The “Perseverance” rover extracted oxygen for the first time on Mars. Using a scientific device called “Moxie” (abbreviation for: Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment) – the size of a toaster – the robot extracted oxygen from the planet’s atmosphere, which is mainly composed of carbon dioxide. The US space agency Nasa announced on Wednesday.
It is the first time that oxygen has been extracted on another planet. NASA manager Jim Reuter spoke of a “decisive first step.”
After landing: “Perseverance” travels over Mars for the first time(01:03)
Ten minutes of air for an astronaut
“Moxie” was able to extract a total of five grams of oxygen on its first such mission – that allows an astronaut to breathe for about ten minutes. In the future, however, the device should be able to generate up to ten grams of oxygen per hour.
In the future, oxygen on Mars could not only be used by astronauts to breathe, but also to propel rockets. (SDA / euc)