Fuel Cells

Have a look at the following links.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_cell

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_13

Thanks. I have always been fascinated with NASA. This will make good reading.

The world held its breath during the Apollo 13 incident, and the relief when the three astronauts survived was shared across many nations. At this time, NASA missions were broadcast live around the world to much public interest, and the possibility of losing three astonauts in difficult circumstances caused much anguish. Their survival owes much to the concept of teamwork.

There is a film called "Apollo 13", featuring the American actor Tom Hanks in the lead role. It is well worth watching, and gives a very credible illustration of the issues at play during this difficult mission.

Thanks, Yes I watch the Apollo 13 movie regularly. That is where my question was generated. I now have a better understanding of the need for the oxygen in the fuel cells. I also enjoy watching the efforts toward a Mars expedition in channels like the science channel.

I would suggest reading the book "Apollo 13", originally titled "Lost Moon", co-written by mission commander Jim Lovell.

Not only is it a riveting blow by blow description of the events, but a background look at an astronaut's career AND some forensic engineering analysis at the end of the text.

Shows how simple and small things (an engineering/design oversight, a small incident, a bad decision and coincidence) can lead to an major accident (as it seems with the recent Air France tragedy).

Hi ToolmakerG, all NASA projects and historic information can be found at:

http://www.nasa.gov

regards

No direct answers seen; in those fuel cells, since nothing that was not brought along would be available in space, they brought both hydrogen and oxygen. These get combined in the appropriate ratio (2 Hydrogen to 1 Oxygen); the byproduct is water, which could then be recycled and used. This reaction happens at a membrane made typically of some fibrous material imbedded with a catalyst such as platinum, which aids the chemical reaction. Since each cell only generates about 1.2VDC, they have to be stacked in series to create the higher voltage needed to feed a power inverter which then powers whatever is onboard, and also charges batteries with the spare power.

When the oxygen cylinder blew up due to an uninsulated/burned insulation wire, the oxygen in that tank blew into space, and of course, deactivated that fuel cell and may have done other damage as well. At that point, they were short on power and had to reduce power as much as possible, which included heat for the manned areas of the capsules. That left them pretty cold and dark for most of the flight, but did enable them to get home.