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MOON DAILY
Honeybee Robotics and mPower Technology chosen to design Lunar charging station
by Staff Writers
Altadena CA (SPX) May 27, 2021

Companies collaborate to provide game-changing solution for vertically deployable solar array

Honeybee Robotics and mPower Technology report that the companies have been selected to provide an innovative lunar charging solution for NASA. As electric vehicle charging stations are popping up across the globe, the Moon may soon join in the trend. NASA has selected five commercial teams to develop designs for vertically deployable solar array systems for the lunar surface as part of the Vertical Solar Array Technology (VSAT) project within NASA's Game Changing Development program.

These systems may one day be used as charging stations to recharge rovers, battery packs, and other electrical equipment used by spacecraft and astronauts. These solar charging stations would be dropped off by lunar rovers and would deploy large solar arrays to supply sustainable power. The stations would be easily maneuverable, folding up into a volume of less than half a cubic meter for ease of transportation between charging sites.

Two uniquely innovative companies, Honeybee Robotics of Altadena, California, and mPower Technology of Albuquerque, New Mexico, have teamed and will be awarded one of these NASA development contracts. mPower is an industry leader in the design and fabrication of lightweight, flexible, resilient space-qualified photovoltaics, called DragonSCALES.

Honeybee is a world leader in robotics for extreme planetary environments. These two organizations form a powerhouse team that will provide a unique groundbreaking solution to the challenges of providing portable power on the lunar surface.

The concept, called the Lunar Array Mast and Power System (LAMPS), will use some of the lightest solar panels ever made. LAMPS extends these solar panels to a height of two stories and unfolds another two-and-a-half stories of panel material using a patented, new deployable boom.

"Honeybee has spent decades designing, testing, and flying mechanisms for planetary surfaces," said Kris Zacny, VP of Honeybee's Exploration Systems division in Altadena, Calif.

"Our expertise in subsurface drilling is now going to be flipped on its head to 'dig' up, rather than down. We are thankful to NASA for being selected and very excited by the possibility of combining our expertise, with that of mPower, to make LAMPS a reality."

One of the key technologies incorporated in the LAMPS system is DragonSCALES, a solar module solution, developed by mPower Technology. This lightweight, flexible and resilient power source may be a key enabler for NASA's design goals.

"We are pleased to be partnering with Honeybee to bring innovative space solar power to NASA's VSAT project," said Kevin Hell, chief executive officer of mPower Technology. "DragonSCALES is ideally suited for harsh space environments such as those on the Moon and we look forward to potentially leveraging this technology across a wide range of space and lunar deployments."


Related Links
Honeybee Robotics, Inc.
Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com
Lunar Dreams and more


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MOON DAILY
NASA rover to search for water, other resources on Moon
Washington DC (SPX) May 21, 2021
As part of the Artemis program, NASA is planning to send its first mobile robot to the Moon in late 2023 in search of ice and other resources on and below the lunar surface. Data from the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, would help the agency map resources at the lunar South Pole that could one day be harvested for long-term human exploration at the Moon. VIPER's design calls for using the first headlights on a lunar rover to aid in exploring the permanently shadowed regi ... read more

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