High-Level Project Summary
We developed a wind car which has a propulsion system that helps to give it a little boost, since it should only move with the wind power from Venus, taking into account that its propulsion system is batteries, the car also has a bucket which is made of wood where the switch will be attached.For in situ planetary exploration missions, energy is required to power scientific devices so data can be collected, processed and the results can be sent back to Earth. Power is also required to move a vehicle on the surface. Batteries are normally used to store and deliver this energy. However, currently available batteries cannot function in the extreme environment on the surface of Venus.
Link to Final Project
Link to Project "Demo"
Detailed Project Description
The wind car consisted in creating a self powering engine using the wind from Venus. The wind car will be using a camera to record and explore the surface of Venus, it should be noted that the density of the air on Venus is not the same as that on Earth, that is why the wind card's system of propulsion will not work there, so it will be necessary to make a change in the protection of the batteries; This works with a switch which is attached to the inside of the car, making it easier to turn on the engine without having to connect and disconnect the cables. Even though the car has an engine based support system, it will be moving using the wind, that is why we work with the type of wind energy that consists on converting the energy produced by the blades driven by the wind into electrical energy so that it can be transported. The benefits it has is that it does not consume electricity, but rather produces its own energy using the wind, in this way it does not pollute the environment and a sustainable resource is used; in this way, we want our product to be good and work with wind energy.
Finally, in the making of our product, no coding language such as hardware or software was used, what was used were electricity cables, an engine, a propeller with three blades because with two it didn't work properly and the car didn't move, a switch to turn the motor on and off easily and finally cardboard to make the bucket where the switch will be glued.
Space Agency Data
We used data from NASA. For the development of our project we had to look for basic information about Venus and its climatic condition that would allow the correct functioning of our car. NASA inspired us with their challenge of designing an energy storage system using real-life data of their website. There is a lot of useful information available on the internet that needs to be profited, so the chance was seen and taken.
Hackathon Journey
The main objective of this project is the design of an energy storage system to be used on Venus, the problem that arises in this context is the design of a model capable of supporting all missions.
A project group was put together in order to generate ideas and implement them, and also to test the prototipes and give solutions to improve.
In order to accomplish the objective, we started from researching the information, then we focused on analyzing data from web pages and also sharing ideas within the working group, integrating this project to the tutors, as a second point is the development (action) of the project to test the skills and in the middle of this process identify problems, solutions and contributions.
Finally the presentation of the project is made known by a video and evidence of the work.
References
Materials
the materials we use to make our product are:
- 4 double batteries
- an engine
- a small switch
- cardboard for the structure of the bucket
- wooden parts (wheels and the base)
- screws
- electricity cables
- soldering iron (cautin)
- tin
- three blade propeller
- hot silicone
- knife to cut the structure of the bucket
- taipe
- the wind car sketch
References
¿Qué beneficios tiene la energía eólica? | ACCIONA | Business as unusual. (2020). Acciona.com. https://www.acciona.com/es/energias-renovables/energia-eolica/?_adin=02021864894
Venus. (2022, February 10). NASA Solar System Exploration. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/venus/overview/#:~:text=Venus%20is%20the%20second%20planet%20from%20the%20Sun%20and%20Earth’s,has%20clouds%20of%20sulfuric%20acid.
US. (2022). The Planet Venus. Weather.gov. https://www.weather.gov/fsd/venus#:~:text=It%20appears%20that%20the%20surface,water%20would%20evaporate%20nearly%20instantaneously.
Temperature effects on batteries - Intercel Services B.V. (2021, June 11). Intercel Services B.V. https://www.intercel.eu/frequently-asked-questions/temperature-effects-on-batteries/#:~:text=Battery%20life%20reduces%20at%20higher%20temperatures&text=Battery%20life%20is%20reduced%20at,%2C%20AGM%2C%20industrial%20or%20whatever.
Tags
#venus #vehicle #eolic #energy #space #air