AUTHOR=Abel Anthony J. , Berliner Aaron J. , Mirkovic Mia , Collins William D. , Arkin Adam P. , Clark Douglas S. 

TITLE=Photovoltaics-Driven Power Production Can Support Human Exploration on Mars

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/astronomy-and-space-sciences/articles/10.3389/fspas.2022.868519

DOI=10.3389/fspas.2022.868519

ISSN=2296-987X

ABSTRACT=<p>A central question surrounding possible human exploration of Mars is whether crewed missions can be supported by available technologies using <italic>in situ</italic> 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 <inline-formula id="inf1"><mml:math id="m1" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mo>&lt;</mml:mo></mml:math></inline-formula>10 t of carry-along mass, outperforming alternatives over ∼50% of Mars’ surface.</p>