The Pulse tube cryocooler is a developing technology that emerged largely in the early 1980's with a series of other innovations in the broader field of Thermoacoustics. In contrast with other cryocoolers (eg Stirling cryocooler and Gifford-McMahon cooler), this cryocooler can be made without moving parts in the low temperature part of the device. The lack of moving parts makes the cooler suitable for a wide variety of applications.Pulse tube cryocoolers have been used in industrial applications such as semiconductor fabrication and in military applications such as for the cooling of infrared sensors. Pulse tubes are also being developed for cooling of astronomical detectors where liquid cryogens are typically used, such as the Atacama Cosmology Telescope. Pulse tubes will be particularly useful in space-based telescopes where it is not possible to replenish the cryogens as they are depleted. It has also been suggested that pulse tubes could be used to liquefy oxygen on Mars.