Hesperus Junior

Universal Event | Exploring Venus Together

Space-based solar energy using power beam transmissions system

High-Level Project Summary

We designed an energy system for a rover consisting of three main objects: a solar panel satellite, a drone, and the rover itself. Power Beaming (PB) is the basis of the system. The solar panel satellite will be in geostationary orbit around Venus, which means it has direct access to the sun. The drone will transport the energy (harvested by the satellite) to the rover. The solar panel will transfer energy to the drone with the help of electromagnetic PB. An energy receiver will be mounted on the drone, and a transmitter will be mounted on the solar panel satellite - emitting energy to the drone. This concept will be again applied for the transfer of energy between the drone and the rover.

Link to Final Project

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M---p674UhnfQoXMWFG0hOCgcOZ4KRMzpQ7el48mTyo/edit?usp=sharing

Link to Project "Demo"

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1d-EbdBGTmFHKJM2oUn_qzHKI7ihO17ZW/view?usp=sharing

Detailed Project Description

Our project basically transfers energy from one place where it is easy to get (space) and delivers it where it is needed, in this case Venus, a place with harsh conditions and where it's hard to generate traditional energy while minimizing the loss of the energy during the transmission. The energy used will come from solar panels that are located on a satellite in geostationary orbit around Venus. Having them in space maximizes the sunlight they get and in doing so maximizes the energy our system provides. This energy is continuously transmitted via power beams to a drone hovering on an altitude of 50-60 km above the clouds where the atmosphere on Venus is the most like ours. When the rover needs a recharge the drone stores the energy from the power beam in one of three possible energy storing batteries: either high temperature molten salt or solid electrolyte batteries, or even a solid oxide regenerative fuel cell system. After the energy is stored the drone, with information about the rovers location, would fly there. When it reaches the rover the drone would descend physically under the clouds (to avoid losing energy if it simply transmitted the energy from there) and transmit a power beam from its new location to the rover, to charge its battery. After finishing its mission the drone ascends to its previous altitude and hovers back to its initial location under the satellite. This is a system that is sustainable for more than 60 days and can actually be reused for other missions. In addition a drone like that can perform its own measurements and provide us with additional data about Venus.

Space Agency Data

In 2019, Nasa published a paper about Power beam, a wireless energy transfer system. It shows a balloon hovering above the clouds of Venus. The balloon got powered using solar panels and then descended to send this energy to the rover on the ground. Our idea was a little different. Putting the solar panels in space rather than in the Venus atmosphere means that it is receiving a lot more energy from the sun due to the lack of restriction of light in space. After that the energy is sent using power beam to the drone, which will descend and transport this energy to the rover.

Link to the paper describing power beam:

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/niac/2019_Phase_I_Phase_II/Power_Beaming/

Hackathon Journey

During our work on the Nasa Space Apps 2022 contest on the challenge “Exploring Venus together” we as a team learned a lot of stuff. First of all, building the team in itself was an experience. The most diverse skill set that would help in achieving a solution to the challenge was needed. Therefore, even though we are still 16-year-olds, we gathered a team with expertise in computer science, data analysis, chemistry, cars and enthusiasts in the branch of aerospace engineering. We also had the chance to have someone in our team that lives in a country different from the rest of us. Also, we met up with each other over the course of the two days which made us know each other better. And as a team, we see that this challenge has taught us a lot of things and developed some of the skills we will need when we grow up. We are still rookies in energy systems and space crafts, but we learnt how to design something for an environment completely different from the one we are living in. We had the chance to learn about so many different technologies during this competition like power beams, Solar panels in space and how to turn CO2 to methane using Solar power. The challenge also taught us the ability to work under stress. Two days is too short to develop an energy system to power a rover hovering in a very hot pressure cooker. But somehow we still managed to get an idea and do the calculations necessary to make this thing happen theoretically. Yes, we wasted a lot of time during those two days because we lost motivation, because we thought that because we were too young, we would not be able to achieve anything, which turned out to be wrong, even though we are clearly the underdogs in a competition this big and this important. We strongly believe that our idea is the most efficient way to power the rover on the planet with one of the hottest temperatures and harsh environments in our solar system. The challenge also shifted our attention to stuff that we didn’t know we liked. The competitive atmosphere, the challenging problem that requires a lot of knowledge and research are stuff we only got introduced to today during the time of the competition.