We are talking about using electricity to decompose water into oxygen and hydrogen, and then by combining them again to get electricity and fresh water
TOKYO, June 15. /TASS/. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the Honda Motor automobile corporation have agreed to jointly develop a system that allows a closed-loop scheme to provide energy, oxygen and water to future orbital stations and objects on extraterrestrial bodies. This is stated in a joint communique published on Tuesday on the JAXA website.
Specifically, we are talking about using electricity obtained from solar panels to decompose water into oxygen and hydrogen, and then by combining them in fuel batteries, we again receive electricity and fresh water as a by-product of this reaction. By April next year, Honda Motor, with the assistance of JAXA, intends to create a pilot plant of this type and test it in conditions close to space, with appropriate temperatures and radiation levels.
Currently, JAXA is already working with the largest Japanese automotive company Toyota Motor to create a lunar rover that operates on a hydrogen-oxygen fuel battery.