Day/Night Power Generator Station: A New Power Generation Approach for Lunar and Martian Space Exploration

Abstract

In the not-too-distant future, humans will return to the Moon and step foot for the first time on Mars. Eventually, humanity will colonize these celestial bodies, where living and working will be commonplace. Energy is fundamental to all life. The energy that people use to sustain themselves on Earth, and in particular on these other worlds, is the integrated, safe production of electrical power, day and night. This paper proposes a radically new solution to this problem: Solar Tracking by day and a Solar Rechargeable Calcium Oxide Chemical Thermoelectric Reactor by night. Called the “Robotic End Effector for Lunar and Martian Geological Exploration of Space” (REEGES) Day/Night Power Generator Station, this form of thermoelectric power generation is mathematically modeled, simulation is performed, and a concept model design is demonstrated in this paper. The results of the presented simulation show the maximum total system output capability is 9.89 V, 6.66 A, and 65.9 W, with an operating time of up to 12 h, through a scalable design. This research provides instructions to the Space Research Community on a complete and novel development methodology for creating fully customized, configurable, safe, and reliable solar/thermoelectric day/night power generators, specifically meant for use on the Moon and Mars, using the Proportional-Integral-Derivative++ (PID++) Humanoid Motion Control Algorithm for its operation on a computationally lightweight microcontroller.