Solar Edges Nuclear as a Power Source for Mars Settlements

Bisnis.com, JAKARTA – Given Mars’ history of global dust storms, who would have thought solar power would compete with nuclear power in providing surface energy for human settlements on the red planet in the future?

But that’s what a new study authored by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) and just published in the journal Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences suggests.

Solar’s rise as a power competitor to Mars is directly linked to the revolutionary increase in the efficiency at which photovoltaic converts sunlight into electricity.

And if solar photovoltaic proves viable on Mars in real life, the decades-old debate about how to improve Mars exploration without resorting to nuclear power will eventually subside. And, in turn, this new solar boost could help spawn new ways to generate more efficient solar power on Earth.

The high efficiency, light weight and flexibility of the latest solar cell technologies mean photovoltaics can provide all the power needed for extended missions to Mars, or even permanent settlement there, say researchers at UC Berkeley.

The team’s approach was to compare the two technologies directly for an additional six-man mission to Mars that involved a 480-day stay on the planet’s surface before returning to Earth, the university said.

Their analysis found that for residential sites on nearly half the surface of Mars, solar is comparable to or better than nuclear, when you consider the weight of the solar panels and their efficiency, said UC Berkeley. That is, during the day some of the energy during the day is used to produce hydrogen gas for use in fuel cells to power the colony at night or during sandstorms, the university said.

Photovoltaic energy generation coupled with a specific energy storage configuration in molecular hydrogen outperforms nuclear fusion reactors on more than 50% of the planet’s surface, particularly in the region around the equatorial band,” UC Berkeley biotechnology doctoral student Aaron Berliner, one of the first two papers, said in a statement. a statement.

But only photovoltaic power by electrolysis, which uses electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, competes with nuclear power: It’s proven to be more cost-effective per kilogram than nuclear on nearly half the planet’s surface, reports UC Berkeley.

How will future Mars solar power plants reduce dust storms?

That remains a problem, Berliner admits. But our research here provides an idea of ​​the availability of power for average climatic conditions on Mars, he said. But going forward, our method could be applied very easily given a number of dust conditions, Berliner said.

Are there synergies between Mars solar photovoltaics and their application on Earth?

High-efficiency solar cells are typically “grown” on elemental semiconductor materials such as Germanium wafers, which cost about $10,000 per square meter, Abel said. Scientists have developed a way to grow solar cell devices, remove them and then reuse wafers, which would be the process of manufacturing lightweight solar panels for Mars, he said.

“This innovation can also lower costs for Earth applications,” said Abel.

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