Assessment of Architectural Options for Surface Power Generation and Energy Storage on Human Mars Missions

Paper number

IAC-08.A3.3.B2

Author

Mr. Chase Cooper, Massachussets Institute of Technology (MIT), United States

Coauthor

Mr. Wilfried Hofstetter, Massachussets Institute of Technology (MIT), United States

Coauthor

Prof. Jeffrey Hoffman, Massachussets Institute of Technology (MIT), United States

Coauthor

Prof. Edward Crawley, Massachussets Institute of Technology (MIT), United States

Year

2008

Abstract

It is generally assumed that human Mars missions will require nuclear fission surface power. Given the low technology readiness level and the political sensitivities associated with nuclear fission power, an analysis of alternatives is warranted. This paper provides an assessment of alternative power system architectures for human Mars missions. The architectures are analyzed in the context of different human Mars mission scenarios and are compared on the basis of mass, volume, technology readiness, operational risk, and deployment complexity.

An enumeration of architectural options was carried out based on three criteria: daytime power generation technology, eclipse power generation technology, and energy storage technology (if required), yielding the following alternatives:
(1) Nuclear fission power generation
(2): Photovoltaic system with Li-Ion batteries for secondary energy generation
(3): Photovoltaic system with regenerative fuel cells for secondary energy generation
(4):Photovoltaic system with dynamic RTGs and batteries for secondary energy generation
(5): Dynamic RTG-based systems with battery secondary energy generation.

Each of the above architectural options was assessed in the context of four different mission scenarios capturing whether or not ISPP was utilized and whether or not a single Mars base was utilized. ISPP was considered as a distinguishing factor because it is used in many previously developed human Mars reference mission architectures and typically leads to continuous power requirements in excess of 100 kW. Specific technologies for the architectures were researched in order to ascertain their level of readiness. A number of RTG technologies that are currently being developed by the NASA Science Mission Directorate were assessed. Traditional rigid solar arrays and newer thin film arrays were considered for the solar-based options.  

Two types of analyses were carried out for each architecture: (1) an equal power analysis which assumes that all options provide the same continuous power output; (2) an equal energy analysis which assumes that all systems provide the same energy per Martian day, but not necessarily the same continuous power output.

Initial results indicate that for a single base and an architecture without ISPP, solar-based architectures with fuel cell energy storage can be competitive with nuclear-fission-based systems, in particular if equal energy is used for comparison. It is also important to note that significant development of photovoltaic power generation and energy storage capabilities can be expected in the next decades for Earth applications, which would be available virtually free of investment for human Mars exploration.

Abstract document

IAC-08.A3.3.B2.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-08.A3.3.B2.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

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