If humans are always going to visit Mars, they may need to create some crucial resources to explore for a return trip there and survive long enough to stop again. Although days of flowing surface water have passed, the red planet is not entirely without the raw ingredients to perform this task.
The Mars 2020 mission, launched in July, is conducting an experiment with this goal in mind. MOXIE – Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment to a Basket that produces oxygen from atmospheric CO is not much larger than2. While the rocket will require a much larger version to produce liquid-oxygen fuel, the MOXIE is the size required for the production of oxygen oxygen that an active person needs to breathe.
A new study led by the Holocaust at St. Louis, Missouri and Washington University has tested a device that is believed to exist in the Matian ground in some places, which can tap a different source પ perchlorate brin. The device can split water into water, producing pure oxygen and hydrogen.
Perchlorate (Chloe4) The salts that we have discovered are common on Mars. These salts have an attraction for water molecules and can collect water vapor over time, turning into oceans with very cooling temperatures. There is ample evidence of what this ocean might be below the surface of Mars’ Arctic region, and a small amount has been presented as a possible explanation for the active streaks appearing on the surface of Mars.
To test whether we could tap this resource, the researchers created an electrolysis device that they ran in a Mars-like position. It uses a standard platinum-carbon cathode and a special lead-ruthenium-oxygen oxygen anode previously developed by researchers. They mixed a sensible concentration of magnesium perchlorate brine and filled the head space in that container with pure CO.2 For a Mars-like atmosphere. The whole thing was kept at -36 ° C (-33 ° F). When the power is turned up, water flows exactly through the device, splitting into pure oxygen gas captured on the anode side and pure hydrogen gas on the cathode side.
The device worked fairly well, producing as much as 25 times as much oxygen as its MOXIE counterpart. The MOXIE requires about 300 watts of power to run, and this device matches the oxygen output at 12 watts. In addition, it also produces hydrogen which can be used to generate electricity in the fuel cell. It will be smaller and lighter than MOXIE, the researchers say. Ultimately, all of this simply explains why MOXIE works with low quality – but more widely accessible – resources in atmospheric CO.2 Instead of water.
A device like this needs to undergo a long-term stress test, of course, to ensure that performance decreases over time and is not generally strong. The membrane separating the short and anode sides was carefully operated to prevent CO2 For example, from fouling it. If your existence depends on the device you brought to Mars, the defect is not an option.
PNAS, 2020. DOI: 10.1073 / pnas.2008613117 (About DOI).
