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danielravennest t1_j1e9m1d wrote

Reply to comment by Xkloid in Northrop Grumman clears key hurdle for space-based solar power by PhyneasPhysicsPhrog

The difficulty is in focusing a beam tightly enough for a small setup on the ground. A combination of small nuclear units (around 30kWe + 90 kW thermal each) and solar panels with dust brushes should do for small bases. Various rovers have run for several years without panel cleaning.

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KochibaMasatoshi t1_j1ett8p wrote

Why dust brushes, like a windshield wiper is a thing none of the rovers or stationary landers have ever been equipped with?

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danielravennest t1_j1evx21 wrote

Solar farms on Earth actually use robots on tracks with soft brushes to clean the panels. They get used in dry and dusty areas. In areas with lots of water, they just get sprayed.

The Insight lander that just died is 1/10th the weight of a large modern communications satellite. Deep space missions have had incredibly tight weight margins. So anything optional tends to get left behind.

The SpaceX Starship is being designed to land 200-300 times bigger payloads on Mars than Insight, and 100-200 times heavier than Curiosity and Perseverance. So they could include optional stuff like cleaning devices. They will also have people, so a simple dust brush you use once a year to clean the solar panels may be all you need.

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KochibaMasatoshi t1_j1ewmh6 wrote

Thank you! I guess also they thought the lander/rover to be faulty even before the brush is actually needed. I mean they design these things for a few months only (ofc this is also politics, design it for 90 days, make sure it works 2 years and you get the funds for next year).

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pmMeAllofIt t1_j1g4qih wrote

It's a lot of added weight. The solar array is a thin film that gets fanned out. To add a whiper brush would add a lot of weight, and would need different design array that is rigid enough to be brushed.

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