When the Wind doesn't blow or the Sun doesn't shine, What do you do for power on Mars? NASA believes in Small Fission Reactors yet, Solar Power, plugged into battery storage could also work.

NASA Just Found the Key Energy Source to Power Mars Colonies

The days of us relying on solar power and rocket fuel for colonizing Mars are numbered. NASA has found a better way. With plans being made to colonize Mars, NASA has decided that it's time for nuclear power to take center stage.

 From article, (In a recent announcement, NASA unveiled the Kilopower project, which will potentially provide power for settlements and exploration on the surface of the Red Planet.

Kilopower is essentially a miniature nuclear reactor that produces just enough electrical power to carry out essential tasks.

Kilopower has been given primacy by NASA partly because solar power is going to have a tough time fulfilling the needs of astronauts if the panels are situated on the Martian surface—day and night cycles, dust storms, and other factors mean that sunlight won't always be around to provide the base-level of energy needed to get things done. The Kilopower system, on the other hand, can create a steady supply of power depending on the needs of the astronauts.)

Me, "If the sun doesn't shine or the wind doesn't blow on Mars you have to come up with some kind of power source. NASA believes it is Nuclear Fission. I just hope the astronauts do not have a nuclear meltdown."

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Me, "However another older article favors Solar Power on Mars. Just bring a cloth to wipe off the panels..."

Despite Dust Storms, Solar Power is Best for Mars Colonies - Universe Today

caption] Dust - a solar panel's worst nightmare. Is sending solar-powered robots to the Red Planet a bad idea? Mars is a very dusty planet, and Mars dust sticks to everything, especially solar arrays. After all, Phoenix's death was probably hastened by a Sun-blocking dust storm, and rover Spirit was battered by the combined solar ...

From article, (It sounds like the “nuclear space debate” continues. Thinking back to when Galileo was launched toward Jupiter in 1989, or when Cassini was sent to Saturn in 1997, huge protests erupted from critics, Cape Canaveral neighbours and anti-nuclear organizations. The argument was that should there be a launch accident, the radioactive material contained inside the radioisotope thermal generators (RTGs) could be scattered through the atmosphere and over a wide area on the ground (i.e. death and destruction). While this is a scary thought, NASA engineers were very quick to point out that RTGs are virtually indestructible, even under extreme conditions during an explosion and atmospheric re-entry.

It would appear that a large solar panel array can match nuclear generators, only if they are situated at a latitude of 0-40° north of the Martian equator. Southern latitudes have much less solar energy available for most of the year.

So what’s the best plan of action? According to Hofstetter, a Mars mission should be able to transport several 2 metre-wide rolls of thin-film solar panel arrays. Rolling out an array of these thin-film rolls could supply ample energy to a colony. For example, if the array is positioned at 25° north, measuring 100×100 metres, 100 kilowatts can be generated. The MIT researchers even calculated it would take two astronauts 17 hours to construct the array (alternatively they could get a robot to do it).

Commenting on this Mars energy solution, Colin Pillinger, planetary scientist with the Open University, UK (and head Beagle 2 scientist) said the solar array’s old foe — dust — shouldn’t be too much of a problem after all. “Dust storms tend to start in well-known places in the southern hemisphere as it warms up, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to avoid them,” he said.

So the skies may be clear for solar energy on Mars after all. Even though dust storms causes problems for our robotic explorers, manned expeditions may be able to avoid them all together. Besides, I don’t see why astronauts couldn’t pack some brushes to wipe down the arrays should dust become a problem…)

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