Alternative Concept for Energy Production at Lunar Poles using Thermoelectric Generators
- Paper number
IAC-19,E2,1,11,x54760
- Author
Mr. Neelesh Ranjan Saxena, Germany, TU Berlin
- Year
2019
- Abstract
\begin{document} Ever since NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has started data-keeping from the lunar surface in high accuracy, it has continued to help narrow down the possible locations feasible for a human settlement in the near future whenever that will be. These handful of locations usually either employ the availability of sunlight present throughout the year as in case of "Peaks of Eternal Light" or make use of the local geographic features for the purpose of radiation protection like those of "Skylights" and "Lava Tubes/Lava Caves". What remains common in all such sites is that these are all primarily powered by sunlight, upon which an electricity-driven manned base will function. So the permanent visibility of the Sun or at least a constant access to sunlight remains a crucial driving factor when it comes to powering such bases. However, it's equally important to see that sunlight alone cannot and should not be relied upon as the sole basis of energy especially during the times when, say, a situation involving a shortage of power comes up like during eclipses. This paper attempts to empirically evaluate the feasibility of using Thermoelectric Generators (TEGs) and drawing energy from the vast temperature difference that exists locally on the sunlit side of the Moon particularly near places like lunar poles, mountains, skylights, permanently shadowed craters especially Shackleton and the others that exist near the Lunar South Pole, etc. Also, it tries to introduce new perspective towards using non-conventional methods that bring in additional power without adding much to the manufacture and installation costs. \end{document}- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
(absent)