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ESDMD #0901: Scalable Lunar Surface Power Generation

Continuous, scalable power generation and storage at the lunar South Pole, through both sunlit and shadowed periods, growing toward "global power utilization and industrial power levels" (bin 2, rating 13 of 57). NASA's long-duration surface power experience is below 1 kW, and kW-scale fission has had one brief ground test (KRUSTY, 2018). Child gaps cover nuclear, solar, fuel cells and storage. It is named in the Moon Base Users Guide (near-term), for solar power and thermal generators (Tech gaps spreadsheet, ESDMD #0901; Users Guide, pp. 12–13).

Quotations below are from row ESDMD #0901 of the tech gaps spreadsheet unless marked otherwise. ADD Rev C's Appendix D prints the same table for this gap, and it matches the row field for field (ADD Rev C, p. 244).

Description

"There is a need for scalable lunar surface power generation capabilities to provide continuous electrical energy for large assets and crew safety-critical (i.e., contingency) operations during both shadowed and illuminated operations, including energy storage, as applicable. There is a desire for evolvable technologies that can support continuous robotic/human operation and are capable of scaling to global power utilization and industrial power levels. Technology development is needed to ensure high reliability and power availability at the lunar South Pole region."

Impacts and benefits: "Without gap closure, state-of-the-art power generation capabilities (and energy storage as applicable) will be leveraged without scalability for achieving power infrastructure and in-situ resource utilization production objectives."

Current state of the art

"ISS has ~200 kW of solar arrays with battery energy storage for ~30-minute LEO eclipse. NASA experience with long-duration Moon and Mars surface power is limited to <1 kW robotic missions (e.g., ALSEP, InSight, Curiosity). There has been one brief ground test of a kW-scale fission power system intended for space ("KRUSTY" in 2018)."

Performance target

Moon: "Scalable multi-kWe-scale power generation (and energy storage, as applicable) capable of supporting crew safety and exploration activities in lunar temperatures, dust, and solar availability conditions to extend crewed operation during lunar shadowed periods."

For comparison, the Users Guide's Phase 1 power capability targets are "Demonstrate 5 kW power generation and storage, as well as survival through 120+ hours of darkness" and "Demonstrate survive the night capability using radioisotope thermal generators" (Users Guide, p. 10; see Phase 1 functional gaps).

Child gaps

  • 0901-01: Nuclear power generation for the lunar surface
  • 0901-02: Solar power generation for the lunar surface
  • 0901-03: Fuel cell power for the lunar surface
  • 0901-04: Energy storage to enable robust and long-duration operations on Moon

Traceability

  • Use cases and functions: UC-P-101 L -- All FN; UC-P-102 L -- All FN; UC-P-501 L; UC-P-502 L
  • Definition tasks: none listed

Segments and sub-architectures

Priority

Priority bin 2, overall prioritization rating 13 of 57. The rating is "the gap's location in the prioritized list of gaps", so 1 is the highest priority, and bins group gaps of similar priority, bin 1 highest. Criticality, urgency, breadth and depth set the order; cost is not considered (ADD Rev C, pp. 78, 199; method on the gaps index).

Moon Base relevance

The Users Guide names #0901 for two associated challenges (Users Guide, pp. 12–13):

  • "Solar power": "Deploying systems to generate, store, and distribute solar power requires precise knowledge of lighting conditions and array performance, as well as systems robust to the lunar environment."
  • "Thermal generators": "Using radioisotope thermal generators (RTGs) to provide survive the night capabilities requires detailed knowledge of the lunar environmental and systems that can operate there."

The guide ties its challenges to "near-term Moon Base development efforts": missions in phase one "offer opportunities to collect data and mature technologies to enable essential phase two and phase three capabilities" (p. 11). See Technology and knowledge challenges.

Same subject in the Ignition fact sheets (the pairing is the wiki's; neither fact sheet names a gap). The Building the Moon Base fact sheet lists "improved solar and initial nuclear-based power stations (potentially including both fission reactor and RTGs)" for Phase 2, and "An operational fission surface power station with sufficient power to provide steady, reliable energy through the long lunar nights" for Phase 3 (Building the Moon Base fact sheet, p. 1). The nuclear fact sheet has Lunar Reactor-1, "designed to keep the Moon Base operating through periods of darkness and in locations where solar power alone cannot reach", landing in 2030, in no phase (nuclear fact sheet, p. 1). The Moon Base Program's Ignition deck gives Phase 2 figures for solar: "Deploy solar array stations for permanent infrastructure", "10 kW+ during illumination", "360 kWh during shadow", after an "Early demonstration of solar array deployment, battery systems, & power distribution hub". It also has Phase 2 nuclear demonstrations, "Used as power generation stations" and "within assets to enable night survival and permanently shadowed region exploration", and "Fission Surface Power" on its Phase 3 render (Ignition deck 2, slides 23, 26 and 31). Its power slides put the generation types in sequence: "Phase 1: Solar Battery/ RFC Power", "Phase 2: Nuclear Power", "Phase 3: Fission Surface Power" (slide 53). By phase, Phase 1 deploys "assets responsible for self-supported power generation and survival"; Phase 2 deploys "Solar Arrays Power Stations" and "Radioisotope Thermal Generator (RTG) Power Stations" and demonstrates "reactor surface power"; Phase 3 has "Fission Surface Power" and "Power distribution deployed to support habitats and surface assets" (slide 54) (Ignition deck 2, slides 53–54). The deck doesn't expand "RFC". The deck cites no gap. See Moon Base needs.

Sources

Tech gaps spreadsheet, ESDMD #0901 · Users Guide, pp. 10, 12–13 · ADD Rev C, pp. 58, 78, 199, 244 · Lunar power white paper, pp. 4–5 · Ignition deck 5, slide 12