Breakthrough Device , Could Be the First Step , Toward Terraforming Mars.<br />'Newsweek' reports that a device capable of <br />converting carbon dioxide into oxygen on Mars <br />could open the door to colonization of the red planet.<br />The lunchbox-sized instrument generates breathable gas from Mars' thin atmosphere.<br />The device was able to reach a target of producing <br />six grams of oxygen per hour, which is equivalent <br />to the rate of an average tree on Earth.<br />'Newsweek' reports that the invention could <br />open the door to establishing farms on <br />a planet 100 million miles away from Earth.<br />It could also prove to be essential for <br />the future development of human <br />settlements on the red planet.<br />Since February 2021, the MIT-led Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource <br />Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) has successfully <br />converted Mars' CO2-rich atmosphere into oxygen.<br />This is the first demonstration of actually using resources on the surface of another planetary body, and transforming them chemically into something that would be useful for a human mission. , Dr. Michael Hecht, principal investigator, via 'Newsweek'.<br />It's historic in that sense, Dr. Michael Hecht, principal investigator, via 'Newsweek'.<br />Since landing on Mars as part of NASA's Perseverance <br />mission, MOXIE has been able to produce oxygen <br />out of a number of different atmospheric conditions.<br />We have learned a tremendous amount that <br />will inform future systems at a larger scale, Dr. Michael Hecht, principal investigator, via 'Newsweek'.<br />The team's findings were published <br />in 'Science Advances' on August 31
