Engineers lower MOXIE (the Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment) into the belly of NASA's Perseverance rover. MOXIE is a technology demonstration designed to convert carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere into oxygen. In the distant future, astronauts could use technology like MOXIE for breathing and to generate industrial quantities of rocket propellant in order to launch themselves back to Earth. Movie available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24176

In this image, the gold-plated Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) Instrument shines after being installed inside the Perseverance rover. The largest white tube on the top surface of MOXIE takes in filtered carbon dioxide-rich Martian atmosphere. That CO2 is pressurized and passed through the Solid Oxide Electrolysis unit, where it is split into carbon monoxide and oxygen. The smallest tube snaking across the top of the unit sends the oxygen produced by MOXIE through a composition sensor to measure purity, then vents the oxygen out to the Martian atmosphere. This technology demonstration may guide the design of future, larger devices that could enable human exploration of Mars. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24203

MOXIE (Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment) was launched aboard NASA's Perseverance rover to test a technology for extracting oxygen from the Red Planet's carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere. Audio of MOXIE's air compressor at work on Mars was captured by the microphone on Perseverance's SuperCam instrument on May 27, 2021, the 96th day of the rover's mission. Since Perseverance landed on Mars in 2021, MOXIE generated a total of 122 grams of oxygen – about what a small dog breathes in 10 hours. At its most efficient, MOXIE was able to produce 12 grams of oxygen an hour – twice as much as NASA's original goals for the instrument – at 98% purity or better. On its final, 16th run, on Aug. 7, 2023, the instrument made 9.8 grams of oxygen. MOXIE successfully completed all of its technical requirements and was operated at a variety of conditions throughout a full Mars year, allowing the instrument's developers to learn a great deal about the technology. MOXIE produces molecular oxygen through an electrochemical process that separates one oxygen atom from each molecule of carbon dioxide pumped in from Mars' thin atmosphere. As these gases flow through the system, they're analyzed to check the purity and quantity of oxygen produced. While many of Perseverance's experiments are addressing primary science goals, MOXIE was focused on future human exploration. MOXIE served as the first-ever demonstration of technology that humans could use to survive on, and leave, the Red Planet. An oxygen-producing system could help future missions in various ways, but the most important of them would be as a source of rocket propellant, which would be required in industrial quantities to launch rockets with astronauts for their return trip home. Rather than bringing large quantities of oxygen with them to Mars, future astronauts could live off the land, using materials they find on the planet's surface to survive. This concept – called in-situ resource utilization, or ISRU – has evolved into a growing area of research. A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust). Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis. The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. Audio file available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26041

The engineering model (EM), an almost identical twin of MOXIE, is used for testing in the lab at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Inside this gold-plated aluminum box is the Solid Oxide Electrolysis unit, or SOXE, the heart of MOXIE. Using an electrochemical process called electrolysis, SOXE takes in the carbon dioxide gas and splits it into carbon monoxide and oxygen, which is measured for purity, filtered, and then released back into the Mars atmosphere. Tubes to take in the Mars atmosphere and vent oxygen and carbon monoxide produced by the EM are connected at the top of the EM. The electronics needed to run this complex machine are housed inside the larger sidewall seen on the right. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24201

This engineering model of Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) instrument is about to undergo vibration testing in a lab at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Vibration tests demonstrate the ability of instruments to survive the extreme conditions of both a rocket launch from Earth and a landing on Mars. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24202

One investigation on NASA's Mars 2020 rover will extract oxygen from the Martian atmosphere. It is called MOXIE, for Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment. In this image, MOXIE Principal Investigator Michael Hecht, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, is in the MOXIE development laboratory at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. Mars' atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide. Demonstration of the capability for extracting oxygen from it, under Martian environmental conditions, will be a pioneering step toward how humans on Mars will use the Red Planet's natural resources. Oxygen can be used in the rocket http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20761

Members of NASA's Mars 2020 project install the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) into the chassis of NASA's next Mars rover. MOXIE will demonstrate a way that future explorers might produce oxygen from the Martian atmosphere for propellant and for breathing. The car-battery-sized instrument does this by collecting carbon dioxide (CO2) from the Martian atmosphere and electrochemically splitting the carbon dioxide molecules into oxygen and carbon monoxide molecules. The oxygen is then analyzed for purity before being vented back out to the Martian atmosphere along with the carbon monoxide and other exhaust products. The image was taken on March 20, 2019, in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility's High Bay 1 Cleanroom at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in Pasadena, California. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23154

An illustration of MOXIE (Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment) and its components. An air pump pulls in carbon dioxide gas from the Martian atmosphere, which is then regulated and fed to the Solid OXide Electrolyzer (SOXE), where it is electrochemically split to produce pure oxygen. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24177

This X-ray image shows the interior of a palm-size 3D-printed heat exchanger inside Perseverance's Mars Oxygen In-situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) instrument. Martian air will be carried into the tiny channels visible in the center of this part, where they'll be preheated. MOXIE will convert Martian air, which is mostly composed of carbon dioxide, into oxygen, which will be needed in industrial quantities as rocket propellant for launching astronauts back to Earth. X-ray images like these are used to check for defects inside of parts; in this case, engineers checked to make sure the channels were free of the powder that the 3D printer melts in successive layers in order to produce the part. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24100

This nickel-alloy heat exchanger is among several that were 3D printed for the Mars Oxygen In-situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE), one of the instruments aboard NASA's Perseverance Mars rover. If conventionally fabricated, the heat exchanger would have required making two parts and welding them together; the 3D-printed heat exchanger is a single piece. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24171

In the image, taken on June 1, 2019, an engineer in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility's High Bay 1 at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, can be seen working on the exposed belly of the Mars 2020 rover. It has been inverted to allow the 2020 engineers and technicians easier access. The front of the rover is on camera left. The engineer is inspecting wiring directly above the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) instrument. MOXIE will demonstrate a way that future explorers might produce oxygen from the Martian atmosphere for propellant and for breathing. In the foreground, just to the left of center and distinctive because of the relative lack of wiring, is the body unit for the SuperCam instrument. The mast unit for SuperCam instrument, which will provide imaging, chemical composition analysis, and mineralogy from its high perch at the top of the rover's remote sensing mast was installed June 25. To the far left, covered by a red-colored shield, is the bay where the Adaptive Caching Assembly (ACA) will document, analyze and process for storage samples of Mars rock and soil for future return to Earth. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23312

Components are visible on the port side of the Perseverance rover in this close-up image taken on Nov. 16, 2019, in High Bay 1 of the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. At center of the image, attached to the side of the rover, is a black cable bracket (with gold cabling running through it). Attached to the top of this black bracket — and gray in color — is the Entry Descent and Landing (EDL) microphone. Below the cable bracket are the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) wall ports. The orange cable passing over it is part of ground support equipment. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24046

The port side of NASA's Perseverance Mars rover can be seen in this image taken on Nov. 16, 2019, in High Bay 1 of the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. At the top left, the rover's remote sensing mast can be seen in the deployed position. To the right of the mast in the center of the image is the light gray high-gain antenna. At center of the image, attached to the side of the rover, is a black cable bracket (with gold cabling running through it). Attached to the top of this black bracket — and gray in color — is the Entry Descent and Landing (EDL) microphone. The rectangular screen to the right of the cable bracket is the rover chassis HEPA filter, which is above the white box housing the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) inlet filter assembly. Gray and bright orange cables seen in the foreground of the image belong to ground support equipment. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24045

This 2015 diagram shows components of the investigations payload for NASA's Mars 2020 rover mission. Mars 2020 will re-use the basic engineering of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory to send a different rover to Mars, with new objectives and instruments, launching in 2020. The rover will carry seven instruments to conduct its science and exploration technology investigations. They are: Mastcam-Z, an advanced camera system with panoramic and stereoscopic imaging capability and the ability to zoom. The instrument also will determine mineralogy of the Martian surface and assist with rover operations. The principal investigator is James Bell, Arizona State University in Tempe. SuperCam, an instrument that can provide imaging, chemical composition analysis, and mineralogy. The instrument will also be able to detect the presence of organic compounds in rocks and regolith from a distance. The principal investigator is Roger Wiens, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico. This instrument also has a significant contribution from the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (CNES/IRAP) France. Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry (PIXL), an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer that will also contain an imager with high resolution to determine the fine-scale elemental composition of Martian surface materials. PIXL will provide capabilities that permit more detailed detection and analysis of chemical elements than ever before. The principal investigator is Abigail Allwood, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC), a spectrometer that will provide fine-scale imaging and uses an ultraviolet (UV) laser to determine fine-scale mineralogy and detect organic compounds. SHERLOC will be the first UV Raman spectrometer to fly to the surface of Mars and will provide complementary measurements with other instruments in the payload. SHERLOC includes a high-resolution color camera for microscopic imaging of Mars' surface. The principal investigator is Luther Beegle, JPL. The Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE), an exploration technology investigation that will produce oxygen from Martian atmospheric carbon dioxide. The principal investigator is Michael Hecht, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA), a set of sensors that will provide measurements of temperature, wind speed and direction, pressure, relative humidity and dust size and shape. The principal investigator is Jose Rodriguez-Manfredi, Centro de Astrobiologia, Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial, Spain. The Radar Imager for Mars' Subsurface Experiment (RIMFAX), a ground-penetrating radar that will provide centimeter-scale resolution of the geologic structure of the subsurface. The principal investigator is Svein-Erik Hamran, the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, Norway. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19672

Tammy Long, NASA Communicaions, moderates a Mars 2020 Mission Tech and Humans to Mars Briefing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 28, 2020. The Mars Perseverance rover is scheduled to launch July 30, on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The rover is part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the Red Planet. The rover will search for habitable conditions in the ancient past and signs of past microbial life on Mars. The Launch Services Program at Kennedy is responsible for launch management.

A Mars 2020 Mission Tech and Humans to Mars Briefing is held at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 28, 2020. Participating in the briefing from left, are Tammy Long, moderator, NASA Communications, and Jeff Sheehy, Space Technology Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters. The Mars Perseverance rover is scheduled to launch July 30, on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The rover is part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the Red Planet. The rover will search for habitable conditions in the ancient past and signs of past microbial life on Mars. The Launch Services Program at Kennedy is responsible for launch management.

Jeff Sheehy, Space Technology Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, participates in a Mars 2020 Mission Tech and Humans to Mars Briefing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 28, 2020. The Mars Perseverance rover is scheduled to launch July 30, on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The rover is part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the Red Planet. The rover will search for habitable conditions in the ancient past and signs of past microbial life on Mars. The Launch Services Program at Kennedy is responsible for launch management.