{"id":17120,"date":"2025-05-23T23:00:53","date_gmt":"2025-05-23T15:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/astrobotic-clears-wireless-charging-system-for-moon-missions-with-help-from-wibotic\/"},"modified":"2025-05-23T23:00:53","modified_gmt":"2025-05-23T15:00:53","slug":"astrobotic-clears-wireless-charging-system-for-moon-missions-with-help-from-wibotic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/astrobotic-clears-wireless-charging-system-for-moon-missions-with-help-from-wibotic\/","title":{"rendered":"Astrobotic clears wireless charging system for moon missions with help from WiBotic"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Astrobotic
A CubeRover with a wireless charging node drives up to a second power node to charge. (Astrobotic Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Astrobotic says it has completed flight model acceptance testing for a wireless charging system that incorporates technology from Seattle-based WiBotic \u2014 and that could help rovers roam across the surface of the moon.<\/p>\n

The system is designed to provide reliable, high-efficiency power transfer amid the extreme conditions of the lunar surface, including a night that lasts 14 Earth days. It was developed by Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic and WiBotic with assistance from the University of Washington, Bosch and NASA\u2019s Glenn Research Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the foundation for a unified, interoperable power standard for the moon and Mars,\u201d Astrobotic CEO John Thornton said in a news release. \u201cWe\u2019re offering a wireless charging solution that can support cross-agency, cross-industry missions, built to survive the harshest planetary environments. If your assets need dependable power on the surface, this is the plug they\u2019ll need.\u201d<\/p>\n

WiBotic\u2019s co-founder and CEO, Ben Waters, said the system\u2019s successful qualification is a \u201cmajor step forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the first time, there\u2019s an off-the-shelf, space-qualified wireless charging solution available for lunar and orbital missions,\u201d Waters said in a LinkedIn post. \u201cInstead of spending years developing a custom charger for each robot, tool or power system, companies can now integrate a proven solution that works across battery types, voltages and devices \u2014 no physical connectors required.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Illustration:
An artist\u2019s conception shows a lunar rover and a row of charging stations. (WiBotic Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The wireless system is designed to deliver power from an Astrobotic lunar lander or from a Vertical Solar Array Technology platform, also known as VSAT. Power from the source would be converted to wireless power by a WiBotic transmitter circuit, and then sent to the device by a transmitter antenna coil.<\/p>\n

Such a system would be well-suited for lunar operations \u2014 where devices would otherwise have to be repeatedly connected and disconnected, subjecting them to wear and tear from abrasive moon dust.<\/p>\n

The acceptance testing process for the wireless charger flight model was conducted over the course of four months at Astrobotic\u2019s Pittsburgh headquarters and at Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. The model was tested to check for electromagnetic interference and for the ability to cope with the vibrations that would be experienced during launch. The system also was subjected to vacuum conditions and the cold, dirty environment that would be encountered on the lunar surface.<\/p>\n

Astrobotic is gearing up to send its Griffin lander to the moon\u2019s south polar region for the first time, with launch set for as early as this year. \u201cThe wireless charging system will not be aboard our upcoming Griffin mission, but is set to be aboard Astrobotic\u2019s next lunar mission,\u201d Alivia Chapla, director of marketing and communication at Astrobotic, told GeekWire in an email.<\/p>\n

Development of the system was supported by a NASA Tipping Point contract. A 125-watt wireless charger model is now commercially available for advanced power solutions in space applications, and a 400-watt model is undergoing further testing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A CubeRover with a wireless charging node drives up to a second power node to charge. (Astrobotic Photo) Astrobotic says it has completed flight model acceptance testing for a wireless charging system that incorporates technology from Seattle-based WiBotic \u2014 and that could help rovers roam across the surface of the moon. The system is designed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[697,625,4439,4440],"class_list":["post-17120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-astrobotic","tag-moon","tag-wibotic","tag-wireless-charging"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17120"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17120\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}