Breakthrough Device , Could Be the First Step , Toward Terraforming Mars.br 'Newsweek' reports that a device capable of br converting carbon dioxide into oxygen on Mars br could open the door to colonization of the red planet.br The lunchbox-sized instrument generates breathable gas from Mars' thin atmosphere.br The device was able to reach a target of producing br six grams of oxygen per hour, which is equivalent br to the rate of an average tree on Earth.br 'Newsweek' reports that the invention could br open the door to establishing farms on br a planet 100 million miles away from Earth.br It could also prove to be essential for br the future development of human br settlements on the red planet.br Since February 2021, the MIT-led Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource br Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) has successfully br converted Mars' CO2-rich atmosphere into oxygen.br This is the first demonstration of actually using resources on the surface of another planetary body, and transforming them chemically into something that would be useful for a human mission. , Dr. Michael Hecht, principal investigator, via 'Newsweek'.br It's historic in that sense, Dr. Michael Hecht, principal investigator, via 'Newsweek'.br Since landing on Mars as part of NASA's Perseverance br mission, MOXIE has been able to produce oxygen br out of a number of different atmospheric conditions.br We have learned a tremendous amount that br will inform future systems at a larger scale, Dr. Michael Hecht, principal investigator, via 'Newsweek'.