MOXIE is a small box inside the rover which takes in carbon dioxide and converts it into oxygen. After 16 successful runs, the experiment has been concluded.
The experiment to make oxygen on Mars has come to an end, with the Perseverance rover’s MOXIE instrument completing its mission. MOXIE, or Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment, is a small box tucked inside the rover that takes in carbon dioxide from the Martian atmosphere and converts it into oxygen. After 16 successful runs, the experiment has now been concluded.
MOXIE works like a fuel cell run in reverse, taking in carbon dioxide and then using electricity to split the molecules into oxygen and carbon monoxide. The idea was well understood on Earth, but had never been tried on Mars before, so the aim of the experiment was just to see if it worked and could be used as potential future technology for crewed missions.
