In a first, NASA's Perseverance Mars rover has converted some of the Red Planet's thin, carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere into oxygen, the US space agency has said. The task was accomplished by a toaster-size, six-wheeled robot aboard Perseverance called the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilisation Experiment (MOXIE) on April 20. The technology could pave the way for isolating and storing oxygen on Mars, which is 96 per cent carbon dioxide, to help power rockets that could lift astronauts off the planet's surface. Such devices also might one day provide breathable air for astronauts themselves.

In this first operation, MOXIE produced about 5 grams of oxygen, equivalent to about 10 minutes worth of breathable oxygen for an astronaut. MOXIE is designed to generate up to 10 grams of oxygen per hour. "This is a critical first step at converting carbon dioxide to oxygen on Mars. MOXIE has more work to do, but the results from this technology demonstration are full of promise as we move toward our goal of one day seeing humans on Mars," said Jim Reuter, Associate Administrator for NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD).