This Monday, NASA announced that a device installed on the Preserverance rover was able to show that it is possible to create oxygen from the atmosphere of Mars.
The North American Space Agency broke the news in a Twitter post, saying that “this technology could pave the way for future explorers to be able to produce their own rocket fuel and breathable air.”
The device is called MOXIE (an acronym for Experiment to harness Martian oxygen resources in situ), and was the 16th time it generated oxygen aboard the Preserverance rover, according to NASA.
“MOXIE’s impressive performance shows that oxygen can be extracted from the Martian atmosphere—oxygen that could help provide breathing air or rocket fuel for future astronauts,” said Pam Melroy, deputy space agency administrator.