Title :
Dust-induced degradation of solar arrays on Mars
Author :
Landis, Geoffrey A.
Author_Institution :
Nyma Inc., NASA Lewis Res. Center, Cleveland, OH, USA
Abstract :
The atmosphere of Mars contains a considerable amount of suspended dust. This dust will settle out of the atmosphere and deposit onto the surfaces of solar arrays, resulting in degradation of performance. The amount of dust coverage and the amount of performance lost is calculated, using available data on Martian conditions. Since the amount of dust in the atmosphere varies, the degradation of array performance could be between a half percent and 50% over a 30 day mission, and between 20% and 90% over a 2-year mission
Keywords :
Mars; dust; photovoltaic power systems; semiconductor device models; solar cell arrays; solar cells; space vehicle power plants; 2 yr; 30 day; Mars; dust coverage; loss calculations; performance degradation; solar arrays; suspended dust; Atmosphere; Degradation; Mars; NASA; Photovoltaic systems; Probes; Solar energy; Solar power generation; Storms; Wind speed;
Conference_Titel :
Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, 1994., Conference Record of the Twenty Fourth. IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference - 1994, 1994 IEEE First World Conference on
Conference_Location :
Waikoloa, HI
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-1460-3
DOI :
10.1109/WCPEC.1994.520768
