Future astronauts on Mars could use photovoltaic systems and hydrogen to generate and store enough energy for their mission. This is the result of a study published in the journal Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences. There are still no concrete plans for a six-man mission to Mars. However, nuclear fission has so far been considered the favored source of energy for humans on Mars because a nuclear reactor produces the most energy relative to its mass. But depending on where a potential Mars base would be located on the planet, solar power could offer a viable alternative to nuclear power.
For the study, researchers led by Anthony Abel from the University of California at Berkeley were guided by how much material potential astronauts would have to take to Mars. With nuclear power, this value is always the same because a small reactor doesn’t care where it would be placed on Mars. The researchers anticipate a dead weight of 9.5 tons. With solar cells, on the other hand, there are similar challenges to those on earth: on the one hand, how much energy can be generated with photovoltaics depends on the amount of sunlight. On the other hand, the sun also sets on Mars at the end of each Martian day. That’s why you need an energy storage device.
Abel’s team studied different configurations for their model: nuclear power generation, photovoltaic energy generation and subsequent storage in batteries, photovoltaic energy generation and subsequent storage of this energy in the form of compressed hydrogen produced by electrolysis, and photoelectrochemical cells (PEC ), which split water into hydrogen and oxygen and whose hydrogen could then also be stored.