Strategies of developing advanced lunar power systems

Electric and thermal power have to be available at the base site on the lunar surface before the first lunar crew arrives. Unlimited solar energy is available during the lunar day, but this must be stored for use during the lunar night unless nuclear energy systems are available. State-of-the-art candidate systems are reviewed and the production of solar cells on the moon is discussed. Various options for developing a lunar power plant are proposed. These must be simulated and optimized in a real life-cycle systems scenario to provide operations and cost data essential for choosing a strategy.     

Sandwich module prototype progress for space solar power

Space solar power (SSP) has been broadly defined as the collection of solar energy in space and its wireless transmission for use on earth. This approach potentially gives the benefit of provision of baseload power while avoiding the losses due to the day/night cycle and tropospheric effects that are associated with terrestrial solar power. Proponents have contended that the implementation of such systems could offer energy security, environmental, and technological advantages to those who would undertake their development. Among recent implementations commonly proposed for SSP, the modular symmetrical concentrator (MSC) and other modular concepts have received considerable attention. Each employs an array of modules for performing conversion of concentrated sunlight into microwaves or laser beams for transmission to earth. While prototypes of such modules have been designed and developed previously by several groups, none have been subjected to the challenging conditions inherent to the space environment and the possible solar concentration levels in which an array of modules might be required to operate. The research described herein details our team's efforts in the development of photovoltaic arrays, power electronics, microwave conversion electronics, and antennas for microwave-based “sandwich” module prototypes. The implementation status and testing results of the prototypes are reviewed.     

Design concepts for the first 40 km a key step for the space elevator

The Marine Node for the Space Elevator Infrastructure is the base for all activities to load and unload the cargo and climbers. As the basic design of the space elevator power system is solar power only, the first 40 km is hazardous to operations and demands enclosed packaging of fragile tether climbers. A significant question is: how do we place a full-up tether climber, driven by solar power, above the atmosphere? Two approaches, starting at the Marine Node, allow the tether climber to initiate the climb with solar energy above the atmosphere. The third viable approach is to provide a platform at altitude for initiation of tether climb. These approaches would enable solar power to be the source of energy for climbing. The three approaches are:     

Recent advances in lunar base simulation

This article reports about the results of the latest computer runs of a lunar base simulation model. The lunar base consists of 20 facilities for lunar mining, processing and fabrication. The infrastructure includes solar and nuclear power plants, a central workshop, habitat and farm. Lunar products can be used for construction of solar power systems (SPS) or other spacecraft at several space locations. The simulation model evaluates the mass, energy and manpower flows between the elements of the system as well as system cost and cost of products on an annual basis for a given operational period. The 1983 standard model run over a fifty-years life cycle (beginning about the year 2000) was accomplished for a mean annual production volume of 78 180 Mg of hardware products for export resulting in average specific manufacturing cost of 8.4 $/kg and total annual cost of 1.25 billion dollars during the life cycle. The reference space transportation system uses LOX/LH₂ propulsion for which at the average 210 500 Mg LOX per year is produced on the moon. The sensitivity analysis indicates the importance of bootstrapping as well as the influence of market size, space transportation cost and specific resources demand on the mean lunar manufacturing cost. The option using lunar resources turns out to be quite attractive from the economical viewpoint. Systems analysis by this lunar base model and further trade-offs will be a useful tool to confirm this.     

空间太阳能电站技术的可行性研究

简要介绍世界空间太阳能电站的太阳发电卫星／太阳能发电（ＳＰＳ／ＬＳＰ）系统两种设想及相关技术的可行性研究与发展情况。总体说，实现空间电站所需无线电能传输技术（ＷＰＴ）、太阳电池技术及空间技术已基本成熟，可望于下世纪初建立初步的空间太阳能发电系统。     

Heat storage and electricity generation in the Moon during the lunar night

One of the biggest challenges of the exploration of the Moon is the survival of the crew and the lunar assets during the lunar night. The environmental conditions on the lunar surface and its cycle, with long periods of darkness, make any long mission in need of specific amounts of heat and electricity to be successful. We have analyzed two different systems to produce heat and electricity on the Moon's surface. The first system consists of Thermal Wadis, sources of thermal power that can be used to supply heat to protect the exploration systems from the extreme cold during periods of darkness. Previous results showed that Wadis can supply enough heat to keep lunar devices such as rovers above their minimum operating temperature (approximately 243 K). The second system studied here is the Thermal Energy Storage (TES), which is able to run a heat engine during the lunar night to produce electricity. When the Sun is shining on the Moon's surface, the system can run the engine directly using the solar power and simultaneously heat a thermal mass. This thermal mass is used as a high temperature source to run the heat engine during the night. We present analytical and numerical calculations for the determination of an appropriate thermal mass for the TES system.     

空间太阳能发电和微波与电离层相互作用

本文第一部分研究了空间太阳能热发电，基于所提的评价动力系统的准则，比较了三种热力学系统，并给出了一些参数变化对闭式回热Ｂｒａｙｔｏｎ循环系统的影响，本文第二部分对微波速对电离层中电子的加速和受热进行了数值研究，得出了一些结果。     

100 kWe月面核电站方案研究

随着太空探索活动的深入开展,在月球表面建立有人基地成为必然选择。与常规化学能或太阳能相比,月面核电源具有诸多优点,是月球基地的最佳能源选择之一。本文提出了电功率100 kWe的核反应堆电源系统方案,给出了该方案的关键系统参数。针对反应堆模块,展开方案选型、参数优化、常规物理参数分析、初步热工分析和特种临界安全分析等工作。计算结果显示:燃料包壳温度小于使用限值,掉落事故工况下有效增值因数均小于0.98。该设计方案满足各项技术指标和设计准则。     

月面巡视探测器太阳帆板热电耦合仿真计算

文章建立了月面巡视探测器太阳帆板热电耦合计算模型,制定了太阳帆板的对日定向方案和输出电能分配方案。通过数值模拟获得了月面白昼期间太阳帆板的温度及电能输出,分析了太阳帆板背面包覆隔热材料前后及帆板是否对日定向的计算结果。计算表明:当帆板不对日定向时,其背面包覆隔热材料对其温度及电能输出无明显影响;对日定向时,帆板温度随时间的分布规律发生了明显改变,此时帆板背面包覆隔热材料使其温度明显上升,但帆板正面与背面的温差减小。     

太阳能飞行器能源昼夜闭环仿真分析

以能量为核心，建立太阳能飞行器的获能模型；通过对太阳能飞行器飞行剖面特点的分析，设计飞行过程中各个阶段的飞行方案，并建立相应的耗能模型；考虑目前储能电池技术水平，根据产能和耗能模型，建立储能模型，完成了能源闭环模型的设计；参照Zephyr 7太阳能无人机的结构参数对论文建立的模型进行了仿真分析，获取了飞行过程中能量变化规律，同时对飞行姿态进行优化。结果表明：通过对太阳能飞行器昼夜飞行高度的不同设置以及飞行姿态角的优化，太阳能飞行器可以实现跨昼夜持久飞行。     

月面巡视探测器太阳帆板热电耦合仿真计算

文章建立了月面巡视探测器太阳帆板热电耦合计算模型,制定了太阳帆板的对日定向方案和输出电能分配方案,通过数值模拟获得了月面白昼期间太阳帆板的温度及电能输出,分析了太阳帆板背面包覆隔热材料前后及帆板是否对日定向等方案的计算结果。计算表明,当帆板不对日定向时其背面包覆隔热材料对其温度场及电能输出无明显影响,对日定向时帆板温度随时间的分布规律发生了明显改变,此时帆板背面包覆隔热材料使其温度明显上升,但帆板顶面与背面的温差减小。     

立方星电源系统最大功率点跟踪优化控制方法

针对立方星在能量来源严重受限条件下如何提高太阳能利用率的难题,提出一种适用于立方星的集中供电式空间微电源架构(EPS),并设计基于改进粒子群优化算法的最大功率点跟踪(MPPT)控制策略来提升能量转换效率。首先,推导太阳电池阵列的数学模型,并根据太阳电池阵列的工作特性,提出电源系统最大功率点跟踪控制的物理系统实现结构。其次,设计基于改进粒子群优化(PSO)的最大功率点跟踪控制算法,并进行了数学仿真校验。最后,对所设计的电源系统架构进行了硬件实现和试验验证。地面试验结果表明,电源系统的太阳能最大转换效率可达95.5%。该电源系统成功应用于世界首颗12U立方星“翱翔之星”的飞行试验,在轨数据表明电源系统工作状态良好,为微纳卫星电源系统的设计提供了有益参考。     

月尘累积对太阳电池阵电帘除尘效率影响的实验研究

月尘在月球探测器太阳电池阵表面的累积将会导致其输出功率下降甚至功能失效。近年来,电帘除尘方法被认为是月尘清除防护的有效手段。文章实验研究了月尘累积对三结砷化镓太阳电池性能影响,拟合得到了月尘累积质量与太阳电池相对输出功率的数学模型;利用电帘除尘装置,研究了不同月尘累积质量下电帘的除尘效率。研究结果表明,6 mg/cm2月尘累积质量是太阳电池阵电帘除尘装置启动的最佳工作条件。该研究成果可为开发具有自适应除尘能力的太阳电池阵提供技术支持。     

空间太阳能电站构想及其相关技术的发展

文章介绍了太阳功率卫星（SPS）的发展背景、基本原理和系统构成,分析了实现SPS的主要技术条件。通过分析目前国际上建设SPS所开展的实验及其相关技术的发展,以期对中国未来发展空间太阳能电站技术提供借鉴。     

SSPS太阳能收集系统研究现状及发展趋势

为研究太阳能收集系统在未来空间太阳能电站(SSPS)中的发展和应用,对比和分析国内外典型系统设计方案的结构特点、光收集特性及优、缺点,展望空间太阳能电站太阳能收集系统的发展趋势,并提出对新材料、新结构、新技术、新理论和新方法的发展和应用需求。     

Integrating advanced mobility into lunar surface exploration

With growing knowledge of the lunar surface environment from recent robotic missions, further assessment of human lunar infrastructures and operational aspects for surface exploration become possible. This is of particular interest for the integration of advanced mobility assets, where path planning, balanced energy provision and consumption as well as communication coverage grow in importance with the excursion distance. The existing modeling and simulation tools for the lunar surface environment have therefore been revisited and extended to incorporate aspects of mobile exploration. An extended analysis of the lunar topographic models from past and ongoing lunar orbital missions has resulted in the creation of a tool to calculate and visualize slope angles in selected lunar regions. This allows for the identification of traversable terrain with respect to the mobile system capabilities. In a next step, it is combined with the analysis of the solar illumination conditions throughout this terrain to inform system energy budgets in terms of electrical power availability and thermal control requirements. The combination of the traversability analysis together with a time distributed energy budget assessment then allows for a path planning and optimization for long range lunar surface mobility assets, including manned excursions as well as un-crewed relocation activities. The above mentioned tools are used for a conceptual analysis of the international lunar reference architecture, developed in the frame of the International Architecture Working Group (IAWG) of the International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG). Its systems capabilities are evaluated together with the planned surface exploration range and paths in order to analyze feasibility of the architecture and to identify potential areas of optimization with respect to time-based and location-based integration of activities.     

太阳电池在平流层中的工作性能分析

近年来,临近空间受到广泛关注,多种平流层飞行器被提出,它们大多以太阳电池为 主要的能源获取装置。研究平流层的太阳电池的性能,对平流层的开发和利用具有重要意义 。首先建立了平流层中太阳电池的热环境模型,并结合硅太阳电池的电学模型,得到了 平流层中硅太阳电池的热电耦合分析模型,进而用数值模拟方法对太阳能电池的热学、电学 性能进行了分析和讨论。研究结果表明,平流层热环境的变化对太阳能电池的温度、输出功 率以及电效率都有影响。讨论了风速对太阳电池性能的影响,结果表明随着风速的增 加,太阳电池温度降低、内部温差先增加后减小、发电效率和输出功率都增加。
     

基于脉冲子结构的探测器结构动力学优化设计

针对传统结构优化设计中，精细化模型求解复杂结构动响应过于耗时的问题，引入保精度、高效的脉冲子结构方法，提出一种考虑结构动力学响应的优化设计流程，并对月球探测器太阳翼结构进行优化分析，获得了太阳翼结构设计参数，有效地提高了太阳翼动力学特性指标，改善了月球探测器关键位置处的动力学环境。结果表明，脉冲子结构方法可以有效应用于航天器结构动力学优化设计，提高优化设计效率，所得优化结果对实际结构设计具有一定指导意义。     

空间太阳能电站反向波束控制仿真分析

分析几项重要的空间太阳能电站反向波束控制技术研究工作,提出空间太阳能电站微波无线能量传输(MPT)分系统的初步方案和主要参数,在此基础上建立空间太阳能电站微波波束发射和反向波束控制仿真模型,重点分析发射天线子阵列的微波馈电相位误差、频率误差和姿态误差等因素对于系统传输效率的影响,相关结论将为微波无线能量系统的设计和微波无线能量传输技术的研究提供参考。     

Rapid assessment of radiobiological doses for terrestrial and interplanetary space missions

This paper presents the doses levels expected in orbits in chart form, covering the range 300-800 km of altitude and 0-90 degrees of inclination behind shieldings similar to the Hermes spacecraft and the EVA spacesuit matter distributions. These charts allow users to rapidly find the radiobiological dose received in the most critical organs of the human body either in normal situations or during a large solar event. Outside the magnetosphere, during interplanetary or lunar missions, when the dose received during crossing of the radiation belts become negligible, the dose is due to galactic cosmic rays (GCR) and solar flares. The correct radiobiological assessment of the components of this radiation field becomes a major problem. On the Moon a permanent ground-based station can be shielded by lunar materials against meteoroids and radiations. The radiobiological hazard, essentially linked to the solar flare risk during the transfer phase and the extra-station activities, may be solved by mission planning. For interplanetary flights the problem comes from both increased risk of solar events and from the continuous exposure to GCR. These energetic particles cannot be easily stopped by shieldings; cost considerations imply that more effective materials must be used. Impact on the vehicle design and the mission planning is important.