Sources on Mars by: Matthew Waclawiw You want to wake up in the - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Sources on Mars by: Matthew Waclawiw You want to wake up in the - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

May 24, 2023 327 likes •422 views

Energy Sources on Mars by: Matthew Waclawiw You want to wake up in the morning and think the future is going to be great - and that's what being a spacefaring civilization is all about. It's about believing in the future and thinking

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SLIDE 1

Energy Sources on Mars

by: Matthew Waclawiw

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SLIDE 2

Background

  • You want to wake up in the

morning and think the future is going to be great - and that's what being a spacefaring civilization is all

  • about. It's about believing in

the future and thinking that the future will be better than the past. And I can't think of anything more exciting than going out there and being among the stars.”

  • — ELON MUSK, SPACEX
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SLIDE 3

Background

  • To sustain a colony on Mars,

energy must be readily available.

  • Typical U.S. residential

customer consumes 10,900 kWh per year.

  • Much more energy would be

required on Mars (for example, life support, heating, transportation, etc.)

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SLIDE 4

Possible Sources

  • f Energy
  • Wind
  • Solar
  • Nuclear
  • Geothermal
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SLIDE 5

Wind Energy

  • Inefficient due to low atmospheric pressure

(about 0.6% of atmospheric pressure on Earth).

  • Wind speeds of 98 feet/second required to

produce electricity on Mars.

  • Would work best in areas prone to dust

storms.

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SLIDE 6

MARS Turbine

  • With each doubling in elevation, wind speed

increases by 12%.

  • With each doubling of wind speed, power output

increases by a factor of 8.

  • Can function at speeds grater than 63 mph, and at

speeds as low as 7 mph

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SLIDE 7

Solar Energy

  • According to a NASA

sponsored MIT think tank, solar energy can be utilized

  • n Mars.
  • 0-40 degrees North of

Martian equator.

  • A 100 by 100 meter array

could produce 100 kilowatts

  • f energy.
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SLIDE 8

Kilopower reactor

  • Sealed tube circulates fluid around sealed

reactor.

  • Heat enters Stirling engine, which

pressurizes gas to move a piston attached to a motor, producing electrical energy.

  • Can produce up to 10kilowatts of power.
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SLIDE 9

Geothermal Energy

  • Requires drilling into Martian crust to find hot water reservoir.
  • Mars’ Cerebus plains, its Northwestern Tharsis region and the

canyons of Valles Marineris are all possibilities as geothermal hotspots.

  • “With 500 kilowatts of nuclear power, they could start drilling

and creating a 10 megawatt geothermal power supply. That would be enough for a town of 10,000 people on Earth.” -Zubrin

  • Mars Express Orbiter discovered water under southern polar ice

caps (according to radar signal).