China
Africa
Explore chapters and articles related to this topic
Chemistry for Energy Conversion and Fossil Free Sustainable Enterprise
Published in Amina Omrane, Khalil Kassmi, Muhammad Wasim Akram, Ashish Khanna, Md Imtiaz Mostafiz, Sustainable Entrepreneurship, Renewable Energy-Based Projects, and Digitalization, 2020
Research that led to (i) understanding the photo-initiated charge-transfer processes on semiconductor interfaces and (ii) the practical application of dye-sensitized solar cell (DSCs) were really ground-breaking. This made a generation of scientists capitalize on the nanoscale for energy conversion since those days when nanotechnology was not a “buzzword”. It’s therefore worth noting here that the key scientific progress in solar cells and trendsetting energy applications could have won someone (O’Regan & Grätzel, 1991; Meyer, 2010) the Nobel Prize, but it hasn’t (yet)! For the DSC to be turned into a successfully commercialized product, there is a need to address the current efficiency bottleneck (Graetzel, 1981; Peter, 2011). A lot needs to be done in developing methodologies to convert solar energy into chemical energy, making sustainable energy and the environment clean and energy production sustainable. Solar cells are set to be developed into more robust, reliable, and efficient energy technology for space applications as well, such as to power a Mars rover, robots, and also satellites, working under high energy radiation or harsh conditions in space (Kuendig et al., 2000; Cardinaletti et al., 2018; CESI, 2019; Espinet-Gonzalez et al., 2019).
Energy-aware trajectory planning for planetary rovers
Published in Advanced Robotics, 2021
From the power aspect, the Mars rovers are either powered by solar array panels (SAP) or radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTG). Since Curiosity is a rover with a stable power supply from the RTG, it was commanded to drive with four path-selection mode and two drive motor control strategies without much consideration to the energy management [1]. While Curiosity and Perseverance are equipped with RTG, Sample Fetch Rover is equipped with SAP. Here, solving a design trade-off between the weight of power source (RTG or SAP) relative to the total weight of the rover and the amount of power available from the source, the RTG is favorable for large rovers ( e.g. 45 for 1025 kg Perseverance), while SAP is for small (light weighted) rovers. Furthermore, in light of the fact that future rovers are likely to collaborate with humans, SAP is favorable. The amount of power generated by an SAP is difficult to adjust, and therefore the operation of the rover itself will be limited in order to achieve long-term operation. The solar powered Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs) were operated where the rover's local path and schedule are manually planned in order to arrive at a region where plenty of sunshine could be available. The global path was also chosen considering power consumption, while it was planned with the idea of reaching a place with good sunlight conditions, such as sun-facing slopes, before the Martian winter settling in.