As part of NASA’s Perseverance rover and Mars 2020 mission, MOXIE successfully produced oxygen from the carbon-dioxide-rich atmosphere of the Red Planet beginning in April 2021, or approximately two months after it first touched down on the planet’s surface.

Researchers say that by the end of 2021, MOXIE was able to manufacture oxygen on seven experimental runs, in a variety of atmospheric circumstances, including day and night and throughout the Martian seasons, according to a paper published in the journal Science Advances. The instrument produced six grammes of oxygen per hour on each run, or roughly the same amount as a small tree on Earth.

According to researchers, a scaled-up MOXIE could be sent to Mars before a human mission to produce oxygen continuously at the rate of several hundred trees. At that capacity, the system should be able to produce enough oxygen to support people once they arrive as well as power a rocket for astronauts returning to Earth.

As of now, MOXIE’s consistent output represents a positive first step in that direction. The current MOXIE is built to run for brief times, starting up and shutting down with each run, depending on the rover’s exploration schedule and mission tasks. It is compact by design to fit within the Perseverance rover. A complete oxygen factory, however, would include larger units that ideally ran continually.

“We practice the best form of medicine which is modern and scientific and evidence-based. At the same time, we should not forget our traditional medicine and adopt the good things from our ancestors. After all, Charak and Susruta are fathers of medicine and surgery,” says eminent cardiologist Avinash Gupta, in an interview with Khusboo Agrahari for Education Post. Avinash Gupta is a practicing cardiologist in Lakewood, New Jersey since 1994. He owns his own medical practice where both he and his wife, Dr. Geeta Gupta (Internist) practice

Tell us something about your successful journey as an Indian practicing cardiologist in the United States of America with more than four decades of experience?

From landing at JFK airport, NY 34 years ago to where I am today has been a long journey indeed. Hard work, determination, and single-mindedness is the key to success in America. While studying for qualifying examinations, one has to do menial jobs to survive. Then we have to do training for years to specialize and subspecialize, struggle to establish one’s practice, and get ahead in life. One has to constantly study and keep up to date and keep up the skills. There is accountability and you have to be on your toes all the time.

What do you believe to be some of the most pressing health issues today?

In my opinion, PREVENTING diseases is the single most pressing health issue. While we spend a majority of health care dollars during the last few months or years of a person’s life, we do not even spend a fraction of that while they are young, in taking care of their risk factors. I always tell my patients, I want to prevent heart attacks and strokes, not treat them when they happen.

How do you practice empathy and compassion in the workplace?

I never forget what I had to go through to get where I am today. I also always put myself in other people’s shoes. Remember to treat people the way you want to be treated.

Doctors are everyday heroes. Tell us about your skills to face the challenges both medical and personal?

Caring for the sick and elderly takes special skills. You have to be a people person. You have to be caring and compassionate.

Being the President of Bihar Jharkhand Association of North America ( BJANA) kindly tell us more about its role in shaping the Indian Society overseas?

BJANA has been serving people in the U. S. and India since 1976. The organization has been working at the grassroots in healthcare, education, disaster relief (Covid pandemic), and on various socio-economic issues. It has done exceptional work in promoting the cultural heritage of India. It is an honour and privilege to have led BJANA, especially during the pandemic. We have united our diaspora and have brought them on a single platform. We have been constantly helping each other as a family.

How do you see the US’s healthcare system given your high understanding of medical sciences as a practicing cardiologist for the last forty years? How is it different from the Indian system?

As I said earlier, there is accountability. Everyone is treated with respect and an explanation is given, all questions are answered. Almost everyone has health insurance. The government provides health insurance for those above 65, those below the poverty line, and those who are disabled or on dialysis. We provide the best cardiac care in the world although it is expensive. India is a vast country and there is a lot of disparity between health care in urban vs rural, big cities vs small towns, rich vs poor. We have to do a lot more to fill up these gaps. Mobile health clinics and telemedicine may be a way to reach remote areas. We should build the infrastructure and provide amenities to doctors who want to work in rural areas.

Covid-19 challenge in front of the world is unprecedented and historic. The entire nation was looking forward to the medical fraternity with hope. In this regard sir I would like you to share one such positive story from your experience.?

When the pandemic struck, we were at the forefront of spreading awareness, education, prevention of covid, distributed masks, sanitizers, arranged for covid testing, sent hot meals to all health care workers at local hospitals. When the government called upon us to help vaccinate the public, we have been volunteering every weekend for the last 3 months to vaccinate thousands of public. We have vowed to continue this effort till every resident in our county is vaccinated and we return to normal. The worst experience was people dying of Covid at hospitals and family members were not allowed at the bedside to say goodbye.

The young doctors have the knowledge but no experience. It is up to us, the older generation to guide and mentor them which is a huge responsibility

As a top practicing doctor what are your suggestions with a focus on healthcare quality improvement highlighting the flaws and problems in our current system and areas where we need to do better?

We need to do better in preventing diseases. We need to cut back on paperwork and time spent on administrative work. Doctors should be in charge of running health care, not bureaucrats.

What is your piece of advice to all young dynamic aspiring doctors on understanding the intricacies of the health care system?

The young doctors have the knowledge but no experience. It is up to us, the older generation to guide and mentor them which is a huge responsibility. I tell my students, “When it comes to learning an art whose end is saving of human lives, any neglect to make ourselves thorough masters of it, becomes a crime”

Medicine is still indeed very special, seeks a deeply profound and wise understanding of your fellow human beings. Could you please share some magical moments from your life when you realized being a doctor is truly a blessed profession?

Actually, this happens every day when a patient gets better and says doctor you saved my life. The challenge is not to get carried away because we are just doing our jobs. We are in a profession where unfortunately we cannot have good outcomes all the time. We have to take the good with the bad. The patients also should take some responsibility for their health.

What are your thoughts on the traditional medicine system supported by the huge volume of our religious scriptures, literature, and records of the theoretical concepts and practical skills others pass down from generation to generation through ancient teachings.?

We practice the best form of medicine which is modern and scientific and evidence-based. At the same time, we should not forget our traditional medicine and adopt the good things from them. After all, Charak and Susruta are fathers of medicine and surgery.

The Perseverance mission (officially known in NASA as Mars 2020) is the latest since the Curiosity rover that landed at the Gale Crater on Mars in 2013. The Perseverance rover is in a sense, an extension of Curiosity, but it’s to probe specific questions about Mars – to examine organic content on Mars to see if ancient microbial life possibly existed, to understand the climate on Mars and determine if hospitable conditions did exist in the past, and to demonstrate the artificial synthesis of oxygen using the
atmospheric carbon dioxide on Mars.

The mission got traction in India after, Dr. Swati Mohan, who was the most visible face at the Mission Control at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) at Pasadena, California, shared updates about the rover’s entry, descent and landing on Mars with the rest of her team and the world. The whole landing phase of the mission was viewed by at least 21 million people on YouTube and many more on their television sets. Her Indian ancestry, bought her media attention, appearing on interviews with national television
channels. She was the Guidance and Controls Operations Lead of the Perseverance mission.

The Perseverance rover weighs about 1025 kilograms and is the heaviest ever sent to Mars, with its size comparable to a Tesla Model X

Her role was to ensure the rover was properly oriented prior to the beginning of the entry, descent and landing stage of the mission. JPL, where she works, is the technology arm of NASA and is in charge of the
creation of rockets and robots including the Mars rovers, and played a key role during the Apollo missions. On 30 th July, 2020, amidst the rampaging COVID pandemic, the Atlas V rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida hurtling into space for over 201 days. On 18 th February 2021, after an intense entry and descent phase, Perseverance landing was recorded and broadcasted by NASA to the rest of the world.

SOME FACTS ON PERSEVERANCE:

The Perseverance rover weighs about 1025 kilograms and is the heaviest ever sent to Mars, with its size comparable to a Tesla Model X. The rover’s top speed is about 0.014 kmph with the rover covering about 100 meters per day. That’s miniscule for a robot, but the whole point is that the rover is not a car in anyways. Unlike a car, the rover uses a radioactive source to power its instruments on board and drive its wheels. The rover wasn’t built to drive long distances. It’s supposed to perform scientific analysis on its environment, including its surface and atmosphere.

SCIENTIFIC EQUIPMENT AND SYNTHESIZING OXYGEN ON THE SURFACE

Perseverance has over seven instruments – SHERLOC, MOXIE, PIXL, RIMFAX, Mastcam-Z, SuperCam and MEDA. The Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (abbreviated MOXIE) will test oxygen production capabilities on Mars, functioning like a tree – breathing in the carbon dioxide (that comprises over 96% of the Martian atmosphere) and breathe out oxygen (which is just 0.13% on Mars without artificial production). This
instrument can reduce the logistics for future humans by having them not carry a liquid oxygen propellant with them.

The MOXIE device will create oxygen gas from carbon dioxide, producing carbon monoxide as a by-product. Later this oxygen is tested for purity and then released into the Martian atmosphere.

Other instruments on board include the SuperCam, that performs imaging and analysis of the chemical composition of the soil, and looks for organic matter from a distance. The Radar Imager for Mars’ Subsurface Experiment (RIMFAX) is a ground penetration radar that will help model the structure just below the surface. The Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry (PIXL) will help to detect chemical elements on the surface using an x-ray spectrometer.

The MOXIE device will create oxygen gas from carbon dioxide, producing carbon monoxide as a by-product. Later this oxygen is tested for purity and then released into the Martian atmosphere

Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) will measure the temperature, pressure, wind speed, relative humidity and size and shape of the dust particles. The MastCam provides panoramic images of Mars. Perseverance’s most prominent feature perhaps is its extendable robotic arm, at the end of which is the “turret” that can drill into rock samples and consists of a few of the mentioned scientific instruments to perform analysis, similar to how a geologist would perform their duties on earth.

PERSEVERANCE’S HEART AND LIFE SOURCE

Perseverance rover draws its power from the MMRTG, unlike its predecessors like Spirit and Opportunity that relied on solar energy. An MMRTG, abbreviation for the Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator, utilizes radiation from nuclear decay of a plutonium-238 sample weighting 4.5 kilograms. A thermocouple will then set up a temperature-dependent voltage from this radiation to run the electronics aboard. The MMRTG provides a peak power of 110 W but then this power supply will
decrease steadily due to nuclear decay. However, the plutonium sample will last long enough and function adequately past its designed mission life span. The rover has two extra rechargeable lithium ion batteries to perform activities that require further power.

INGENUITY – A LATEST INNOVATION, AND FIRST OF CONTROLLED FLIGHT ON MARS

It’s an impressive engineering marvel that requires some talent, dedication and smart work went into this project since being announced in December 2012, at the American Geophysical Union. It isn’t just the rover that has gone in as part of project Mars 2020, but a small helicopter aboard Perseverance. The helicopter will serve as a technology demonstration for future airborne missions on Mars. The helicopter, aptly named Ingenuity, will commence flight test in April 2021. The helicopter will hover for
90 seconds and then recharge with its onboard solar panels. This will be the first time that controlled flight has ever been performed on another planetary body, that too with an extremely thin atmosphere
(having a pressure of only 0.095 psi, compared to earth’s pressure at sea level of about 14 psi). It has taken true ingenuity for the engineers to build this machine.

WHAT’S THE FUTURE AND WHAT’S EXPECTED OUT OF MARS 2020

This mission is truly a bridge between humanity’s aspirations and culmination of a long awaited dream to place the first humans on another world. Scientists and engineers will need all the data they want,
because although Mars may be a dead planet, it had an interesting history. Scientists are positive about the existence of flowing liquid water on the surface billions of years ago, and even had a stable atmosphere. But we just don’t know how it all went, and why it went. These fundamental questions
become relevant to us as humans to identify the necessary conditions needed to harbor life on other planets other than our own.