NASA researchers are developing batteries intended to operate in the extreme cold of the Moon’s South Pole, where nighttime temperatures can fall to minus 328 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 200 Celsius.
The project, called Solid Power for Extreme Environment Adaptability and Resilience in Space, or SPEARS, is led at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. NASA says the work could support a sustained human presence on the Moon through the Artemis campaign.
Future lunar batteries would need to work promptly after warming and safely supply power for equipment ranging from an astronaut’s emergency kit to a rover exploring the Moon’s darkest craters. NASA also says the batteries must avoid creating a fire hazard.
NASA Langley researchers have conducted thermal-vacuum testing on small coin-cell batteries as part of the effort. Donald Dornbusch, the SPEARS principal investigator at NASA Glenn, said batteries already power everyday technology on Earth and will be needed on the Moon as well.
