Oxygen Generator on the Next Mars Rover Could Jumpstart Colonization

NASA's next Mars rover could help humans get a foothold on the Red Planet.

Most of the seven instruments for the six-wheeled robot, which is scheduled to launch toward Mars in 2020, are designed to help scientists identify and sample rocks that may harbor evidence of past Mars life, NASA officials announced on July 31. The rover will cache such samples for a potential return to Earth in the future.

But one instrument aboard the 2020 Mars rover will generate oxygen from the Red Planet's atmosphere, demonstrating technology that could both keep astronauts alive on Mars and help them launch into space when it's time to go home. Read more...

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