Study: AI Robot Finds Way to Produce Oxygen from Water on Mars

2023 · VOA Learning English

This speaker is a general-american model. Each line below can be recorded and scored against it.

Transcript

1. Chinese researchers say they have built an artificial intelligence (AI) robot that can carry out chemical reactions to produce oxygen

   0.0s–15.1sPractise this

2. from water on Mars. The system could be another way for space travelers in the future to make much-needed oxygen on Mars.

   14.8s–27.3sPractise this

3. Humans visiting the Red Planet will need oxygen to support life. The gas could also be used to make rocket fuel, which is difficult to transport to space.

   28.3s–41.9sPractise this

4. Scientists have already established from multiple studies that Mars contains large amounts of water. Most of the water exists in the form of ice.

   42.6s–56.4sPractise this

5. Developers of the new robot system in China say it can be used to release oxygen from the planet’s water supply.

   56.6s–67.5sPractise this

6. Scientists at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei led the research.

   67.8s–76.3sPractise this

7. The team explored whether an AI robot could use materials found on Mars to produce catalysts to break down water and release oxygen.

   76.5s–90.1sPractise this

8. A catalyst is a substance that permits certain chemical reactions to happen.

   90.3s–98.3sPractise this

9. Experiments were carried out on meteorites that either came from Mars or contained materials similar to the Martian surface.

   98.9s–109.5sPractise this

10. The researchers said the “robot chemist” first used an acid and chemical mixture to separate and examine materials contained in the meteorites.

    109.6s–122.6sPractise this

11. It identified several different metallic elements, including iron, nickel, magnesium and aluminum.

    124.1s–133.6sPractise this

12. The machine then worked to identify different molecules that could be produced from meteorite materials.

    133.8s–142.8sPractise this

13. The team said the system found more than 3.7 million possible molecule combinations.

    143.0s–152.3sPractise this

14. The robot used that data to predict which catalysts would be able to split water molecules to produce oxygen.

    152.6s–163.7sPractise this

15. The catalyst chosen as the best fit was able to operate at minus 37 degrees Celsius. This temperature is similar to current conditions on Mars.

    163.9s–177.8sPractise this

16. A press release announcing the experimental findings said the AI chemist was able to complete the whole process without human involvement in just two months.

    178.8s–193.4sPractise this

17. The release claimed such an operation “would take 2000 years for a human chemist” to finish. The publication Nature Synthesis reported the full results of the study.

    193.7s–208.5sPractise this

18. The study’s lead writer, Jun Jiang, told the website Space.com that as a boy, he often dreamed of being able to one day travel in space.

    209.0s–222.7sPractise this

19. "So when we finally saw that the catalysts made by the robot could actually produce oxygen by splitting water molecules, I felt like my dream was coming true.

    222.8s–236.3sPractise this

20. I even started to imagine that I, myself, will live on Mars in the future."

    236.4s–244.0sPractise this

21. The researchers said they plan next to test whether their AI system performs well under a series of other conditions besides temperature found on Mars.

    244.2s–258.5sPractise this

22. A report explaining the study’s results in Nature notes Jiang suggests that for every square meter of Martian material, his group’s system could produce

    259.1s–273.8sPractise this

23. nearly 60 grams of oxygen per hour. The researchers say this level of production could remove the need for future astronauts to transport oxygen from Earth.

    273.5s–287.9sPractise this

24. “The robot can work continuously for years,” Jiang said.

    288.1s–294.4sPractise this

25. Jiang told Nature he thinks his team’s robotic system could also be used to produce other useful catalysts on Mars.

    294.6s–306.5sPractise this

26. This could include processes for making substances to support the growth of plants that could be used to produce food for astronauts.

    306.6s–317.2sPractise this

27. “Different chemicals can be made by this robot,” Jiang said.

    317.9s–324.2sPractise this

28. He noted that Mars might also not be the only place where it could find other uses, suggesting the moon as another possibility. I’m Bryan Lynn.

    324.8s–339.1sPractise this