Nasa has concluded its oxygen-generation experiment on Mars, with promising results for the future of space exploration. 

The achievement was made by the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) device, which generated oxygen by converting carbon dioxide in periodic bouts over two years.

MOXIE is a device aboard the Perseverance rover, which first touched ground on Mars in February 2021. Two months later, the lunch box-sized device was able to extract 5g of oxygen from the martial atmosphere. In the past two years, MOXIE has generated oxygen on 16 separate occasions, amounting to 4.3 ounces (122g) – enough to sustain an astronaut for three hours or a small dog for 10.

“MOXIE’s impressive performance shows that it is feasible to extract oxygen from Mars’ atmosphere – oxygen that could help supply breathable air or rocket propellant to future astronauts,” said Nasa deputy administrator Pam Melroy.

“Developing technologies that let us...