科研之友
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摘要
The provision of power for human Mars surface exploration is generally assumed to be achieved using nuclear fission power systems, particularly if in-situ production of part or all of the Earth return propellant is considered. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of surface power generation and energy storage architectures for human Mars surface missions, including tracking and non-tracking photovoltaic power generation, nuclear fission power generation, dynamic radioisotope power generation, and battery and regenerative fuel cell energy storage. The quantitative analysis is carried out on the basis of equal energy provision to the power system user over the course of one Martian day (including day and night periods); this means that the total amount of energy available to the user will be the same in all cases, but the power profile over the course of the day may be different from concept to concept. The analysis results indicate that photovoltaic power systems based on non-tracking, thin-film roll-out arrays with either secondary batteries or regenerative fuel cells for nighttime energy storage achieve comparable levels of performance as systems based on nuclear fission power across the entire range of average power levels investigated (up to 100 kW of average usable power over the course of the Martian day). Given the significant policy and sustainability advantages of solar power compared to nuclear fission power generation, as well as the significant development and performance increase for thin-film photovoltaic arrays and energy storage technologies that is anticipated over the coming decades, solar power as the primary source for human Mars surface power generation should be seriously considered as an alternative to traditional nuclear fission based power generation approaches.
- 出版日期2010-5
