Honda Is Taking Its EV Tech to the Moon
The company’s regenerative fuel cells may soon power NASA’s lunar missions alongside Astrobotic’s solar arrays.By Natalie NeffPublished: Oct 01, 2025 12:13 PM EDT
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Honda
Honda has announced a joint development agreement with Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic to explore how its regenerative fuel cell technology could help sustain human life on the Moon.
At the heart of the project is Honda’s closed-loop fuel cell system, similar in design to the system you’d see on a Honda Clarity fuel-cell car. Fueling, however, differs.
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Operation would depend purely on the sun: During the two-week lunar day, solar panels would split water into hydrogen and oxygen. At night—when temperatures plunge and sunlight disappears for another two weeks—the stored hydrogen runs back through fuel cells to generate electricity, with water as the only byproduct. That water is then recycled, creating a self-sustaining energy cycle.
Astrobotic provides the energy delivery system—its Vertical Solar Array Technology (VSAT), part of the company’s larger LunaGrid concept—to supply power for the setup. VSAT arrays are designed to deploy, self-level, and track the sun for maximum efficiency.Honda
Honda Clarity fuel-cell vehicle.
Smaller 10-kW systems are planned, with 50-kW giants in the works to support long-term exploration and even commercial industry.
Together, Honda and Astrobotic want to figure out how to integrate their systems so astronauts, robots, and science stations can stay powered through the brutally long lunar night. Their feasibility study will map solar exposure at likely south-pole landing sites, simulate year-long illumination cycles, and model how different power demands could be met by pairing VSATs with Honda’s fuel cells.
Honda’s interest extends beyond the moon, with its engineers seeing a direct line from lunar energy storage to terrestrial EVs and hydrogen systems. Building hardware tough enough to survive the harsh environment of space could benefit consumer products back home on earth.
But for a couple of sketchy, short-lived gigs right out of college, Natalie Neff has had the good fortune to spend the entirety of her professional life around cars. A 2017 Honda Ridgeline, 1972 VW Beetle, 1999 Ducati Monster and a well-loved purple-and-white five-speed Schwinn currently call her garage home.
DoorDash Unveils “Dot” Robot to Deliver Food in Suburbia
The 350-lb robot can cruise at 20 mph, carry 30 pounds, and roll right up to your door.By Natalie NeffPublished: Oct 01, 2025 11:13 AM EDTSave Article
DoorDash
DoorDash is rolling out a new delivery robot named Dot, designed to navigate streets, bike lanes, sidewalks—even your driveway. Unveiled this week, DoorDash says Dot improves on the typical sidewalk bot formula by expanding the envelope of capabilities: it can carry up to 30 pounds, reach speeds of 20 mph, and shift between pedestrian paths and road segments.
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Standing about 4.5 feet tall and weighing 350 pounds, Dot is designed to pull up to restaurant doors for pickup, with no staging required. Its friendly design (think LED “eyes” and animated greetings) aims to win over both customers and staff. It’s currently being tested in the Phoenix area.
Underpinning Dot is DoorDash’s new Autonomous Delivery Platform, which will flexibly assign orders to robots, human Dashers, or even drones depending on speed, cost, and geography. The robot is intended for suburb-to-suburb delivery, filling the “last 10 feet” logistics gap that existing systems struggle to handle.
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DoorDash Dot
There are limitations. Dot can’t climb stairs or take elevators, for instance, and its ability to ride in bike lanes raises concerns about potential interference with cyclists. Plus, the company must navigate local regulations and safety scrutiny.
Still, Dot marks a turning point, wherein DoorDash is no longer just a delivery aggregator but is building its own autonomous logistics arm. If Dot scales, it could reshape how we expect food, groceries, and small goods to arrive in the near future.
But for a couple of sketchy, short-lived gigs right out of college, Natalie Neff has had the good fortune to spend the entirety of her professional life around cars. A 2017 Honda Ridgeline, 1972 VW Beetle, 1999 Ducati Monster and a well-loved purple-and-white five-speed Schwinn currently call her garage home.
