LONDON: After confirming the existence of hydrogen on Mars in 2001 and now the presence of water, the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) is now trying to manufacture oxygen on the planet during its next mission, NASA scientist Dr Amitabha Ghosh said on Friday.
Dr Ghosh, who is Chair, Science Operations Working Group, Mission Operations, NASA Mars Exploration Rover Mission, was in Mumbai on Friday and visited the Mumbai Press Club for a talk on the implications of the recent discovery on the planet. The NASA had last week confirmed that water had been discovered on the planet.
“We will soon be launching an insight mission to Mars to explore it using small satellites called cube sats, seismometers, heat flow instruments and a small weather station. In 2020, we will for the first time try to manufacture oxygen on Mars,” said Dr Ghosh.
The scientist, who is an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur, said that the presence of water and the possible manufacturing of oxygen on Mars would greatly benefit future excursions to the planet. “If there is water on Mars, we can use it for consumption as well as for other purposes like making fuel, etc instead of carrying water every time we launch a mission. The same goes for oxygen, as manufacturing it would eliminate the need to carry oxygen.
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