GaAs solar cells for the Mars surface

Solar cells to be utilised on the Mars surface shall withstand a severe environment characterised by dust, low temperature, low solar intensity and by a solar spectrum rich in red and poor in blue components. This paper presents the preliminary investigation carried out to find appropriate solar cell candidates for this type of application, starting from the existing available cells and proposing a new solar cell structure suitable to operate with high efficiency on the Mars surface at different atmospheric conditions.