Toyota Motor plans to use regenerative fuel cell technology to power a manned lunar rover, executives said on Friday, raising the prospect of eventually using the moon's water ice as an energy source in the future.
Japan has stepped up its space ambitions under Prime
Minister Fumio Kishida.
It is participating in NASA's Artemis programme and plans to
have an astronaut at a lunar space station called Gateway as part of that in
the latter half of the 2020's.
Toyota has teamed up with Japan's space agency since 2019 to
develop the manned lunar rover — which it dubbed the Lunar Cruiser — that they
hope can be put 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," said Ken Yamashita, head of lunar exploration projects at
Toyota.
NASA expects Japan to provide a lunar rover with a 2029
target launch date as a contribution to the Artemis programme, the Japan Aerospace
Exploration Agency said in presentation materials on Friday.
A fuel cell vehicle uses an electric motor like an electric
vehicle but draws power from a fuel stack where hydrogen is separated by a
catalyst to produce electricity.
Toyota said its technology will utilise solar energy and
water to produce hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis during daylight
hours, and the fuel cells to supply electricity during the night.
A lunar night lasts about 14 earth days, so with help of the
technology the lunar rover would be able to ride for many days at a stretch
even when it is dark and extremely cold.
The world's largest automaker by sales hopes to secure an
order for the manned lunar rover by autumn of next year. The vehicle is
expected to be able to carry two astronauts for 42 days a year on mission and
stay in operation for 10 years, it said.
"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 said, adding that clean water will
initially have to be sent into space with it.
Toyota is not expecting it will be able to generate water
usable for fuel cells from the moon's ice water or be capable of mining it by
itself, Yamashita cautioned, saying it would likely rely on other companies or
future developments for that. © Reuters
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