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. Main TextLong-duration space missions or continuously-occupied extraterrestrial outposts require Earthindependent power and chemical supply. Mars has an abundance of in situ resources, including (sub)surface water ice (1) and carbon and nitrogen in atmospheric CO 2 and N2 (2). Efficient conversion of these resources to reduced forms of hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon would represent an enabling step towards sustaining a permanent human presence in space. In analogy to the proposed terrestrial "Hydrogen Economy", molecular hydrogen (H2) can be used as a platform molecule for energy storage, on-demand power supply, and as a reactant driving CO2 and N2 (bio)chemical reduction on Mars (3-5).Water electrolysis with selective catalysts can drive water reduction to H2 on cathode surfaces. This technology is attractive for space manufacturing applications since reactions can proceed at high rates at

Thermodynamic modeling of in-situ rocket propellant fabrication on Mars

“…A total energy requirement of approximately 34.3 kW is estimated by summing up the energy requirements of the electrolysis ( Table 3 ) and liquid oxygen storage ( Table 4 @ 200 K) processes. Because research shows that the continuous power demand on Mars ranges from 4 to 100 kW with an average of 40 kW ( Abel et al., 2021 ; Anderson et al., 2018 ), effectively doubling this power would be necessary to keep the system in operation. To help minimize energy requirements, future work can build on this effort by investigating the influence of diurnal and seasonal temperature swings on liquid methane and oxygen production in combination with advanced heat transfer and energy storage options, such as heat pipes ( Zhang et al., 2020 ) and phase change materials ( Kansara and Singh, 2021 ).…”