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A highly efficient way to produce oxygen on Mars has been developed

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A highly efficient way to produce oxygen on Mars has been developed
Physicists from the United States and Europe have jointly developed a plasma facility that allows splitting carbon dioxide molecules into oxygen and carbon monoxide. The efficiency of the method is higher than similar methods like MOXIE.

The atmosphere of Mars is 95.9% CO2. It undergoes splitting by means of power units that collide high-energy electrons. The oxygen obtained in this way will become breathable in rooms and spacesuits. Using the concept of splitting carbon dioxide, scientists created plasma systems that could carry out this process. Not all of the installations performed well, but the MOXIE system did. For testing, MOXIE was placed on the Perseverance rover. To obtain O2, the unit absorbs carbon dioxide, heats it up to 800 degrees Celsius and passes it through a special ceramic channel.

A highly efficient way to produce oxygen on Mars has been developed


The new technology will make it possible to heat carbon dioxide only up to 30-40 degrees, while atmospheric pressure will remain at the same level. In the future, this will reduce the cost of energy resources for oxygen production in the conditions of the Red Planet.
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