Can hydrogen and helium be used as an energy source for spacecraft?

[Marian246]

Hi.

Does anyone advise me what I can get out from space and use it as energy for spacecraft ?

Thank.

By.

 

[Drakkith]

Your question is a little unclear. Are you asking what you can harvest from space to use as an energy source for a spacecraft ? If so, then where in space are you asking about? Interplanetary space? Interstellar space? Nebulae? Do you want to know what you can harvest from gas giants, asteroids, comets, etc?

 

[Khashishi]

existing spacecraft use solar panels and RTG https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioisotope_thermoelectric_generator
If you are talking about science fiction, then look at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bussard_ramjet

 

[Isaac0427]

Hydrogen and helium, and a lot of it. (It makes over 80% of all atoms in the universe).

 

[rootone]

Hydrogen and helium, and a lot of it. (It makes over 80% of all atoms in the universe).

It's pretty thinly spread out in interstellar space though, not enough there be able to collect it very effectively.
Even if there was enough, in order to use it as a power source you would need some kind of very efficient but light weight fusion technology,
certainly way beyond any technology we can presently foresee.