Preliminary Research on the Application of Fuel Cells on Lunar Probe

Abstract

The fuel cell is a clean energy device with high efficiency and high output power，and has been successfully applied in Apollo program. The research on fuel cell in China started quite early. At present，the technical capability of developing fuel cells for spacecraft is preliminarily established. However，as the fuel cell is one of the disposable energy resource，its application has been limited to the aerospace field. Recently，the development of new spacecraft in China provides a new application opportunity for fuel cells. Based on investigation and analysis，a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell concept is proposed，as the main power source for a lunar probe. The advantages of the fuel cell are summarized by comparing with the traditional power concept. And its characteristics and key technologies for application are comprehensively analyzed. The scheme provides a new idea for the application of fuel cells in domestic aerospace field.

Keywords

lunar probe / fuel cell / applied research