Comparative analysis of surface power system architectures for human Mars exploration
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2009.
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | eng |
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2010
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/50602 |
| _version_ | 1826198860988416000 |
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| author | Cooper, Chase Allen |
| author2 | Jeffrey A. Hoffman. |
| author_facet | Jeffrey A. Hoffman. Cooper, Chase Allen |
| author_sort | Cooper, Chase Allen |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2009. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T11:10:47Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | mit-1721.1/50602 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T11:10:47Z |
| publishDate | 2010 |
| publisher | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/506022019-04-11T05:54:09Z Comparative analysis of surface power system architectures for human Mars exploration Cooper, Chase Allen Jeffrey A. Hoffman. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Aeronautics and Astronautics. Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2009. Includes bibliographical references (p. 90-91). This thesis 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, 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 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 solar power systems based on non-tracking, thin-film roll-out arrays with either batteries or regenerative fuel cells for 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 200 kW). For solar power systems, deployment and dust mitigation methods were also considered. Possible areas of commonality between Mars surface power systems and more near term lunar surface power systems were investigated. Given the significant policy and sustainability advantages of solar power compared to nuclear fission power, 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 alternative to traditional nuclear fission based approaches. by Chase Allen Cooper. S.M. 2010-01-07T20:59:23Z 2010-01-07T20:59:23Z 2009 2009 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/50602 466121448 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 91 p. application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| spellingShingle | Aeronautics and Astronautics. Cooper, Chase Allen Comparative analysis of surface power system architectures for human Mars exploration |
| title | Comparative analysis of surface power system architectures for human Mars exploration |
| title_full | Comparative analysis of surface power system architectures for human Mars exploration |
| title_fullStr | Comparative analysis of surface power system architectures for human Mars exploration |
| title_full_unstemmed | Comparative analysis of surface power system architectures for human Mars exploration |
| title_short | Comparative analysis of surface power system architectures for human Mars exploration |
| title_sort | comparative analysis of surface power system architectures for human mars exploration |
| topic | Aeronautics and Astronautics. |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/50602 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT cooperchaseallen comparativeanalysisofsurfacepowersystemarchitecturesforhumanmarsexploration |