NASA has expressed confidence in its capability to generate enough oxygen on Mars for future crewed missions. According to IEEE Spectrum, the results of its Mars Oxygen In-situ resource utilisation Experiment (Moxie) have left its scientists optimistic.

A future, larger version of the experiment would produce oxygen to supply astronauts for the return journey from Mars to Earth. Such a trip would require approximately 31 tonnes of oxygen.

In this first experiment, Moxie managed to produce between 6 and 8g of oxygen per hour. The full-scale device would need to produce 2 to 3kg per hour, based on a production time of 26 months.

Originally trialled on the Perseverance Rover through 2021 (beginning in the February), the prototype system reportedly weighed 18 kilograms and was the size of a toaster. It has completed several successful test runs under a variety of conditions including day and night, with temperature differences varying by over 100ºC.

Having electrochemically reduced naturally occurring carbon dioxide (95% of Mars’ atmosphere) into carbon monoxide and oxygen, the system can then test the purity of the oxygen produced. This provides the ability to verify the oxygen for use in breathing apparatus and as rocket propellant.