While its technology is most often used to drill for oil here on Earth, oil company BP has entered into an agreement with NASA that could see its technology used to drill for resources on the moon.
The agreement was announced this week, and says the company will work with NASA to “support common goals in space exploration and energy production.” That involved sharing technology and technical expertise, particularly about how energy production can operate in extreme environments. This could be applicable to future NASA plans for exploration of the moon and Mars, both of which will require significant power generation.
“Both BP and NASA are custodians of deep technical expertise, working in extreme environments — whether that’s at the bottom of the ocean or on the moon,” said Giovanni Cristofoli, senior vice president of BP Solutions. “Sharing what we know with each other will help us solve complex engineering problems faster, meaning we can focus on keeping energy flowing safely and delivering higher margins with lower emissions.”
NASA is investigating technologies such as the use of nuclear reactors to generate power, as well as scaling up the solar power systems that are commonly used in many spacecraft and landers. Nuclear power has the advantage of consistent power output, but the public often worries about safety issue with the use of nuclear, while solar power is getting more and more efficient but still has limitations such as solar panels being covered by dust over time.
The new agreement with BP could see further development on power options such as the use of hydrogen and regenerative fuel cells, plus the high-capacity batteries that are important for solar power to be used consistently, and nuclear options such as small fission systems.
BP’s expertise in drilling could also be beneficial on Mars, which has virtually no liquid water on its surface. The planet is thought to host significant amounts of liquid water beneath the surface, though, so digging to access this could be one way to produce all-important water on Mars.
Water is important not only for drinking for future astronauts but also for the production of rocket fuel. Much current research into sending astronauts back to the moon revolves around finding and accessing water deposits there.
