Abstract
This digest describes the work undertaken to develop a secondary Li-ion battery for use in European space exploration missions from Commercial off the Shelf (COTS) cells. The battery was required to operate at temperatures below −20°C and survive a freeze/thaw cycle.A previous paper [1] described the search for a suitable cell, and the initial data from the module life test. As the results from this testing were extremely promising, the project was extended to determine the module performance up to 720 Sols at −20°C.Very low temperature survivability tests were also performed on the selected cells with good results. Further work has therefore been carried out to determine the longer term effects following a freeze/thaw cycle.The final part of the project was to produce a performance model of the cells. Results from the simulations have been compared to test data for the selected cell type.
Highlights
Operation of rovers/landers on the Martian surface requires overcoming several operational barriers for the power system
This paper presents further results from this low temperature Commercial off the Shelf (COTS) project
Considering a cell in Mod#1 was shorted twice, these results show the resilience of the cells, as well as the low level of fade and resistance increase of this cell type when cycled at low temperatures
Summary
Operation of rovers/landers on the Martian surface requires overcoming several operational barriers for the power system. The solar power is limited due to the distance from the sun and the prevalence of dust storms. Temperatures range from -80°C on a summer night and -130°C on a winter night, up to +30°C at the equator in summer at noon [2]. These factors mean that power could be extremely limited and little thermal control available at times. Several means of generating electrical power, along with maintaining a suitable thermal environment, are available. These include solar arrays, nuclear systems and fuel cells
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