Planning more space trips? Get platinum

The World Platinum Investment Council notes the connection between space travel and platinum in a note released Wednesday.

With more space travel planned, white metal might be more needed.

Elon Musk has announced his intention to send humans to Mars during this decade. The European space agency also wants to see an astronaut on the moon before entering the 1930s.

“Platinum has long-term links with space exploration; Platinum catalysts in hydrogen fuel cells were part of the pioneering technology that paved the way for the first moon landing in 1969, and were also used in space shuttle missions, ”the board writes. .

The council notes that a lunar rover using a platinum-based fuel cell is being jointly developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Toyota Motor Corporation.

“Platinum catalysts have other hydrogen-related applications that could benefit the Artemis program, especially given the recent emphasis on the sustainability of human missions to the moon and, in due course, to Mars.” . If the means to utilize the resources that already exist on the moon can be found, it will reduce the cost and complexity of remote missions by reducing the need for supplies delivered from Earth.

“For example, it is hoped that hydrogen – a vital fuel source for the space program – can come from lunar water sources, through electrolysis.” Platinum is used as a catalyst in Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyzers which use a polymer electrolyte, one of the two main electrolysis technologies currently available. “