AUSTRALIA TO HELP NASA TO BUILD ROVER TO FIND OXYGEN ON MOON | UPSC EXAM

INTRODUCTION

  • Australia has stated that it will develop a 20-kilogram semi-autonomous lunar rover for NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), which would travel to the moon in quest of oxygen as early as 2026.
  • Anthony Murfett, the Deputy Head of the Australian Space Agency, said NASA was pleased with the technology used to remotely operate massive dump trucks transporting iron ore from mines in northwest Australia from a distance of 1,600 kilometres.
  • NASA Administrator Bill Nelson further stated that the agreement between the Australian and US Space Agencies will enhance a 50-year-old space exploration partnership with Australia.
  • The deal is contingent on the rover satisfying a number of requirements throughout its development.

 

HOW WILL ROVER HELP – 

  • According to the official statement, Australia’s 20-kilogram semi-autonomous lunar rover will gather soil containing oxides, and NASA will extract oxygen from that soil using different equipment.
  • Oxygen collected from the lunar surface will be utilised to assist future trips to Mars as well as to sustain a human presence on the moon.

 

NASA’S ROVER EXTRACTS FIRST OXYGEN FROM THE MARS – 

  • NASA’s Perseverance Rover on Mars was able to convert part of the Red Planet’s thin, carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere into oxygen, according to a news statement issued in April 2021.
  • The Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE), a toaster-sized experimental equipment aboard Perseverance, completed the mission, according to the US Space Agency. The test took done on April 20, the mission’s 60th Martian Day since landing on February 18.
  • The experiment was hailed as a key step in converting carbon dioxide to oxygen on Mars. The findings are encouraging as the researchers work toward their objective of seeing humans on Mars one day.

 

 

 

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