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Rather than bringing large quantities of oxygen to Mars, future astronauts could live off the land, using materials they find on the planet\u2019s surface to survive. This concept, called in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) has now been proven by an instrument on the\u00a0Perseverance rover. MOXIE (Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment) extracted oxygen from Mars\u2019 thin atmosphere and was able to produce 12 grams of oxygen an hour \u2013 twice as much as the original goal for the instrument.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not only could a larger MOXIE-like system supply breathable air, but it could also help create rocket propellant, which will be required in massive quantities to launch rockets with astronauts for their return trip home.<\/p>\n
Michael Hecht, the instrument\u2019s principal investigator from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) said he and his team would be ready to scale up the system if funding was available.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cParticular technical tasks might be demonstrating longevity, both for the electrolysis stacks and the compressor, and developing a prototype liquefaction and storage system,\u201d Hecht said. \u201cBeyond that, the mining of water ice to enable more complex chemistry, including fuel production, would be a priority.\u201d<\/p>\n
While oxygen is the heaviest component of propellant, it is fortunately the easiest to make, Hecht said. And even though water ice appears to be plentiful on Mars, the logistics of mining it and transporting it to where it is needed would need to be determined.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before astronauts can leave the surface of Mars, they must first get there. The biggest challenge in exploring Mars might be slowing down a large, human-sized spacecraft from speeds of tens of thousands of kilometers per hour to enable a touchdown gentle enough for astronauts and payloads to survive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So far, landers and rovers have used parachutes, airbags, or sky-cranes to safely land on the Red Planet, but these technologies have likely reached their limits. The Perseverance rover \u2013 currently the largest rover or lander sent to Mars \u2014 has a mass of about 1 metric ton. But a human mission to Mars will likely require a vehicle between 50 \u2013 100 metric tons, depending on the configuration. These larger vehicles will be too heavy to be slowed significantly by aerodynamic drag in Mars\u2019 thin atmosphere, which has less than 1% the density of Earth\u2019s.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n