MOXIE, one of the payloads of NASA’s Mars 2020 rover mission, to generate Oxygen on Mars

MOXIE - Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment
Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE) was in news because it will be a part of the Mars 2020 rover mission that was announced by NASA on 31 July 2014. MOXIE will be used by NASA to produce oxygen on MARS from the Martian atmospheric Carbon Dioxide (CO2).

Overall, this conversion of CO2 will be beneficial for human respiration. This produced oxygen can be used as an oxidizer for rocket fuel for return mission. This attempt if successful will pave the way for future manned missions.

MOXIE is among the seven selected instruments that will be sent on Mars, the Red Planet, in the mission to determine the potential habitability of the Mars environment, and directly search for signs of ancient Martian life.

The Mars 2020 rover mission will be launched in July or August 2020 and will land on the Red planet in 2021.