Overview:
NASA is seeking sensors for a Regenerative Fuel Cell (RFC) energy storage system for lunar surface missions: hydrogen-in-oxygen sensors for the oxygen stream, and humidity sensors for the hydrogen and/or oxygen streams. Providers can address either need or both. The core challenge is holding accuracy without drift at high pressure, over long, unmaintained intervals. Inline, slipstream-free operation solutions are highly preferred.
Background:
The RFC Project is building closed-loop energy storage for lunar surface missions. A fuel cell consumes hydrogen and oxygen to produce power and water; an electrolyzer reverses that process to regenerate hydrogen and oxygen for storage. The system needs to run largely unattended, cycling power, for up to 10 years.
Humidity sensors keep water out of the storage tanks, where it could freeze and damage the system. Hydrogen-in-oxygen sensors catch hydrogen contamination in the oxygen stream before it reaches the tank, which would provide a major safety risk. Today’s sensors tend to have calibration drift over time and in an environment where maintenance window’s are long, this can provide mission critical issues.
Constraints:
The solution must:
• Hold accuracy without drift at high pressure (system pressures run up to approximately 5,000 psi) over long, unmaintained intervals, at a minimum of 1 year up to 10 years.
• For hydrogen-in-oxygen sensors: detect hydrogen in the low single-digit percent range in an oxygen-rich stream.
Preferred solutions will be:
• Inline, flow-through operation that skips the slipstream (a diverted gas sample used to condition the stream for analysis) altogether.
• Proven beyond lab-scale, though NASA also welcomes novel, early-stage concepts or proofs of concept that could unlock this challenge.
Possible Solution Areas:
Hydrogen-in-oxygen sensors: electrochemical, catalytic bead (pellistor), thermal conductivity, metal oxide/chemiresistive, optical/fiber-optic absorption, proprietary solid-state, gas chromatograph based etc.
Humidity sensors: capacitive polymer, capacitive ceramic/metal oxide, chilled mirror (dew point), quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), optical/spectroscopic (e.g., TDLAS) etc.
Potential sectors worth exploring:
• Industrial hydrogen production and electrolysis
• Oil and gas (high-pressure gas handling and instrumentation)
• Chlor-alkali production
• Semiconductor fabrication (ultra-low moisture detection)
• Medical and environmental trace-gas instrumentation
• Other industries not listed here, if the underlying sensing technology could apply
Field of use and intended applications:
Regenerative fuel cell (RFC) energy storage for spaceflight, particularly long-duration, unattended lunar surface deployments running up to about 10 years. Related uses include electrolyzer-based life support and in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) systems.
Related Tech Needs:
NASA Seeking: Radiation-Tolerant Imagery Systems for Lunar Surface and Deep Space Operations
NASA Seeking: Fire Residue Cleanup Technologies To Be Used In a Sealed Spacecraft
