Honda and Astrobotic team up to keep the lights on through the long lunar night

Honda and lunar startup Astrobotic have partnered to investigate the use of Honda’s regenerative fuel cell (RFC) system to provide continuous power during the Moon’s two-week-long night. Their collaboration focuses on integrating Honda’s RFC with Astrobotic’s LunaGrid, a scalable solar power service featuring Vertical Solar Array Technology (VSAT) designed to maximize sunlight capture. The RFC stores solar energy as hydrogen during the lunar day and converts it back to electricity at night, producing water as a byproduct, which is then recycled to create more hydrogen, forming a closed-loop energy cycle. This system aims to overcome the challenge of sustaining power when solar panels are inactive due to the lunar night’s extreme cold. Astrobotic, known for its Peregrine lunar lander and development of lunar power and mobility systems, seeks to build a lunar economy, while Honda marks its first public foray into space applications of its fuel cell technology. The partnership involves conducting illumination studies at potential lunar south pole landing sites and evaluating