Academic Research
Broader Impacts
My primary mission with academic research is to develop and further technology that will advance space exploration and provide solutions for challenges we face here on Earth. Through the lens of sustainability, I focus my efforts on space sustainability with my work in the Human Systems Lab at MIT on the MOXIE project, and renewable energy with my past work on SOFCs with the Combustion and Electrochemical Power Systems Lab at ASU. See below for an overview of my main areas of academic contribution, and learn more by clicking the links
MOXIE - The Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment
Autonomous Control of the Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment
MOXIE, the Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment, is a science payload onboard the Mars Perseverance Rover launched by NASA JPL in 2019 as part of their Mars 2020 mission. MOXIE has generated Oxygen on the Red Planet numerous times at rates exceeding 6 grams per hour. The ultimate goal for MOXIE is to enable future human exploration of Mars by creating both enough liquid Oxygen to fuel a Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) and support a breathable atmosphere inside a contained habitat for astronauts.
My specific research contributions for the MOXIE team focus on semi-autonomous and fully autonomous operation modalities. I create comprehensive models for the experiments I run, then validate the models on our MOXIE FlatSat and MOXIE Engineering Model before executing the run on the MOXIE Flight Model on Mars.
Recent Publications:
- Hoffman, J., Hecht, M., …, Horn, K. (2022, Aug). Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE) – Preparing for Human Mars Exploration. Journal of Science Advances. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abp8636
- Hecht, M., Hoffman, J., Rapp, D. et al. Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE). Space Sci Rev 217, 9 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-020-00782-8
MOXIE in the News!
Check out these articles about our work to produce Oxygen on Mars!
Perseverance can make as much oxygen on Mars as a small tree
The Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment – better known as MOXIE – has been successfully making oxygen from Mars’ carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere in a series of tests, as part of NASA’s Perseverance rover mission…
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has made oxygen 7 times in exploration milestone
After landing on the surface of Mars, NASA’s Perseverance rover took its first breath. Or rather, one of its instruments did. Led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) is a small instrument…
MOXIE experiment reliably produces oxygen on Mars
Nasa’s Moxie instrument successfully makes oxygen on Mars
An instrument the size of a lunchbox has been successfully generating breathable oxygen on Mars, doing the work of a small tree. Since February last year the Mars oxygen in-situ resource utilization experiment, or Moxie, has been successfully
NASA’s toaster-sized device can make oxygen on Mars
If humans want to explore Mars in the future, they’ll need to create oxygen. Now, a small device the size of a toaster is on the planet doing just that. In a study released this week in the journal Science Advances, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology showed that…
‘Historic’ Box on Mars Making Oxygen at the Rate of One Tree
MIT scientists are on track to create an oxygen mine on the red planet.
NASA’s lunch box-sized instrument MOXIE successfully makes oxygen on Mars using the Red Planet’s resources
An experiment from NASA has taken a small step towards making Mars habitable for humans. NASA’s instrument, the Mars Oxygen In Situ Resource Utilization Experiment, or MOXIE, has been successful in generating breathable oxygen on Mars using…
Fulton Undergraduate Research Initiative (FURI)
Metal-Supported Solid Oxide Fuel Cells for Rapid Thermal Cycling
During my undergraduate career at ASU, I conducted an investigation of the novel setup for a metal supported solid oxide fuel cell reactor to improve its thermal cycling capabilities. This project, in collaboration with the Department of Energy’s Berkeley National Laboratory, is an ongoing research project started during the 2019/2020 academic year. The setup and motivation for my first investigation can be seen in the 2019 FURI Symposium Poster, and the results of the first investigation and continuation of the research through the setup of the second investigation can be seen in the 2020 FURI Symposium Poster.
