ENERGY EXPLORERS

San Marino | Exploring Venus Together

TEI -Thermoelectric Initiator

High-Level Project Summary

We created the Thermoelectric Initiator (TEI) so that NASA and other space agencies can have a longer time exploring Venus. We choose to use heat as an advantage. To do that, we used the Seebeck effect to transfer heat into electric energy. A Peltier module is used to create electricity. To keep from overheating, a fan at the bottom uses some of the electricity to cool down the Peltier module. This solution can help the rover's batteries for a longer period.

Link to Final Project

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yELOA20dSMXVckVUqpz69maM7YPdRFcs/view

Link to Project "Demo"

https://youtu.be/6lvTOUMT1L0

Detailed Project Description

The Thermoelectric Initiator (TEI) is used to power the rover. The TEI uses a Seebeck effect. The Seebeck effect states that when two metals with different temperatures touch, it creates electricity. Heat provided by Venus travels through the block of titanium carbide and heats one side of the Peltier module. The Peltier module is a thermal control module that heats up when electricity passes through it. Then the Peltier module creates electricity and sends it to the rechargeable battery. The rechargeable battery then sends electricity to the fan which cools down the Peltier module. The remaining electricity powers the rover. We coded with Python, so the user can control the amount of electricity gained. We’ll have several of these systems around the surface of the rover or lander. This should power the rover for an extended period of time.

Space Agency Data

We looked at the links and looked at the summary details. We used NASA’s Venus resources to find if there is oxygen on Venus. We learned about toxic chemicals on Venus’ surface. That was from Techport NASA.

Hackathon Journey

We had fun doing it. We learned a lot of skills along the way like 3D modeling and video editing. We had to compromise when it came to choosing our challenge, and eventually, settled on Exploring Venus Together. We resolved any setbacks and challenges by facing them confidently and kept talking until we found the solution.

We had a hard time getting started, so we decided to list energy sources available and identify those with Venus conditions.

We each worked on the three best choices and researched them. That's when we realized that heat is the best option.

We would like to thank our parents for sending us here. We are also thankful for Matt Hirsch because he taught us how to 3D model and take videos.