Astronauts on the International Space Station need oxygen to breathe. They use a system that makes oxygen from water. This system is called electrolysis. It uses electricity to split water into oxygen and hydrogen. The oxygen is used for breathing, and the hydrogen is removed.
The system is important because astronauts need a lot of oxygen to survive. They use about 0.8 kilograms of oxygen per day. The system that makes oxygen is helpful because it saves space and weight on the spacecraft. The astronauts also use a system to remove carbon dioxide from the air. This system uses lithium hydroxide to absorb the carbon dioxide.
The astronauts are working to make the system better. They are trying to find a way to make the system more reliable and easier to use. They want to make sure the astronauts have enough oxygen to breathe on long space missions. The new system is called Magnetohydrodynamic Oxygen Generation Assembly, or MOGA. It uses magnets to separate the oxygen and hydrogen gases. This system is still being tested, but it could be very helpful for future space missions.
