NASA develops solid-electrolyte battery for the cold of the lunar south pole
NASA prototype solid-electrolyte cells operated down to minus 80 degrees Celsius in thermal vacuum tests at Langley.
NASA researchers are developing a battery meant to work in the cold of the moon's south pole, where nighttime temperatures fall to minus 328 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 200 degrees Celsius). The project is called Solid Power for Extreme Environment Adaptability and Resilience in Space, or SPEARS, and is led from NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.
Conventional lithium-ion batteries use liquid electrolytes. At lunar night temperatures the liquid would freeze, and in the vacuum of space it would evaporate. At daytime lunar temperatures of 212 F (100 C), the battery would not work until cooled. SPEARS replaces the liquid with a solid ceramic or polymer-based material.
In recent thermal vacuum testing at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, small prototype cells operated well up to 176 F (80 C) and down to minus 76 F (minus 60 C). They worked with slightly reduced performance down to minus 112 F (minus 80 C).
"We proved for the first time that these cells can work down to minus 80 degrees Celsius," said Yi Lin, SPEARS testing and research lead at NASA Langley. Lin said he is confident performance can be improved and the range possibly expanded in coming years.
Sourcephys.org