Toyota Investigating Possibility of Utilizing Regenerative Fuel Cell Technology for Lunar Rover
Executives announced on Friday that Toyota Motor intends to employ regenerative fuel cell technology for a manned lunar rover, potentially paving the way for utilizing the moon’s water ice as a future energy source.
Japan has increased its space ambitions under Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
It participates in NASA’s Artemis program and plans to land an astronaut on the lunar space station Gateway as part of it in the second half of the 2020s.
Toyota has been working with the Japan Space Agency since 2019 to develop a manned rover – which it called the Lunar Cruiser – which they hope to put on the moon in 2029.
“To conduct long-term and stable research on the lunar surface, we aim to acquire a variety of objects on the ground over a long period of time,” said Ken Yamashita, director of lunar exploration projects at Toyota.
NASA expects Japan to provide a lunar rover with a 2029 launch target as part of the Artemis program, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said in presentation materials Friday.
A fuel cell vehicle uses an electric motor like an electric vehicle, but is powered by a fuel stack where hydrogen is separated by a catalyst to generate electricity.
Toyota said its technology uses solar energy and water to produce hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis in daylight and fuel cells to generate electricity at night.
The lunar night lasts about 14 Earth days, so with the help of the technology, a hot quad bike would be able to drive for many days continuously, even in the dark and extremely cold
Based on world sales, the largest car manufacturer hopes to receive an order for a manned lunar rover by the fall of next year. The vehicle is expected to be able to carry two astronauts for 42 days a year on a mission and remain operational for 10 years, it said.
“Our idea is to continue on the rover longer than those 10 years, if there is a company or arrangement that can supply the water needed for that,” Yamashita said, adding that clean water must initially be sent into space with it.
Toyota doesn’t expect to be able to produce water for fuel cells from the moon’s water ice or to be able to mine it itself, Yamashita warned, saying it would likely rely on other companies or future development for that.
