of in-situ resource utilization on Mars.

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NASA's MOXIE extracts 5.4 grams of oxygen on Mars in 2021

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NASA's MOXIE extracts 5.4 grams of oxygen on Mars in 2021

Key Facts

First Oxygen Production

Mission Context

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