From developing new ways to shield astronauts from radiation to better understanding microgravity’s effects on cellular aging, the ISS National Lab sponsored 75 research payloads in 2022 that will improve life on Earth. Check out photos from some of the scientific experiments performed this year in our 2022 photo essay! Click here. (12/28)
Newly Discovered Asteroid Is a Weird 'Mini Moon' on a 200-Year Visit to Earth (Source: CNET)
Our planet has a pretty permanent relationship with the moon, but occasionally Earth's gravity can also capture small asteroids that then spend a period of time orbiting us as a sort of temporary satellite. This has happened at least twice this century, with the "mini moons" hanging around for just a few years or less, but newly discovered asteroid 2022 YG appears to have been trapped in a bizarre orbit for a number of decades.
The curious space rock was first observed on Dec. 15. Interestingly, one of the first people to spot it was amateur astronomer Gennadiy Borisov of Crimea, who is also known for discovering the first known interstellar comet, which now bares his name.
Asteroid 2022 YG, as it has initially been cataloged, looks to be between 52 and 98 feet (16 to 30 meters) in diameter. Early computer models of its orbit show that it takes about a year to circle Earth once and that it has been doing so since sometime around 1961. Run the simulation into the future, and it looks as though the asteroid will continue to act as a quasi-satellite until 2181 when it may finally break free from Earth's gravitational hold. (12/27)
What Was the Biggest Explosion in the Universe? (Source: Big Think)
Although stars, supernovae, black hole mergers, and other cataclysmic events can release tremendous amounts of energy, we've seen something even grander. The supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies, which can rise into the many billions of solar masses, often activate, injecting unprecedented amounts of energy into the intergalactic medium. In 2020, we witnessed a black hole punching a hole some ~15 times the size of the Milky Way galaxy into a galaxy cluster's gas: the largest cosmic 'kaboom' ever seen. (12/26)
Your Cellphone Will Be a Satphone (Source: IEEE Spectrum)
In 2023, you or someone you know will be able to send a text message through space. Late in 2022, hardware behemoths Huawei and Apple released cellular telephones capable of texting on traditional satellite-communications networks. A pair of ambitious startups, AST SpaceMobile and Lynk Global, also started building new low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite networks designed to reach conventional 5G cellphones outside terrestrial coverage.
“Offering direct satellite access to smartphones without modifications would allow access to billions of devices worldwide,” says Symeon Chatzinotas, the head of the University of Luxembourg’s SigCom research group.
Users looking to connect via satellite won’t need the bulky, expensive commercial satphones that have been available since the late 1990s—but they also won’t have conventional calling or high-bandwidth data streaming just yet. Satellite connections are still plenty useful, though. To begin with, people could use texting to signal for help if need be, no matter where they are, as long as they have a clear view of the sky. That is, their mobile phones will have capabilities similar to existing pocket devices like Garmin’s inReach communicator. (12/27)
Earmarks Returned Big Time to Grease the Latest Budget Negotiations (Source: FNN)
Earmarks, appropriations as favors to individual members of Congress, have made a big comeback. More than 7,000 worth billions in the latest deal. It was 2011 when Republicans took the house at a big 2010 election, there was so much focus on fiscal conservatism at that time, they banned earmarks. Members had talked about bringing them back in some limited and more transparent way for a long time. This is now the second year of the newly instituted earmark system, no scandals so far, but it is proving to be popular.
Last year, the first year they brought it back, they said, let’s limit this to no more than 1% of discretionary spending. And members were so careful that they only hit about two thirds of that 1% limit. This time, they’re closer to the limit by my count. Overall, this omnibus bill has about 15.3 billion and earmarks that 7,234 specific projects inserted by members, the limit would be about 17 billion according to their 1% limit. (12/27)
DOD’s John Plumb Stresses Importance of Establishing Norms in Space (Source: Executive Gov)
As numerous entities make efforts to move into space, common practices must be established to ensure the safety of the domain for those who wish to operate there, according to John Plumb, assistant secretary of defense for space policy. Following the approval of a United Nations resolution urging nations to refrain from conducting destructive direct-ascent antisatellite missile tests, Plumb emphasized the importance of a cooperative commitment to building necessary norms in the space arena, the Department of Defense reported earlier this month.
“I think the more we can develop norms that make sense for protection of a safe, secure, stable space environment, the better it is for all spacefaring nations. It lowers the risk of miscalculation and potential escalation, accidental escalation,” Plumb stressed. Only nine nations voted against the resolution, including China and Russia. Plumb said that this does not necessarily mean these countries will completely reject its guidelines and that norms can take hold without a vote.
Established norms serve not only to prevent collisions, but to provide a guide for determining if another body is hostile, said Plumb. While the land, sea and air domains have built up these necessary norms over time, the space environment has not been occupied long enough to allow standards to develop. A major issue the federal government and its partners have encountered while venturing into the space environment is the over classification of information. This makes it harder for federal agencies, international allies and private sector organizations to share information, according to Plumb. (12/27)
Astronomers Delight in JWST's Performance (Source: New York Times)
Astronomers are elated with the performance of the James Webb Space Telescope. At a conference earlier this month, astronomers said the performance of JWST has exceeded expectations, allowing them to dive into research ranging from studies of the early universe to characterizing exoplanets. The spacecraft has enough fuel for its stationkeeping thrusters to operate for 26 years, far longer than originally planned. (12/28)
SpaceX Launches 60th Falcon 9 of 2022, and 57th 2022 Launch From Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Space News)
SpaceX launched this morning the first Starlink satellites going to orbits authorized for its second-generation system. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 4:34 a.m. Eastern and placed 54 Starlink satellites into orbit. SpaceX billed the launch as the first for its Gen2, or second-generation, Starlink system that was partially authorized by the FCC earlier this month. However, with 54 satellites on the launch, the spacecraft do not appear to be the larger versions proposed for Gen2 Starlink, and SpaceX did not provide technical details about the satellites.
The launch was the 60th this year for SpaceX, with one more
launch from California scheduled for Friday. With this last Florida launch of 2022, the Cape Canaveral Spaceport has hosted 57 launches, compared to 31 launches in 2021. (12/28)
France Building Two Imaging Satellites for Poland (Source: Reuters)
France will sell two imaging satellites to Poland. French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu announced the deal after meeting with his Polish counterpart Tuesday. The two satellites, to be built by Airbus, are valued at 575 million euros ($612 million) and will be delivered in 2027, but neither French nor Polish authorities revealed additional details about the satellites and their capabilities. (12/28)
NASA's ISS Space Suit Award to Collins Was Sole-Source (Source: Space News)
A NASA award to Collins Aerospace earlier this month to develop a new space station spacesuit was done on a sole-source basis. NASA issued a $97.2 million task order to Collins to begin work on a spacesuit that would replace the existing, aging ISS spacesuits. In a procurement filing, NASA said it issued the task order to Collins as a sole-source award rather than competing it as it did for an earlier one that Axiom Space won to develop an Artemis suit, to keep both companies active in spacesuit development. Axiom and Collins are part of a NASA effort to develop new spacesuits that will then be offered to NASA through services contracts. Collins noted its ISS suit could be adapted for Artemis missions as well. (12/28)
Ukraine War Transformed the Space Industry in 2022 (Source: Space News)
Russia's invasion of Ukraine transformed the space industry in 2022. The ongoing war in Ukraine has accelerated the U.S. Defense Department and intelligence community's embrace of commercial satellite communications and Earth observation. Satellites coupled with NATO weapons systems have helped Ukraine mount a formidable defense. On the diplomatic side, public dissemination of satellite imagery has stymied Russian disinformation operations and helped document war crimes and atrocities. The withdrawal of Russian vehicles from the market also affected both governments and companies. (12/28)
NASA Sets Table for Safe Air Taxi Flights (Source: NASA)
Tabletop exercises allow researchers to explore options and test scenarios in fields from military strategy and cybersecurity to disaster response planning. Now, NASA is using tabletop exercises to test how electric air taxis will fit safely into the national airspace – allowing passengers to one day hop across town or to a neighboring city by using new highways in the sky.
To successfully map out this new air transportation system, NASA partnered with industry, academia, and other government agencies in a series of 10 tabletop exercises led by the agency’s Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) National Campaign team. Conducted throughout 2022, these expert-led discussions examined potentially unforeseen technical, operational, and regulatory gaps and defined the best use of combined resources to address them. NASA’s AAM mission envisions a revolutionary new air transportation system, and the National Campaign team leads research on the autonomy, infrastructure, and airspace planning that will allow an AAM ecosystem to materialize. (12/19)
Ten Top US Launch Companies of 2022 (Source: Ars Technica)
A decade ago, only a handful of launch companies existed in the US; United Launch Alliance was the big dog, with SpaceX starting to nip at its heels. Since then, however, a multiplicity of new launch startups have arrived in the United States, many of which developed their own rocket engines. As a result, we are now in the golden age of rocketry, with many different startups and approaches to pushing payloads into space.
In my weekly Rocket Report newsletter, I pay attention to launch companies and state-owned enterprises around the world. But it can be difficult to measure Europe-based Arianespace against SpaceX against China's vast state-owned launch providers. Therefore, for this list, we're going to focus solely on commercial launch companies in the United States. Click here. (12/28)
Startup Releasing Particles Into the Atmosphere, in an Effort to Tweak the Climate (Source: MIT Technology Review)
A startup claims it has launched weather balloons that may have released reflective sulfur particles in the stratosphere, potentially crossing a controversial barrier in the field of solar geoengineering. Geoengineering refers to deliberate efforts to manipulate the climate by reflecting more sunlight back into space, mimicking a natural process that occurs in the aftermath of large volcanic eruptions.
In theory, spraying sulfur and similar particles in sufficient quantities could potentially ease global warming. It’s not technically difficult to release such compounds into the stratosphere. But scientists have mostly (though not entirely) refrained from carrying out even small-scale outdoor experiments. And it’s not clear that any have yet injected materials into that specific layer of the atmosphere in the context of geoengineering-related research. (12/24)
The Seven Most Spectacular Images From the James Webb Space Telescope's First Year (Source: Salon)
Little more than a week had passed since Independence Day celebrations, but the crowd that had gathered at NASA'S Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland was as excited as any audience at a fireworks display. They were there because the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a technological marvel that had been launched in the previous December, had finally sent back remarkably beautiful and detailed images of the universe. Now, the crowd was about to see them for the first time — and literally witness history in the making. Click here. (12/25)
2022’s Extraordinary Cosmic Revelations and Moments in Space Exploration (Source: CNN)
This year, humankind glimpsed the universe in ways that were never before possible, and space missions took unprecedented leaps forward in unraveling the mysteries of the cosmos. We witnessed the first mission to the International Space Station funded entirely by space tourists. A new space-based internet service played a key role in the war in Ukraine. And there were historic launches of spacecraft and technology by NASA and its international partners that could one day be used to land humans on Mars.
“There is no doubt that 2022 was out of this world,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement. “2022 will go down in the history books as one of the most accomplished years across all of NASA’s missions.” Here are some of the unforgettable space discoveries and moments from 2022. Click here. (12/27)
National Space Club, Florida Committee, Invites Nominations for Debus Award (Source: NSCFL)
The National Space Club Florida Committee is accepting nominations for its premier award, the 2023 Dr. Kurt H. Debus Award, for significant contributions to the advancement, awareness, and improvement of aerospace in Florida. The nominee must have made significant contributions to the space industry in Florida through either technical achievement, education, or the management of aerospace related activities. The nominee must have been either actively engaged in their working career or have retired from it since the most recently conferred Debus Award. The nominee must be recognized for having been actively engaged in community service as an advocate and supporter of space. Cick here. (12/27)
Inauguration of Mainland Europe's First Satellite Launch Complex (Source: Space Daily)
On 13 January 2023, the Swedish head of state, King Carl XVI Gustaf, together with European and Swedish political dignitaries will visit Esrange Space Center in northern Sweden to cut the ribbon of a new spaceport that will significantly reshape the European space landscape. After years of preparation and construction, European mainland's first orbital launch complex, Spaceport Esrange, will be inaugurated. The event will take place in the city of Kiruna in conjunction with Sweden taking over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
For Europe, the new orbital launch facility at Esrange is a long-awaited critical asset. Today, only some ten countries in the world have the capability to launch satellites. Spaceport Esrange will offer an independent European gateway to Space, supplementing and strengthening current European capabilities in French Guiana. (12/27)
Moon Water Imager Integrated with NASA's Lunar Trailblazer (Source: Space Daily)
JPL's cutting-edge instrument, which will provide insights into the lunar water cycle and composition of the Moon's surface, has been incorporated into the small satellite. Lunar Trailblazer, NASA's mission to understand lunar water and the Moon's water cycle led by Caltech in Pasadena, California, is one step closer to launching next year. Earlier this month, the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California delivered a key science instrument to Lockheed Martin Space in Colorado, and the teams integrated it with the small satellite, or SmallSat. (12/27)
No Oxygen Required to Make These Minerals on Mars (Source: Space Daily)
When NASA's Mars rovers found manganese oxides in rocks in the Gale and Endeavor craters on Mars in 2014, the discovery sparked some scientists to suggest that the red planet might have once had more oxygen in its atmosphere billions of years ago. The minerals probably required abundant water and strongly oxidizing conditions to form, the scientists said. Using lessons learned from Earth's geologic record, scientists concluded that the presence of manganese oxides indicated that Mars had experienced periodic increases in atmospheric oxygen in its past - before declining to today's low levels.
But a new experimental study from Washington University in St. Louis upends this view. Scientists discovered that under Mars-like conditions, manganese oxides can be readily formed without atmospheric oxygen. Using kinetic modeling, the scientists also showed that manganese oxidation is not possible in the carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere expected on ancient Mars. (12/27)
Construction Begins on NASA's Next-Generation Asteroid Hunter (Source: Space Daily)
A space telescope designed to search for the hardest-to-find asteroids and comets that stray into Earth's orbital neighborhood, NASA's Near-Earth Object Surveyor (NEO Surveyor) recently passed a rigorous technical and programmatic review. Now the mission is transitioning into the final design-and-fabrication phase and establishing its technical, cost, and schedule baseline.
The mission supports the objectives of NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The NASA Authorization Act of 2005 directed NASA to discover and characterize at least 90% of the near-Earth objects more than 140 meters (460 feet) across that come within 30 million miles (48 million kilometers) of our planet's orbit. Objects of this size are capable of causing significant regional damage, or worse, should they impact the Earth. (12/27)
MOXIE Sets Mars Records for Oxygen Production (Source: Space Daily)
Perseverance has a unique device near its heart that inhales Mars' atmosphere and exhales pure oxygen. This device is named MOXIE, the Mars Oxygen In Situ Resource Utilization Experiment. The toaster-sized MOXIE uses a high-temperature, electrochemical process called solid oxide electrolysis to strip oxygen ions from the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of Mars. There are two little gas exit ports on MOXIE: one where oxygen flows out and another where a mixture of carbon monoxide and unreacted carbon dioxide exit.
MOXIE is significant as the first demonstration on another planet of In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), a group of technologies that enable extraterrestrial "living off the land." Many people initially assume that this means that MOXIE's primary purpose is to produce oxygen for future astronauts to breathe. While this is certainly an application, the most significant use of MOXIE's technological descendants will be to produce oxygen for use as an oxidizer in rockets created to return explorers back to Earth after a successful Mars mission. (12/27)
France Building Two Imaging Satellites for Poland (Source: Reuters)
France will sell two imaging satellites to Poland. French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu announced the deal after meeting with his Polish counterpart Tuesday. The two satellites, to be built by Airbus, are valued at 575 million euros ($612 million) and will be delivered in 2027, but neither French nor Polish authorities revealed additional details about the satellites and their capabilities. (12/28)
NASA's ISS Space Suit Award to Collins Was Sole-Source (Source: Space News)
A NASA award to Collins Aerospace earlier this month to develop a new space station spacesuit was done on a sole-source basis. NASA issued a $97.2 million task order to Collins to begin work on a spacesuit that would replace the existing, aging ISS spacesuits. In a procurement filing, NASA said it issued the task order to Collins as a sole-source award rather than competing it as it did for an earlier one that Axiom Space won to develop an Artemis suit, to keep both companies active in spacesuit development. Axiom and Collins are part of a NASA effort to develop new spacesuits that will then be offered to NASA through services contracts. Collins noted its ISS suit could be adapted for Artemis missions as well. (12/28)
Ukraine War Transformed the Space Industry in 2022 (Source: Space News)
Russia's invasion of Ukraine transformed the space industry in 2022. The ongoing war in Ukraine has accelerated the U.S. Defense Department and intelligence community's embrace of commercial satellite communications and Earth observation. Satellites coupled with NATO weapons systems have helped Ukraine mount a formidable defense. On the diplomatic side, public dissemination of satellite imagery has stymied Russian disinformation operations and helped document war crimes and atrocities. The withdrawal of Russian vehicles from the market also affected both governments and companies. (12/28)
NASA Sets Table for Safe Air Taxi Flights (Source: NASA)
Tabletop exercises allow researchers to explore options and test scenarios in fields from military strategy and cybersecurity to disaster response planning. Now, NASA is using tabletop exercises to test how electric air taxis will fit safely into the national airspace – allowing passengers to one day hop across town or to a neighboring city by using new highways in the sky.
To successfully map out this new air transportation system, NASA partnered with industry, academia, and other government agencies in a series of 10 tabletop exercises led by the agency’s Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) National Campaign team. Conducted throughout 2022, these expert-led discussions examined potentially unforeseen technical, operational, and regulatory gaps and defined the best use of combined resources to address them. NASA’s AAM mission envisions a revolutionary new air transportation system, and the National Campaign team leads research on the autonomy, infrastructure, and airspace planning that will allow an AAM ecosystem to materialize. (12/19)
Ten Top US Launch Companies of 2022 (Source: Ars Technica)
A decade ago, only a handful of launch companies existed in the US; United Launch Alliance was the big dog, with SpaceX starting to nip at its heels. Since then, however, a multiplicity of new launch startups have arrived in the United States, many of which developed their own rocket engines. As a result, we are now in the golden age of rocketry, with many different startups and approaches to pushing payloads into space.
In my weekly Rocket Report newsletter, I pay attention to launch companies and state-owned enterprises around the world. But it can be difficult to measure Europe-based Arianespace against SpaceX against China's vast state-owned launch providers. Therefore, for this list, we're going to focus solely on commercial launch companies in the United States. Click here. (12/28)
Startup Releasing Particles Into the Atmosphere, in an Effort to Tweak the Climate (Source: MIT Technology Review)
A startup claims it has launched weather balloons that may have released reflective sulfur particles in the stratosphere, potentially crossing a controversial barrier in the field of solar geoengineering. Geoengineering refers to deliberate efforts to manipulate the climate by reflecting more sunlight back into space, mimicking a natural process that occurs in the aftermath of large volcanic eruptions.
In theory, spraying sulfur and similar particles in sufficient quantities could potentially ease global warming. It’s not technically difficult to release such compounds into the stratosphere. But scientists have mostly (though not entirely) refrained from carrying out even small-scale outdoor experiments. And it’s not clear that any have yet injected materials into that specific layer of the atmosphere in the context of geoengineering-related research. (12/24)
The Seven Most Spectacular Images From the James Webb Space Telescope's First Year (Source: Salon)
Little more than a week had passed since Independence Day celebrations, but the crowd that had gathered at NASA'S Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland was as excited as any audience at a fireworks display. They were there because the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a technological marvel that had been launched in the previous December, had finally sent back remarkably beautiful and detailed images of the universe. Now, the crowd was about to see them for the first time — and literally witness history in the making. Click here. (12/25)
2022’s Extraordinary Cosmic Revelations and Moments in Space Exploration (Source: CNN)
This year, humankind glimpsed the universe in ways that were never before possible, and space missions took unprecedented leaps forward in unraveling the mysteries of the cosmos. We witnessed the first mission to the International Space Station funded entirely by space tourists. A new space-based internet service played a key role in the war in Ukraine. And there were historic launches of spacecraft and technology by NASA and its international partners that could one day be used to land humans on Mars.
“There is no doubt that 2022 was out of this world,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement. “2022 will go down in the history books as one of the most accomplished years across all of NASA’s missions.” Here are some of the unforgettable space discoveries and moments from 2022. Click here. (12/27)
National Space Club, Florida Committee, Invites Nominations for Debus Award (Source: NSCFL)
The National Space Club Florida Committee is accepting nominations for its premier award, the 2023 Dr. Kurt H. Debus Award, for significant contributions to the advancement, awareness, and improvement of aerospace in Florida. The nominee must have made significant contributions to the space industry in Florida through either technical achievement, education, or the management of aerospace related activities. The nominee must have been either actively engaged in their working career or have retired from it since the most recently conferred Debus Award. The nominee must be recognized for having been actively engaged in community service as an advocate and supporter of space. Cick here. (12/27)
Inauguration of Mainland Europe's First Satellite Launch Complex (Source: Space Daily)
On 13 January 2023, the Swedish head of state, King Carl XVI Gustaf, together with European and Swedish political dignitaries will visit Esrange Space Center in northern Sweden to cut the ribbon of a new spaceport that will significantly reshape the European space landscape. After years of preparation and construction, European mainland's first orbital launch complex, Spaceport Esrange, will be inaugurated. The event will take place in the city of Kiruna in conjunction with Sweden taking over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
For Europe, the new orbital launch facility at Esrange is a long-awaited critical asset. Today, only some ten countries in the world have the capability to launch satellites. Spaceport Esrange will offer an independent European gateway to Space, supplementing and strengthening current European capabilities in French Guiana. (12/27)
Moon Water Imager Integrated with NASA's Lunar Trailblazer (Source: Space Daily)
JPL's cutting-edge instrument, which will provide insights into the lunar water cycle and composition of the Moon's surface, has been incorporated into the small satellite. Lunar Trailblazer, NASA's mission to understand lunar water and the Moon's water cycle led by Caltech in Pasadena, California, is one step closer to launching next year. Earlier this month, the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California delivered a key science instrument to Lockheed Martin Space in Colorado, and the teams integrated it with the small satellite, or SmallSat. (12/27)
No Oxygen Required to Make These Minerals on Mars (Source: Space Daily)
When NASA's Mars rovers found manganese oxides in rocks in the Gale and Endeavor craters on Mars in 2014, the discovery sparked some scientists to suggest that the red planet might have once had more oxygen in its atmosphere billions of years ago. The minerals probably required abundant water and strongly oxidizing conditions to form, the scientists said. Using lessons learned from Earth's geologic record, scientists concluded that the presence of manganese oxides indicated that Mars had experienced periodic increases in atmospheric oxygen in its past - before declining to today's low levels.
But a new experimental study from Washington University in St. Louis upends this view. Scientists discovered that under Mars-like conditions, manganese oxides can be readily formed without atmospheric oxygen. Using kinetic modeling, the scientists also showed that manganese oxidation is not possible in the carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere expected on ancient Mars. (12/27)
Construction Begins on NASA's Next-Generation Asteroid Hunter (Source: Space Daily)
A space telescope designed to search for the hardest-to-find asteroids and comets that stray into Earth's orbital neighborhood, NASA's Near-Earth Object Surveyor (NEO Surveyor) recently passed a rigorous technical and programmatic review. Now the mission is transitioning into the final design-and-fabrication phase and establishing its technical, cost, and schedule baseline.
The mission supports the objectives of NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The NASA Authorization Act of 2005 directed NASA to discover and characterize at least 90% of the near-Earth objects more than 140 meters (460 feet) across that come within 30 million miles (48 million kilometers) of our planet's orbit. Objects of this size are capable of causing significant regional damage, or worse, should they impact the Earth. (12/27)
MOXIE Sets Mars Records for Oxygen Production (Source: Space Daily)
Perseverance has a unique device near its heart that inhales Mars' atmosphere and exhales pure oxygen. This device is named MOXIE, the Mars Oxygen In Situ Resource Utilization Experiment. The toaster-sized MOXIE uses a high-temperature, electrochemical process called solid oxide electrolysis to strip oxygen ions from the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of Mars. There are two little gas exit ports on MOXIE: one where oxygen flows out and another where a mixture of carbon monoxide and unreacted carbon dioxide exit.
MOXIE is significant as the first demonstration on another planet of In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), a group of technologies that enable extraterrestrial "living off the land." Many people initially assume that this means that MOXIE's primary purpose is to produce oxygen for future astronauts to breathe. While this is certainly an application, the most significant use of MOXIE's technological descendants will be to produce oxygen for use as an oxidizer in rockets created to return explorers back to Earth after a successful Mars mission. (12/27)
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