After 18 months of work, a piece of equipment about the size of a lunchbox has produced enough oxygen to keep astronauts alive on Mars.

Oxygen has reportedly been created on Mars for the very first time, marking a significant step toward the exploration of the possibility of life on other planets by humans.

Using a device “the size of a lunchbox,” a NASA-supported team claims it has been converting the carbon dioxide on the Red Planet to produce additional oxygen for the past 18 months and is now laying the groundwork for the temporary maintenance of human life.

The MIT-led Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (Moxie), which landed on Mars in February 2021, has turned CO2 into oxygen seven times at the rate of a small tree, the team said.

The oxygen was made during the day, at night, and at different times of the year.

It implies that astronauts landing on Mars will be able to breathe normally upon their arrival and that there will be enough oxygen to ignite a rocket upon their return.

Even though it was only a tiny step, scientists praised it as a huge and “promising” milestone for humanity.

This will benefit future studies into whether there is a chance for supporting life on distant planets, according to research participant Michael Hecht.

He remarked, “We have learned a tremendous amount that will inform future systems at a larger scale.

According to Jeffrey Hoffman, deputy principal investigator for MOXIE, “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.”

“The atmosphere of Mars,” Jeffrey added, “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.”

However, due to the planet’s dramatic temperature swings during these hours, scientists haven’t yet been able to create oxygen on Mars around dawn or dusk.

“We do have an ace up our sleeve that will let us do that,” Jeffrey said. “And once we test that in the lab, we can reach that last milestone to show we can really run any time.”

Now that MOXIE is making oxygen, scientists want to push its limits. They plan to make more oxygen during the planet’s Spring, when carbon dioxide levels are at their highest.

“The next run coming up will be during the highest density of the year, and we just want to make as much oxygen as we can,” Prof Hecht added.

“So we’ll set everything as high as we dare, and let it run as long as we can.

“To support a human mission to Mars, we have to bring a lot of stuff from Earth, like computers, spacesuits, and habitats.

“But dumb old oxygen? If you can make it there, go for it — you’re way ahead of the game.”

Image Credit: Getty

You were reading: First Indication Of Something Useful For Humanity On Mars