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Lead research engineer Dr. Kerrigan Cain adjusts tubes connected to a fuel cell inside NASA Glenn Research Center’s Fuel Cell Testing Laboratory in Cleveland on Feb. 23, 2026. His team is testing a system that could revolutionize power generation and energy storage for future Moon and Mars missions.NASA/Jef Janis

With a small blue crane, four researchers hoist a cylindrical fuel cell, which looks like a stack of flattened silver and gold soda cans bundled together, into the air and lower it into a rectangular cart on wheels. A tangle of tubes and wires spiral away from the system, where nearly 270 sensors and 1,000 components are nestled inside.

“It’s a behemoth; it’s a researcher’s dream,” said Dr. Kerrigan Cain, lead engineer for the team at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland preparing to test this technology, known as a regenerative fuel cell system, over the next few months.

The system, about as long as a sedan and as tall as a person, operates like a rechargeable battery and could revolutionize the way NASA stores energy during future Moon missions through the Artemis program. When power is needed, it’s designed to combine hydrogen and oxygen gas into water, heat, and electricity, and then “recharge” by splitting the water back into hydrogen and oxygen — all on the lunar surface.

“It is an ideal technology for habitats, exploration with rovers, and many of the systems that are envisioned under Artemis,” Cain said. “Developing a sustainable, long-term human presence on the Moon requires power and energy storage solutions that fit those needs. Regenerative fuel cells fit into that puzzle perfectly.”

From left to right, Dr. Kerrigan Cain, Jessica Cashman, Dr. Devon Powers, and Ryan Grotenrath install a fuel cell onto the regenerative fuel cell system inside NASA Glenn Research Center’s Fuel Cell Testing Laboratory in Cleveland on Feb. 23, 2026. NASA/Jef Janis

This technology can weigh less but store the same amount of energy as comparable battery systems and could even operate during cold, dark, nearly two-week-long lunar nights. Its recharging capability also would ensure astronauts make the most of their resources and energy on the lunar surface without needing new supplies delivered from Earth.

The upcoming tests are the culmination of over five years of work. The system was designed and assembled at NASA Glenn. Researchers completed initial testing in 2025 to understand the basics of how the technology functions and make modifications.

Now, the team is passing a major milestone as they get ready to operate the complete system, storing the hydrogen and oxygen gas generated during recharge for the first time. They hope to gather essential data, identify any additional challenges, and further advance the technology toward a lunar mission.

On an average test day, researchers will secure the thick double doors to the test cell where the system is located in NASA Glenn’s Fuel Cell Testing Laboratory, head to a nearby control room, and begin to run the system remotely. Once it is powered up and a test has started, the technology can operate on its own without researcher intervention.

From left to right, Jessica Cashman, Dr. Kerrigan Cain, Dr. Mathew McCaskey, and Dr. Devon Powers discuss operation of the regenerative fuel cell system inside the control room of NASA Glenn Research Center’s Fuel Cell Testing Laboratory in Cleveland on Feb. 23, 2026. NASA/Jef Janis

“This testing is going to generate crucial data, so every day is exciting,” Cain said. “This effort was made possible by countless hours of work. The desire for fuel cell technology is so high, it makes it very easy to get up every morning and go, ‘All right, we have to keep moving forward so that we can be ready for Artemis.’”

Researchers will use lessons learned from testing to continue advancing regenerative fuel cell technology. Before the system can launch to the Moon, researchers will put it through its paces outside of the lab.

“We want to simulate being on the lunar surface and prove the system can work under much harsher conditions compared to a controlled laboratory environment,” Cain said.

Cain and his team noted working on the complex regenerative fuel cell system is both rewarding and challenging as they consider the impacts their research could have on NASA’s future deep space missions.

“Creating a sustainable presence on the Moon is a team effort requiring a lot of collaboration between NASA and industry,” Cain said.

NASA’s Regenerative Fuel Cell project is funded by the Space Technology Mission Directorate’s Game Changing Development Program, managed at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.

From left to right: Jessica Cashman, Dr. Kerrigan Cain, and Dr. Devon Powers work with the regenerative fuel cell system inside NASA Glenn Research Center’s Fuel Cell Testing Laboratory in Cleveland on Feb. 23, 2026.NASA/Jef Janis Ryan Grotenrath adjusts components of the regenerative fuel cell system inside NASA Glenn Research Center’s Fuel Cell Testing Laboratory in Cleveland on Feb. 23, 2026.NASA/Jef Janis Dr. Devon Powers adjusts components of the regenerative fuel cell system inside NASA Glenn Research Center’s Fuel Cell Testing Laboratory in Cleveland on Feb. 23, 2026.NASA/Jef Janis Researchers work with the regenerative fuel cell system inside NASA Glenn Research Center’s Fuel Cell Testing Laboratory in Cleveland on Feb. 23, 2026.NASA/Jef Janis The regenerative fuel cell system seen inside NASA Glenn Research Center’s Fuel Cell Testing Laboratory in Cleveland on Feb. 23, 2026.NASA/Jef Janis

Week in images: 04-08 May 2026

Discover our week through the lens

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An impression made in clay around 175,000 years ago could be a kneeprint left by one of the builders of a strange stalagmite circle found deep inside Bruniquel cave in south-west France

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As peptide “stacking” takes over social media feeds, we separate the science from the hype of the Internet’s latest wellness obsession

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The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, May 8 – 17 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

A secret society of French mathematicians has been revolutionising the field of mathematics under a pseudonym for nearly a century. Columnist Jacob Aron finds that this mythic collective provided maths a rigorous and useful foundation, and did some real harm along the way

A secret society of French mathematicians has been revolutionising the field of mathematics under a pseudonym for nearly a century. Columnist Jacob Aron finds that this mythic collective provided maths a rigorous and useful foundation, and did some real harm along the way

David Attenborough once directed programming at the BBC and has hosted numerous award-winning nature documentaries, but he’s always stayed down-to-earth, colleagues say

Image: Part of the rugged and deeply indented coast of northeastern Greenland is featured in this radar image captured by Copernicus Sentinel-1.

The imminent lunar impact of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket booster highlights the growing amount of space debris near the Moon.

The post SpaceX Booster Will Hit the Moon This August appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Earth Observatory

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Earth Observatory

1. Science
2. Earth Observatory
3. Tracy Arm’s Post-Tsunami…

• Earth
• Earth Observatory
• Image of the Day
• EO Explorer
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• About

When researchers look up at the sky and wonder if we’re not alone, they also realize the origins of life here on Earth might hold the key to finding out. The chaotic chemical soup of our early world eventually led to the staggering complexity of modern life, but how exactly did it start? Proteins were one of the key ingredients in the early years, but we’re still only just discovering how these marvels of modern biology first managed to fold, function, and survive. A new review paper, The borderlands of foldability: lessons from simplified proteins, published recently in Trends in Chemistry, showcases how scientists are attempting to answer this question - by researching “simplified proteins”.