{"id":452,"date":"2020-11-13T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-13T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anyonecanscience.com\/?p=452"},"modified":"2020-11-12T21:30:16","modified_gmt":"2020-11-13T01:30:16","slug":"how-do-we-power-space-imperialism-part-1-the-enduring-power-of-solar-energy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anyonecanscience.com\/index.php\/2020\/11\/13\/how-do-we-power-space-imperialism-part-1-the-enduring-power-of-solar-energy\/","title":{"rendered":"How Do We Power Space Imperialism?: Part 1\u2014The Enduring Power of Solar Energy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A couple of weeks ago, Elon Musk\u2019s company SpaceX launched the Starlink app to help people connect with their Starlink <\/a>s<\/a>atellite<\/a>. But the app made an interesting claim in its terms of service<\/a>: any future Mars colonizers will not be subject to the authority of \u201cEarth-based government.\u201d There is a lot to unpack there, from the implications of unchecked capitalistic imperialism to the questionable legality of ignoring established space law (yes, there are already laws in space<\/a>). But before we consider the governing of space colonies, we have to determine if they are even possible. There are many practical considerations that could make space imperialism difficult or near-impossible. One of the hardest problems to overcome may end up being humans themselves. From the unknown health impacts of long-term space travel to the psychological consequences of being uprooted from all you\u2019ve ever known, there is a lot we cannot predict about how humans will cope on Mars. But, setting aside these human concerns, what are the practical limitations for setting up a Mars colony? One of the biggest practical concerns is power. Power is comparatively plentiful on Earth. Even once fossil fuels on Earth run out, we will have seemingly limitless access to renewable energy\u2014wind, solar energy, and hydroelectric power\u2014provided that we have the infrastructure to access it. Power in other regions of space, however, can be much harder to come by. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
A concept image for what a future Mars colony could look like.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

One of the most plentiful power resources in space, and on Earth, is the Sun. In the US, roughly 9% of energy consumption in 2019<\/a> came from solar energy\u2014and this is only a fraction of what could be possible if enough infrastructure was built to harness solar energy. The Sun itself is a massive nuclear fusion reactor<\/a>, using the immense temperature (roughly 28.3 million degrees Fahrenheit) and pressure (over 5,000 times the pressure needed to make a diamond) in its core to crush hydrogen atoms together into helium atoms\u2014releasing energy. That energy radiates out from the Sun\u2019s core until it reaches the outer photosphere (which is a relatively chilly 7\u201310 thousand degrees Fahrenheit), where it disperses into space as light and heat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Technically speaking, the Sun is not a limitless resource. Within the next roughly 5.5 billion years, the Sun will deplete its finite store of hydrogen atoms and expand<\/a> out into a red giant\u2014with a radius large enough to completely swallow Mercury and Venus (and possibly Earth). Eventually, it will begin fusing heavier elements, which don\u2019t produce enough energy to keep the core stable against the crushing force of gravity and collapse into a dim, cool white dwarf star.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite this, the Sun is still one of the most reliable and renewable energy sources in space. For comparison, experts estimate we may have 50\u2013100 years<\/a> of fossil fuels left on Earth. On Earth, solar energy can be harnessed most efficiently through the use of photovoltaic panels or arrays<\/a>. These devices utilize the photoelectric effect in metals\u2014where light knocks electrons off of the metal atoms creating an electrical current. The first practical photovoltaic cell was made in 1954, but at the time it was too expensive to replace existing power sources. In the 60s, NASA began utilizing photovoltaic cells to provide power aboard spacecraft. NASA scientists made major advancements in photovoltaic technology, which made them cheaper and more efficient and enabled the eventual widespread use of solar panels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
“International Space Station (NASA, 02\/09\/10)”<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center<\/a>\u00a0is licensed under\u00a0CC BY-NC 2.0<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Today, the International Space Station (ISS)\u2014which orbits 220 miles above Earth\u2014is powered by massive solar arrays<\/a> that extend off the space station like wings. There are eight solar arrays attached to the ISS and each solar array is 112 feet long (roughly a third of the length of a football field) and 39 feet wide. These solar arrays generate roughly enough power for 40 average American homes (84\u2013120 kilowatts). To ensure maximum power collection, solar arrays are attached to specialized gimbals that rotate them to an optimal orientation relative to the Sun as the space station orbits Earth. In addition to providing power to the station, the solar arrays charge batteries that power the station when it is in the shadow of Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The farther you get from the Sun, the more dilute solar energy gets (that\u2019s why the outer planets are so icy and cold). For this reason, solar arrays are often not ideal for distant space travel. The record for most-distant solar power spacecraft is currently held by NASA\u2019s Juno spacecraft<\/a>, which started orbiting Jupiter in 2016. Jupiter<\/a> is about 5 times as far from the Sun as Earth (43,440 miles), and light from the Sun takes 43 minutes to get there. At this distance, 25 times less energy can be collected and used by solar arrays. Juno is still able to operate on these meager supplies of light because of massive advancements in solar panel efficiency. The spacecraft has 3 massive solar arrays, with a total of 18,698 individual solar cells. The solar arrays still only manage to produce a measly 500 watts (less power than is used by a small refrigerator), but Juno\u2019s efficient design allows it to carry out all its necessary tasks on this power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mars
Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity utilized photovoltaic panels to harvest solar energy.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

But what about Mars? Mars is only 1.5 times as far from the Sun as Earth, so it is certainly possible to harvest solar energy on the red planet. In fact, in the past, both the Spirit and Opportunity<\/a> Mars rovers were primarily powered by solar panels. These solar panels collected and used solar energy during the Martian days and stored some of it in batteries to hunker down at night. This system worked fairly well for a while. In 2010, 7 years after its launch, Spirit got caught in a sand trap at the start of the Martian winter. Unable to catch sunlight on its solar panels, Spirit froze to death<\/a>. Opportunity ended up running for a total of 15 years, until May of 2018, when a massive sandstorm buried the rover and cut off communication. NASA attempted to reestablish communication for eight months before ultimately declaring Opportunity dead in February 2019. If descriptions of Mars rovers dying is making you sad, then you can imagine how tragic an event like this would be if it happened to human Mars colonists. The unpredictable weather and frigid temperatures on Mars make solar energy an unreliable solution for a Mars colony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the deaths of Spirit and Opportunity, more recent NASA rovers, Curiosity and Perseverance, were designed to run completely on energy generated by radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs)\u2014the same power generator used aboard the Voyager probes. Next week, I\u2019ll talk more about how these RTGs work, and whether they could reasonably be power sources for a Martian colony. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comment below or email me at contact@anyonecanscience.com<\/a> to let me know what you think about this week\u2019s blog post and tell me what sorts of topics you want me to cover in the future. Check out last month\u2019s<\/a> Nobel prize<\/a> series<\/a> and subscribe below for weekly science posts sent straight to your email!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A couple of weeks ago, Elon Musk\u2019s company SpaceX launched the Starlink app to help people connect with their Starlink satellite. But the app made an interesting claim in its terms of service: any future Mars colonizers will not be subject to the authority of \u201cEarth-based government.\u201d There is a lot to unpack there, from the implications of unchecked capitalistic imperialism to the questionable legality of ignoring established space law (yes, there are already laws in space). But before we consider the governing of space colonies, we have to determine if they are even possible. There are many practical considerations…<\/p>\n

Continue readingHow Do We Power Space Imperialism?: Part 1\u2014The Enduring Power of Solar Energy<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":451,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"We return this week with a new series about providing power to a future Mars colony. This week's post is about the advantages and limitations of utilizing solar energy in space. Check it out and subscribe! #SolarEnergy #anyonecanscience","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[105],"tags":[170,171,174,173,176,175,169,166,168,167,172],"class_list":["post-452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-space","tag-international-space-station-iss","tag-juno-spacecraft","tag-mars-colony","tag-opportunity-mars-rover","tag-photoelectric-effect","tag-photovoltaic-cell","tag-solar-array","tag-solar-energy","tag-solar-panels","tag-space-power","tag-spirit-mars-rover","entry"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Do We Power Space Imperialism?: Part 1\u2014The Enduring Power of Solar Energy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"One of the most plentiful power resources in space, and on Earth, is the Sun. 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That energy radiates out from the Sun\u2019s core until it reaches the outer photosphere (which is a relatively chilly 7\u201310 thousand degrees Fahrenheit), where it disperses into space as light and heat.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/anyonecanscience.com\/index.php\/2020\/11\/13\/how-do-we-power-space-imperialism-part-1-the-enduring-power-of-solar-energy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Do We Power Space Imperialism?: Part 1\u2014The Enduring Power of Solar Energy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/anyonecanscience.com\/index.php\/2020\/11\/13\/how-do-we-power-space-imperialism-part-1-the-enduring-power-of-solar-energy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Science You Can Bring Home To Mom\" 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