A robot chemist has found a way to get oxygen on Mars
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Using the analysis of meteorites from Mars, a robotic chemist with artificial intelligence synthesized compounds that can be used to obtain oxygen from water.
This is reported by Space with reference to a study published in the scientific journal Nature Synthesis.
The Red Planet has significant reserves of ice, from which oxygen can be obtained with the help of catalysts.
A group of Chinese scientists conducted experiments on five different categories of Martian meteorites that fell to Earth. The robot collected samples from them and then scanned them with a laser. He then calculated the more than 3.7 million molecules that can be made from six different metallic elements in rocks – iron, nickel, manganese, magnesium, aluminum and calcium.
Over the course of six weeks, the robotic chemist independently selected, synthesized and tested 243 molecules. The best catalyst was able to split water at -37℃, which is exactly the temperature found on Mars.
Scientists estimate that it would take a human about 2,000 years to do the same job.
Now scientists are trying to test the performance of the robot in Martian conditions. In particular, we are talking about differences in the composition of the atmosphere, air density, humidity and gravity.
This research is important for future missions to Mars. Oxygen there will be needed both for the breathing of astronauts and for its use as rocket fuel. The most efficient option is to use the resources available on Mars to create it, and not to deliver it from Earth.
It will be recalled that scientists assume that the core of Mars has a different structure than previously thought.
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