Areas of Activity Pioneering into Space

Global warming, population growth, overemphasis on energy, and other issues have made the idea of outer space as an area of human activity more compelling. In recent years, scientists have demonstrated that there may be water on the moon. Water is not only useful for domestic purposes, but can also be broken down into hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis—the hydrogen can be used to fuel rockets, and the oxygen can be used as an air supply or a combustion-supporting agent. We are tackling the challenges of extracting water from the surface of the moon, producing hydrogen and oxygen from water resources, and creating living environments in space, all with the aim of building a lunar ecosystem.

Producing Hydrogen and Oxygen on the Surface of the Moon

We are tackling the challenge of producing hydrogen and oxygen on the surface of the moon. We developed a lunar water electrolyzer based on water electrolysis technology developed for use on Earth that is compact enough to reduce the cost of transporting it to the moon, as well as resistant to earthquakes and temperature extremes both during transport to the moon and in the lunar environment.

Participation in HAKUTO-R,
a commercial lunar exploration program

In 2019, we signed a corporate partner contract with space startup ispace to participate in HAKUTO-R, a commercial lunar exploration program. Our lunar water electrolyzer will be installed on the lunar lander to be provided by ispace for Mission 2 (scheduled for 2024) to conduct the world’s first hydrogen and oxygen production in the lunar environment.

Relevant Links

• Technology & Services: “Green Hydrogen Production, Storage, and Utilization System”

• Special feature: “Contributing to the environment and the future through the use of hydrogen: Carbon Neutrality”

Extracting Water from the Surface of the Moon

We are using our hard-earned heat utilization technology to tackle the challenge of developing a technology called thermal mining in which water is extracted by heating the lunar regolith in situ rather than extracting water with heavy machinery as we do on Earth.

Creating Living Environments in Space

As humans become more active in space in the future, we will see longer stays in space, travel over longer distances, and even more stays by space tourists, all of which require comfortable indoor environments in space.
As part of the Earth–Space Dual Development-Type Research Center for Near-Future Urban Functions program sponsored by the Tokyo University of Science, we are working to create living environments in space. In 2022, we conducted CFD analysis of airflow and CO₂ concentration in the crew quarters of the International Space Station (ISS) to recommend new environmental criteria for comfort in a circulation-based habitat. In the future, we will consider the design requirements for air conditioning systems for lunar colonies and other low-gravity conditions with the aim of providing comfortable living environments with limited resources, including hydrogen and oxygen produced by our water electrolyzers.
We believe our development of technology for living in space can be applied to off-grid habitation systems in rural communities and other areas on Earth with limited infrastructure.

Relevant Links

• Research Center for Space System Innovation, Tokyo University of Science