This Chinese robot will make it possible to breathe oxygen on Mars

beijingwalker · Nov 19, 2023

This Chinese robot will make it possible to breathe oxygen on Mars

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
November 19, 2023

Chinese scientists have demonstrated an important development: a chemical robot with artificial intelligence has synthesized catalysts to produce oxygen from Martian meteorites.

A study published in Nature Synthesis reveals the surprising scientific breakthrough achieved by a team from the University of Science and Technology in China. This team of scientists, led by professors Luo Yi, Jiang Jun and Shang Weiwei, has developed a chemical robot powered by artificial intelligence (AI) capable of synthesizing catalysts for oxygen production. using Martian meteorites.

The initiative comes from the challenge of colonizing Mars, where the production of oxygen from OER (Oxygen Evolution Reaction) catalysts is considered essential. Transporting these catalysts from Earth is expensive, and the key is to find ways to synthesize them in situ using Martian materials.

Professor Luo Yi emphasized the innovation of this method: “The AI chemist innovatively synthesized OER catalysts from Martian material thanks to interdisciplinary cooperation.” The process includes analysis, pretreatment and automatic optimization of Martian minerals by an AI robot.

In each cycle of the experiment, the AI robot analyzed the elemental composition of the minerals using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). It performs pretreatments, prepares solutions, and performs electrochemical tests. The AI chemist’s computational “brain” processes data in real time, using quantum chemistry and molecular dynamics simulations to optimize catalysts.

So far, the AI robot has been able to create a unique catalyst using Martian meteorites, which has been running continuously for more than 550,000 seconds. This achievement, which is equivalent to 2,000 years of work for a human chemist, increases the possibility of building an oxygen factory on Mars with the help of chemical AI. The team aims to turn this technology into a platform for various automated chemical syntheses, bringing us closer to the dream of living on Mars.