Fuel Cell

The Fuel Cell is a power source of the Habitat, connected to the secondary Habitat power bus, using the same fuel as the main Reactor, though far less efficiently. However, unlike the Reactor, the fuel cell works cold. Therefore the fuel cell is used when the main reactor is off, broken, or malfunctioning, as while Cold Starting the main Reactor. Since, during flight, the Reactor, not the fuel cell, provides power, it is not fatal to blow a fuel cell after launch, and the AYSE drive can automatically repair or replace a blown cell.

Hawking II Implementation

In addition to being part of the engineering software, the fuel cell was physically implemented on the Hawking II as a yellow pool noodle that was mounted into some L-shaped air ducts that were ensconced in a piece of plywood screwed onto the outside of the hotlab. The location of the fuel cell meant that it was often adversely affected by weather, for instance dust storms on Mars 2005.