Photovoltaics-driven power production can support human exploration on Mars
Abstract
A central question surrounding possible human exploration of Mars is whether crewed missions can be supported by available technologies using in situ resources. Here, we show that photovoltaics-based power systems would be adequate and practical to sustain a crewed outpost for an extended period over a large fraction of the planet's surface. Climate data were integrated into a radiative transfer model to predict spectrally-resolved solar flux across the Martian surface. This informed detailed balance calculations for solar cell devices that identified optimal bandgap combinations for maximizing production capacity over a Martian year. We then quantified power systems, manufacturing, and agricultural demands for a six-person mission, which revealed that photovoltaics-based power generation would require <10 t of carry-along mass, outperforming alternatives over ~50% of Mars' surface.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2110.14757,
title = {Photovoltaics-driven power production can support human exploration on Mars},
author = {Anthony J. Abel and Aaron J. Berliner and Mia Mirkovic and William D. Collins and Adam P. Arkin and Douglas S. Clark},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2110.14757},
year = {2023}
}
Comments
5 pages, 4 figures, supplementary information