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If humans visit Mars, they may need to craft some important resources as they can avoid having to search long to be there and try again for a long return trip. Although the days of surface water flow are very long, the Red Planet is by no means devoid of the raw materials to carry out this task.
Launched in July, Mars is completing the 2020 mission An Experiment with this goal in mind. The experiment of using the Mox-Mars Oxygen In-situ source is a box that is not much larger than a toaster that produces oxygen from atmospheric CO.2. While a rocket would require a much larger version to produce liquid oxygen fuel, MOXIE is designed to produce enough oxygen for an active person to breathe.
A new study conducted by Prale Gain at the University of Washington in St. Louis, Missouri, is testing a device capable of tapping into a different source, believed to contain perchlorate brine in Martian soils in some places. The device can distribute water in the brain, which produces pure oxygen and hydrogen.
Perchlorate4) The salts we found are common on Mars. These salts are unique to water molecules and can accumulate water vapor over time, turning into an ocean at very low temperatures. There is evidence of what this huge amount below the surface of Mars’ northern polar region could be, and a small amount is named as a possible explanation for the activity Appears multiple times op Martian on the lawn.
To see if we could tap into this source, the researchers created an electrolysis device that operated in a position similar to that of Mars. This standard platinum-carbon cathode uses a special lead-ruthenium-oxygen anode previously developed by the researchers. They mixed an impressive concentration of magnesium perchlorate brine and filled the headspace in that container with pure CO.2 For an atmosphere like Mars. The whole was kept at -36 ° C (-33 ° F). When turned on, the brain exits the device, distributing the trapped pure oxygen gas on the anode side and pure hydrogen gas on the cathode side.
The device worked great, producing around 25 times more oxygen than its rat partner could handle. MOXIE requires approximately 300 watts of power to operate and the device matches the oxygen output to approximately 12 watts. It also produces hydrogen which can be used in fuel cells to generate electricity. Researchers say it will be smaller and lighter than MOXIE. Ultimately, this all shows that Mexico is working in an atmospheric CO2 with a lower quality, but more widely accessible resource.2 Instead of water.
Equipment like this will need to be subjected to long-term stress tests, of course, to ensure that performance does not deteriorate over time and is generally robust. The membrane separating the sides of the cathode and anode has been carefully operated to prevent CO2 For example, from destroying it. If your survival depends on the device you bring to Mars, malfunctions are not an option.
PNAS, 2020. DOI: 10.1073 / pnas.2008613117 (About DOI).
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