Moon

384 000 km
from earth

Shackleton

129.78°E
-89.67°S

Ready for launch Take-off
00:10:00
Cookie settings

These cookies are necessary for the proper functioning of the site. They cannot be deactivated.

These cookies enable us to measure the number of visits, visitors and sources of traffic to our site (content of paths, etc.), and to compile statistics in order to improve its quality, ergonomics and performance.

Wheel Batteries

Robust
and efficient
batteries

Harnessing two decades of expertise for the space sector

Harnessing two decades of expertise for the space sector

From 2000 to 2021

Venturi high performance electric vehicle specialist

Venturi
2000

Monegasque entrepreneur Gildo Pastor bought French carmaker Venturi in 2000, and moved the business to Monaco

26

World speed records with two and four wheel vehicles

8

Venturi Formula E Team, which later became Venturi Racing, competed in 8 seasons of the Formula E World Championship

3

From its Monaco base, Venturi designed and manufactured 3 polar exploration vehicles called Antarctica

549

The Venturi VVB-3 is the fastest four-wheel electric vehicle in history. Its FIA world record of 549 km/h (341 mph) stands unbeaten to this day

-40

The Venturi Antarctica, the world’s first and only polar exploration vehicle, was made available for use by the scientists at the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica research station, where it operates at temperatures of -40°C
Strategic partnership

The teams at Venturi Space’s facilities in Monaco are today using their vast experience to design and manufacture the battery packs that will equip the rover made by Venturi Astrolab, Inc.

Venturi Astrolab, Inc.

Battery

The four batteries must be able to withstand extreme temperatures and intense solar radiation at the lunar South Pole.

Number
of cells 10,000
1/5
To power one rover, Venturi Space acquires and tests 10,000 cells and selects only the very best.
Robust -240 °C
2/5
The battery packs are designed to function to their optimum capacity in an environment with temperatures as low as -240°C.
Surge protection 4.2 V
3/5
The maximum voltage of each cell is 4.2V
3/5
The maximum voltage of each cell is 4.2V

The cells are overcharged up to 4.2V. At that point, an internal protection circuit trips to prevent thermal runaway and internal component leakage. The cell is rendered inert at 0V.
External
short circuit protection 0 V
4/5
External short circuit protection
4/5
In the event of an external short circuit, the cell potential falls to 0V

The cells are tested to mitigate the risk of explosion in the event of a short circuit. An internal protection mechanism activates, preventing an explosion and causing the cell voltage to drop to 0V.
Battery
packs 4
5/5
Each rover is equipped with four battery packs: two on its left side, and two more on the right (fitted behind the solar panels)
Rigorous selection, critical testing
Cell after cell

Each cell is analysed and subjected to a series of tests, from delivery to final installation in the battery pack. Of the 10,000 units delivered to the Monaco laboratory, only 80% will be selected.
The cells are subjected to a sequence of performance and destructive testing:

Step 1 : Dimensions Mass | Length | Diameter
Step 2 : Performance Charge | Discharge | Internal resistance
Step 3 : Endurance Simulations over lunar cycles under vacuum conditions and at a range of temperatures storage
Step 4 : Safety External short circuit | Internal short circuit | Overload | Over-discharge | Vibrations | Shocks | Impacts | Vacuum resistance | Radiations resistance
Battery pack The battery pack (i.e. cell assembly) is put through the same tests as the cells, but also needs to be resistant to thermal runaway and the potential leakage of active components at 1,600°C.
HYPER-DEFORMABLE WHEEL Wheel Learn more
Contact
Contact Venturi Space
Links
Networks
English Français
-