Honda and Astrobotic join forces to provide lighting on the moon
By ForGeeks
Automotive giant Honda and lunar startup Astrobotic are jointly exploring the use of a regenerative fuel cell (RFC) system to provide constant power during long nights on the moon.
The companies will conduct illumination studies of potential landing zones at the moon’s south pole, as well as evaluate the system’s scalability and hardware and software integration capabilities.
The companies will also evaluate the feasibility of scaling the system and integrating hardware and software.
The key challenge is to ensure a stable power supply during the two-week lunar night, when temperatures in some areas can drop to -424°F (-253 °C) and solar panels stop generating electricity. RFC Honda solves this problem by storing solar energy in the form of hydrogen during the lunar day and converting it back into electricity at night, producing water as the only byproduct.
Honda’s solar power plant is designed to provide a stable power supply during the two-week lunar night.
The water produced is then electrolyzed again in a high-pressure system to re-generate hydrogen, creating a closed energy cycle – an innovative approach developed by Honda.
Astrobotic’s vertical solar panel (VSAT) technology is designed to track the position of the sun to maximize energy harvesting. The VSAT model is capable of generating up to 10 kilowatts of power, while the larger XL version will provide up to five times that power.
The VSAT will receive sunlight during the lunar day to power electrolysis, while the RFC will simultaneously convert stored hydrogen into electricity during the lunar night.
At the same time, RFC will convert stored hydrogen into electricity during the lunar night.
The primary goal of the partnership is to provide a constant and reliable power supply to the lunar surface, an important step toward long-term human habitation of the Earth’s satellite.
