Abstract
The Moon’s environmental conditions present limited opportunities for waste heat dissipation, so internal heat gains (IHG) are a key component of thermal balance in a lunar building. Despite the significant development in energy saving and energy storage technologies of the last thirty years, the issue of IHG in lunar buildings has not been readdressed since the early 1990s. This study is based on an inspection of internal heat sources conducted aboard LUNARES, the first European extraterrestrial analogue habitat. The equipment absent on LUNARES, but indispensable for an actual lunar base, was identified and accounted for, along with additional laboratory and maintenance equipment. Three main groups of internal heat sources were identified and studied in detail. Waste heat generated by electric devices was accounted for, along with occupational heat loads adjusted for lunar partial gravity conditions. Assuming a photovoltaic power source for the studied building, two alternative energy storage systems (ESS) were analysed as another source of waste heat. Depending on the time of lunar day and applied ESS, the nominal IHG were between 73 and 133 W/m2. The most significant internal heat sources in a lunar base are life support systems and potentially, regenerative fuel cells; thus, lithium–ion batteries were recommended for ESS. Within assumed parameter range, parametric study exhibited differences in IHG between 41.5 and 163 W/m2.
Highlights
IntroductionThe development of manned space exploration requires the ability to test new technologies and human behaviour in safe and controlled conditions, before an actual spaceflight takes place
The purpose of this paper was to assess the total value of internal heat gains of a future lunar base of the same architecture and function assimilated in the LUNARES habitat during the ICAres-1 mission
Lim and Rao, 1984 [48] state, that lighting and other office appliances in densely occupied multi-storey office buildings in Singapore produce a heat load as high as 25 W/m2 during working hours, which translates into a daily mean value of 9.37 W/m2
Summary
The development of manned space exploration requires the ability to test new technologies and human behaviour in safe and controlled conditions, before an actual spaceflight takes place. Known as analogue extraterrestrial bases or habitats, are specially designed facilities where selected aspects of long term human presence on extraterrestrial bodies may be simulated. In these facilities, technological solutions, procedures and guidelines for future Moon and Mars exploration are studied and improved. There are several analogue planetary bases in the world, and new ones are being developed [1,2,3,4]. The name “LUNARES” is a combination of the words Luna (the Moon) and Ares (Mars), because of the fact that it is intended to simulate both lunar and Martian missions
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