Honda prepares to send its hydrogen tech to space

Honda is working with Sierra Space and Tec-Masters, two space technology companies, to try their high-differential pressure water electrolysis system on the International Space Station (ISS). 

The automaker Honda wants to support life on the Moon and other places in space by using regenerative fuel cell technology, which continuously produces hydrogen, oxygen, and energy.

Honda is more bullish about hydrogen than most other automakers, making this another risky move for the automobile company. 

Also, Hydrogen-powered cars have had a hard time in the past, including problems with filling and rising costs. However, Honda hopes that hydrogen will help it get all its cars off carbon by 2040. 

Now, it wants to use the most abundant element in the world to power its journey into space. Honda says that its hydrogen-powered recycling system could be used to help people live on the moon’s surface. The company has joined Musk to establish its place on the moon.

That is not all. Honda hopes that putting the technology through tough tests on the Moon can show that it can be used here on Earth.

Honda’s system- The company will work with NASA

During the lunar day, solar panels will collect sunlight and turn it into power. The high-differential pressure water electrolysis device will then turn water into hydrogen and oxygen. As the Moon moves away from the Sun, some of the oxygen will fuel astronauts, and the rest will produce electricity. 

This makes this a friendly process because water is the only waste that results from the electrolysis process. This water is reused in the regenerative system, making a closed-loop energy cycle.

Honda is going to test the process on the ISS, which has no gravity. Tec-Masters will be in charge of technology on the ISS. In addition, the company says it will work with NASA to get the equipment to the ISS on Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser space plane.

This is the best time for such a project because space travel seems more possible than ever. Therefore, making a reliable source of oxygen and electricity in space would help people build homes that can support life away from Earth. 

The scientific community has looked into using electrolysis to keep life going in space, but they have found that places with low gravity will have some effect on the gas-evolving process. In 2022, a study came to the conclusion that electrolysis made about 11% less oxygen on the moon than it did on Earth because of gravity.

NASA could delay the process

It’s not clear when Honda’s effort to test on the ISS will start. Well, Sierra Space is making the Dream Chaser, a resupply spaceplane that doesn’t have people on board. As early as the third quarter of this year, the spaceship will take off from Cape Canaveral on a test flight to the ISS.

Other companies besides Honda want to work with NASA to provide power to their planned outpost on the Moon. The US Department of Energy and NASA want to set up a small 40-kilowatt nuclear fission reaction on the surface of the moon. 

Previously, the federal government gave Lockheed Martin, Westinghouse, and IX, a company formed by Intuitive Machines and X-energy, three $5 million research contracts.

Even if Honda added a reactor, the fuel cell could still make air and water, which are valuable things 238,900 miles from Earth. The only thing left to decide is whether NASA will return to the Moon. 

The Artemis program has been badly slowed down by problems with the development of the Space Launch System and SpaceX’s Starship. At this point, the base on the moon will build its first home on Artemis VIII in 2033. 

Not to undermine what Honda can do. The revolutionary recycling fuel cell system comes from American Honda’s brand-new Space Development Division. It was opened at the end of last year to help the company go even further than the already cool HondaJet. However, when will this be achieved by 20240? The automaker has to wait in line for NASA.

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