
MAKING OXYGEN
In an unprecedented event, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has extracted oxygen from the carbon dioxide from the thin Martian atmosphere.
This extraction was achieved by MOXIE i.e. Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment.
MOXIE is carried on Perseverance.
This is the first ever extraction of a natural resource from the environment of another planet.
PERSEVERANCE:
Perseverance is a six-wheeled science rover.
It is the most advanced, most expensive and most sophisticated mobile laboratory which is being sent to Mars.
It has the potential of drilling and collecting core samples of the most promising rocks and soils, and setting them aside on the surface of Mars.
Landing Site of perseverance is Jezero Crater on mars.
It was launched in July of 2020.
It landed in february, 2021.
Power Source:
It utilises a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) which converts heat from the natural radioactive decay of plutonium (Plutonium Dioxide) into electricity.