Toyota eyes lunar rover powered by regenerative fuel cell tech

Toyota Motor plans to make use of regenerative gas cell expertise to energy a manned lunar rover, executives mentioned on Friday, elevating the prospect of ultimately utilizing the moon’s water ice as an power supply sooner or later.

Japan has stepped up its area ambitions below Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

It is collaborating in NASA’s Artemis programme and plans to have an astronaut at a lunar area station known as Gateway as a part of that within the latter half of the 2020’s.

Toyota has teamed up with Japan’s area company since 2019 to develop the manned lunar rover – which it dubbed the Lunar Cruiser – that they hope might be placed on the moon in 2029.

“In order to conduct long-term and stable research on the surface of the moon, we are aiming to source various items on site over a long period,” mentioned Ken Yamashita, head of lunar exploration initiatives at Toyota.

NASA expects Japan to offer a lunar rover with a 2029 goal launch date as a contribution to the Artemis programme, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency mentioned in presentation supplies on Friday.

A gas cell car makes use of an electrical motor like an electrical car however attracts energy from a gas stack the place hydrogen is separated by a catalyst to supply electrical energy. Toyota mentioned its expertise will utilise photo voltaic power and water to supply hydrogen and oxygen by way of electrolysis throughout sunlight hours, and the gas cells to produce electrical energy through the evening.

A lunar evening lasts about 14 earth days, so with assist of the expertise the lunar rover would have the ability to journey for a lot of days at a stretch even when it’s darkish and intensely chilly

The world’s largest automaker by gross sales hopes to safe an order for the manned lunar rover by autumn of subsequent 12 months. The car is predicted to have the ability to carry two astronauts for 42 days a 12 months on mission and keep in operation for 10 years, it mentioned.

“Our idea is to continue with the lunar rover longer than those 10 years if there’s a company or arrangement that can supply the water needed for that,” Yamashita mentioned, including that clear water will initially need to be despatched into area with it.

Toyota is just not anticipating will probably be in a position to generate water usable for gas cells from the moon’s ice water or be able to mining it by itself, Yamashita cautioned, saying it might doubtless depend on different corporations or future developments for that.

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