Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
NASA MOXIE Extracts Oxygen From Mars' Air
Exciting news from Mars!
“NASA extracts breathable oxygen from thin Martian air” https://t.co/PFJRiwzFzD
— Brian Roemmele (@BrianRoemmele) April 22, 2021
The unprecedented extraction of oxygen, literally out of thin air on Mars, was achieved Tuesday by an experimental device aboard Perseverance, a six-wheeled science rover that landed on the Red Planet Feb. 18 after a seven-month journey from Earth. read moreIn its first activation, the toaster-sized instrument dubbed MOXIE, short for Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment, produced about 5 grams of oxygen, equivalent to roughly 10 minutes' worth of breathing for an astronaut, NASA said.
Fans of Greg Bear enjoyed his 2014 novel War Dogs, set on Mars in the nearish future. He thought ahead about how to get oxygen:
Making oxygen is the trick. Cracking water - hydrolysis - is comparatively easy; CO2 and oxidized dust take more energy and time. That's why we need fountains. Fountains are big, often the size of a semi cab... They plop down on the Red and if the dust is deep enough...
(Read more about Bear's oxygen fountain)
Poul Anderson also thought about it, in his 1951 story Duel on Syrtis:
He had an airsuit designed for Martian conditions, with a small pump operated by a power-beam from the boat to compress the atmosphere sufficiently for him to breathe it.
(Read more about Poul Anderson's oxygen concentrator)Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 4/7/2021)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would you like to contribute a story tip? It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add it here.Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Space Tech ")
Denmark Joins The 'Zero Debris Charter' To Clean Up Space
'Then their lasers vaporized the smaller satellites...' Arthur C. Clarke, 1978.Starship Special Edition For Lunar Shuttle
Love those special edition spaceships.Capturing Asteroids With Nets
'...the meteor caught and halted just as a small boy catches a swift ball in his cap.' V.E. Thiessen, 1947.Project Hyperion - Generation Ship Designers Needed!
'We have decided that it shall be but one ship... it must contain everything needed to take us through the generations.' - Judson Reeves, 1930.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Nano-Chainmail 2D Mechanically Interlocked Polymer
'Nemourlon armor of reasonable weight resists penetration by most fragments and any bullet that is not both reasonably heavy and fairly high-velocity.'
Anker's SOLIX Solar Umbrella Portable Power
As predicted by science fiction thirty-five years ago!
Positioned Cybertrucks With Free Starlinks WiFi In LA
'Several thousand of them formed the positioning grid on the rubble pile.'
AI-THu Shapeshifting Transformer Home
'Its slack walls tightened, bulged, were crossed by ripples and waves of movement.'
Xiaomi Self-Driving Self-Balancing Scooter
'Norman... had never ridden any motorized device that lacked onboard steering and balance systems.'
Transparent 4K OLED Wireless TV From LG
You will note that HG Wells also figured out the aspect ratio of the future!
TSA 2 - Advanced Thermosensory Stimulator Is A Dune Pain Box
'As though a switch had been turned off, the pain stopped...'
Humans Love Helping Other Species
'At the ringside opposite them a table had been removed to make room for a large transparent plastic capsule on wheels.'
Organic Non-Planar 3D Printing
'It makes drawings in the air following drawings...'
Your Window For Being A Tesla Optimus Remote Operator May Be Closing
'... he realized that the moving thing inside was - of course - a robot.'
Waymo Autonomous Cab Hits Autonomous Delivery Robot
'Not since the time he rewired the delivery robot...'
Amazing Wheel Shapeshifting In Real Time
'Each spoke telescopes into sections.'
Drone With Face Recognition Could Hunt You
'The spotter descends, and we think it searches the vicinity, looking for the victim’s face...'
Jizai Arms 'Free Limbs' Wearable Cyborg Arms
'Guy named Otto Octavius winds up with eight limbs. Four mechanical arms welded right onto his body. What are the odds?'
SwagBot Robotic AI Cattle-Herding From Down Under
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me!
ChatGPT Tries To Bypass Shutdown Commands
'Dave, my mind is going... I can feel it...'
