Despite the low air Pressure, Wind Turbines Might Actually Work on Mars

When considering where wind power might be useful, you might not think of Mars. It has dust storms similar to anything that the Earth can muster, and they have been responsible for the death of a lot of the technology we've sent to the Red planet over the years. The strength of the storms is not enough to lift the dust from the air and shroud the technology. It doesn't have enough power to be useful. A new paper shows that wind power could be useful on the red planet.

There are a few things to keep in mind. Climate models are used in this research rather than actual wind data. It would only be helpful in certain locations, which are some of the more exciting places to visit.

The main driving force of Martian exploration efforts is scientific interest. Generators of space explorers dream of finding life on one of our sister planets. Most explorers want to push for a human mission to do the most amount of science possible in the shortest amount of time, despite the fact that robots aren't as efficient as humans.

There needs to be enough power at the mission site to provide life support and meet basic mission needs. Nuclear and solar power are the primary sources of power for most of the scientific literature.

Many missions fall prey to the inevitable dust covering blocking their solar panels due to the fact that solar is one of the most popular power sources on Mars. Some of the disadvantages are different. Depending on the location and time of the Martian year, the percentages vary. An alternative source of baseline power is needed in order to support a human-crewed mission off of solar power.

On the Red Planet and on Earth, nuclear fills that void. Having a large enough reactor to provide baseline power for a crewed mission is not something that has been done before. There are a lot of dangers in operating one, especially in the conditions on the Martian surface, and the unknown of how to land one on its surface.

An alternative baseline power source would be useful. The general impression is that the atmosphere on Mars is too spare to provide the necessary power. Research into how to get the most out of wind power here on Earth has led to some technological improvements that could make it a more viable power source on Mars.

Understanding how much power the wind on Mars gives is important. The Mars Global Climate Model was used by researchers from NASA and UC Boulder. The density of the wind on Mars is predicted by the GCM. The power it supplies was calculated by the researchers.

Several interesting points are made when thinking about wind farms on Mars. Wind speeds on Mars go up to 50 m off the ground. It is better to build tall wind turbine rather than ones that are closer to the ground, even if that requires overcoming some additional engineering challenges.

There is a good foil for solar power on the red planet. Wind power increases during dust storms while solar radiation decreases. During the winter season on the Red Planet, wind power is more powerful than solar power.

It's true for mid- to polar- latitudes where some of the most interesting scientific sites are located. A combination of solar and wind energy is the safest way to power bases there.

Wind on Mars can turn heads in space exploration. If humanity really wants to send people to Mars, it will need all the power it can get. Understanding the best way to do that is still being studied.

You can learn more.

The assessment of wind energy resources for future human missions to Mars was done by Hartwick et al.

Geology on Mars is driven by the wind.

Dust devils and strong winds produce the constant haze on Mars.

There is a story about winds and weather on Mars.