Scientists Can Create Oxygen In The Martian Environment - More Than NASA Has Done!

While the idea of ​​sending humans to Mars was once confined to science fiction, NASA hopes it could become a reality by the late 2030s.

Image of astronauts mining materials on Mars.

In 2021, NASA itself has achieved what science fiction writers have dreamed of for decades: Creating oxygen on Mars. A microwave-sized device attached to NASA's Perseverance rover converted carbon dioxide (CO2) into breathing oxygen in 10 minutes.

Now, international physicists say they have devised a way to use electron beams in plasma reactors to generate more oxygen, paving the way for better space settlement.

Live on Mars, why not?

One of the main obstacles standing in the way to Mars is the lack of oxygen on the Red Planet. However, scientists have invented a new plasma-based technique to produce and separate oxygen in the Martian environment.

The technique could not only play an important role in the development of life-support systems, but could also be used to process fuel, create building materials and fertilize on Mars.

When NASA's Perseverance rover lands in Jezero Crater on Mars in 2020, it brings with it the Mars In-situ Oxygen Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE). This device sucks in Martian air, 95% of which is carbon dioxide (CO2). By injecting a current between two oppositely charged electrodes in an electrochemical cell, MOXIE can split carbon dioxide (CO2) into carbon monoxide (CO) and oxygen ions. The oxygen ions then combine to produce oxygen gas.

This test successfully proved the theory at NASA's Mars oxygen. But in order to work more efficiently, MOXIE would need to pressurize and heat the Martian air - requiring extra parts that consume energy and make it bulkier.

The device is called In-situ Oxygen Utilization Experiment on Mars

Vasco Guerra, a physicist at the University of Lisbon (Portugal) Vasco Guerra, thinks a plasma reactor might be a better approach. An electron beam, accelerated to a specific energy level, can split carbon dioxide (CO2) into its component ions, or plasma, just as MOXIE did.

Furthermore, a plasma reactor would be well-suited to the Martian atmosphere - about 100 times thinner than Earth's. "It's a lot easier to create and accelerate a beam of electrons in thin air," says Dr Guerra. The universe has an ideal pressure for plasma to function, and Mars has this exact pressure.

In the lab, he and his colleagues injected air designed to match the pressure and composition of Mars into metal tubes. Unlike MOXIEs, they do not need to compress or heat the air. However, by firing an electron beam into the reaction chamber, they can convert about 30% of the air into oxygen. They estimate that the device can produce about 14 grams of oxygen per hour: Enough oxygen to support 28 minutes of breathing, the team reports in the Journal of Applied Physics.

Dr. Guerra's team still needs to deal with a few more practical problems. To work on Mars, the plasma device would need a portable power source and a place to store the oxygen it produces, all of which could make it - if not bulkier than MOXIE.

If the world's space agencies are willing to spend millions of dollars to develop it - as NASA did with MOXIE - then the plasma approach could develop.

According to scientists, Mars' atmosphere is mainly made up of carbon dioxide (CO2), which can be split to produce oxygen and carbon.

However, according to researchers from the University of Lisbon (Portugal), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA), Sorbonne University (France), Eindhoven University of Technology (Netherlands) and the Institute for Basic Energy Research Netherlands, there are TWO BIG BARRIERS hindering oxygen production on Mars.

Dr. Vasco Guerra, an author of the study, said: "First, is the breakdown of carbon dioxide (CO2) molecules to extract oxygen. It's a very difficult molecule to break down; second , oxygen separation is produced from a mixture of gases containing both carbon dioxide (CO2) and carbon monoxide (CO)".

"We are looking at these two steps holistically to address both challenges at the same time. And then plasmas can be the solution to these two problems," added Dr. Vasco Guerra.

Scientists have invented a new plasma-based technique to produce and separate oxygen in the Martian environment.

Plasma is the fourth natural state of matter, along with solids, liquids, and gases. It contains freely charged particles such as electrons, which are light and easily accelerate to very high energies along with an electric field.

Dr. Guerra said: "When bullet-like electrons collide with a carbon dioxide (CO2) molecule, they can either directly annihilate it or transfer energy to make it move fast. To a large extent , this energy can be converted into decomposition (CO2).

Together with our colleagues in France and the Netherlands, we have experimentally proven the correctness of these theories. Furthermore, the heat generated in the plasma is also beneficial for oxygen separation."

Mars and more

One day, this technique could not only help astronauts breathe on the Red Planet, but could also be used as a way to make fuel and fertilizer, said Michael Hecht, an experimental scientist at the Red Planet. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA), said.

Specifically, the oxygen generated through this plasma-based technique could be the key to creating a breathable environment for Mars settlers. It could also be used as a starting point for fuel and fertilizer production, allowing settlers to grow crops on the Martian surface.

Alternatively, the technique could prove useful on Earth, according to the researchers.

By splitting CO2 molecules to create green fuel and recycle chemicals, plasma technology could also help solve the problem of climate change on Earth, the scientists added.

This research was carried out ahead of NASA's Artemis I mission, which is scheduled to launch on August 29, 2022, paving the way for future missions to the Moon and Mars.