TY - JOUR
T1 - Solar cell temperature on Mars
AU - Delgado-Bonal, Alfonso
AU - Martín-Torres, F. Javier
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was partially supported by the INTA Grant TD 04/10 at the Spanish Center of Astrobiology (INTA-CSIC). F.J. Martín-Torres would like to acknowledge financial support provided by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (AYA2011-25720 and AYA2012-38707). The authors want to thanks to the entire Planetary Sciences and Habitability group from IACT for the support and comments on the draft.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd.
PY - 2015/8/1
Y1 - 2015/8/1
N2 - The operating temperature of a solar cell determines its efficiency and performance. This temperature depends on the materials used to build the cell but also on the environmental variables surrounding it (i.e., radiation, ambient temperature, wind speed and humidity). Several equations have been proposed to calculate this temperature, depending on these variables. Also, for Earth conditions, simplified equations have been developed, but are not valid for other planets, as Mars, where the environmental conditions are extremely different. In this paper, we develop a simplified equation to calculate the temperature of a solar cell under Mars environmental conditions and discuss the effect that altitude and wind on Mars might have on the solar cell temperature. The correct determination of the operating temperature of the cell will help to optimize the design of the next solar cell powered rovers for the exploration of Mars.
AB - The operating temperature of a solar cell determines its efficiency and performance. This temperature depends on the materials used to build the cell but also on the environmental variables surrounding it (i.e., radiation, ambient temperature, wind speed and humidity). Several equations have been proposed to calculate this temperature, depending on these variables. Also, for Earth conditions, simplified equations have been developed, but are not valid for other planets, as Mars, where the environmental conditions are extremely different. In this paper, we develop a simplified equation to calculate the temperature of a solar cell under Mars environmental conditions and discuss the effect that altitude and wind on Mars might have on the solar cell temperature. The correct determination of the operating temperature of the cell will help to optimize the design of the next solar cell powered rovers for the exploration of Mars.
KW - Lander
KW - Mars environment
KW - Rover
KW - Solar cell temperature
KW - Space exploration missions
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U2 - 10.1016/j.solener.2015.04.035
DO - 10.1016/j.solener.2015.04.035
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84930958805
VL - 118
SP - 74
EP - 79
JO - Solar Energy
JF - Solar Energy
SN - 0038-092X
ER -
