MOXIE is an instrument onboard NASA’s Perseverance rover that aims to generate oxygen on Mars. Since the rover’s landing in 2021, MOXIE has been successfully generating oxygen on the red planet. This technology is crucial for future manned missions as it provides a valuable resource for both breathing and rocket propellant production. By generating oxygen in-situ, it reduces costs and difficulties with carrying oxygen from Earth. The Martian atmosphere is made up of 95% carbon dioxide (CO2) and has very little oxygen, MOXIE extracts oxygen from CO2 collected from Mars’ atmosphere using an electrochemical process. During its 16 testing cycles, MOXIE has generated a total of 122 grams of oxygen, equivalent to what a small dog breathes in over a span of 10 hours. This groundbreaking achievement is the first-ever utilization of outer space resources for sustaining life.

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