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smartGAS on Mars: How MOXIE enables manned Mars missions in the future

Sensors from smartGAS landed on Mars with the Mars rover "Perseverance". NASA's fifth Mars mission was launched from Cape Canaveral on July 30 last year. Now, 470 million kilometers and just under six months later, the rover has now begun operations on the red planet.

In addition to analyzing the surface and rocks, one of the mission's tasks is to provide the basis for future manned trips to Mars. The so called MOXIE (Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment) module will attempt to extract oxygen (O2) from the extremely CO2-rich Martian atmosphere.

On the one hand, this would serve to supply oxygen to humans one day, but more importantly, it would serve to extract oxygen as fuel. This could solve an important problem: So far, the return flight to Earth has not been possible because the amount of fuel needed for it is too large to be transported to Mars first. Incidentally, the oxygen obtained in the "Perseverance" rover would be sufficient for a small dog; for a future manned mission, the corresponding device would have to be 200 times larger and begin its work on Mars two years in advance. The late thirties or early forties of this century are considered realistic for such a manned mission.

Exciting insight into the current "Perseverance" mission can be found here: https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/. smartGAS also has the right sensor technology for your demanding application. Contact us directly and start with us into the future!