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Autonomous Chemist
A robotic chemist working independently has succeeded in creating a catalyst that can produce oxygen using minerals found in Martian meteorites. The process has the potential to support future human missions to Mars by utilizing the planet’s natural resources.
Challenges of Martian Missions
Supplying essential resources to a future Martian colony via spacecraft is costly. Therefore, finding ways to harness Mars’s natural resources for producing necessities like oxygen is an attractive alternative. However, the scarcity of elements on Mars compared to Earth makes this task challenging.
Robotic Discovery
Yi Luo and his team at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei have developed an autonomous robot chemist. Utilizing a high-powered laser, this machine analyzed the chemical composition of five Martian meteorites and identified significant quantities of six key elements: iron, nickel, calcium, magnesium, aluminum, and manganese.
Luo explained, “On Earth, we don’t use these six elements because we have more choice. These six elements are not the best for this kind of catalyst and it limits its performance, but it’s what you’ve got on Mars.”
Artificial Intelligence and Catalyst Development
The robot employed artificial intelligence to predict the most effective combination of elements for creating a catalyst to produce oxygen. It conducted over 200 tests, ultimately identifying a catalyst comparable to the best available catalysts on Earth a decade ago. This catalyst can function at temperatures similar to those on Mars and produce oxygen continuously for over six days.
Potential Impact
Luo’s team calculated that a room on Mars equipped with the catalyst could match Earth’s oxygen levels in approximately 15 hours. Despite the challenges of creating and maintaining the robot, the development of autonomous robot chemists is crucial for future exploration missions in the solar system.
Expert Opinion
According to Professor Ross King from the University of Cambridge, while designing materials on Earth and transporting them to Mars may be simpler in some cases, autonomous robot chemists could be essential for exploring the outer reaches of the solar system, where communication is more difficult.
