Moscow. April 22. INTERFAX.RU – The American Mars rover Perseverance received oxygen from the atmosphere of the Red Planet for the first time, NASA reported.
“NASA's newest six-wheeled robot has converted part of the thin, carbon-dioxide-rich atmosphere of the Red Planet into oxygen,” the report said. This was done using an experimental instrument on board the rover called MOXIE (Mars Oxygen In-situ Resource Utilization Experiment). The test took place on April 20.
The US space agency noted that “this is an important first step in converting carbon dioxide to oxygen on Mars.”
The technology will “release and store oxygen on Mars, which will provide astronauts with breathable air.” In addition, “rocket fuel is dependent on oxygen, and future researchers will depend on fuel production on Mars to make their voyage home,” NASA noted.
The Perseverance rover with the Ingenuity helicopter successfully landed on the surface of the Red Planet on 18 February.
The American automatic interplanetary station to Mars was launched on July 30 last year.
Perseverance is already the fifth American rover that NASA has sent to study the Red Planet.
