High-Level Project Summary
We developed an energy storage system based on sodium-sulfur batteries to supply energy for missions to Venus for landers and rovers, making them able to rely on energy resources for much longer than we have been able to achieve since the first missions began in 1961 with the Venera 1.This system consists of the same technology with two applications, the main one being an independent energy storage system and the secondary one, a system that could be installed in future missions to landers, in this case, we referred to the Venera lander 13 and 14, However, this alternative is functional for future DAVINCI and Zephyr missions.
Link to Final Project
Link to Project "Demo"
Detailed Project Description
The LIVE system (Light in Venus Exploration) is an energy storage system that works through two concepts:
1.- The adaptation of a bank of sodium-sulfur batteries to the landers of future space missions, we made the concept through the Venera 13 and 14 model and with an energy estimate through exhausting a research exercise that we will develop later in this document.
This system has a quantity of 5,214 sodium-sulfur batteries with the capacity to supply a demand expressed in the graphs attached to this web page for just over 60 days. This system is compatible with future space missions such as Davinci, a mission that will send a probe to Venus to collect much more information than we have collected in the past 30 years.
Although this battery bank appears to have a uniform body, the batteries and the plates that join them have a particular packing, which allows them to continue operating despite damage to segments of the battery bank, allowing us to have a design that manages to work partially. in case of mission criticality.
We achieve this through location points located in the batteries and some grooves that manage to close the circuit when they are placed, in the event of an abrupt collision, the battery bank has an internal system that rejects these batteries (given their lack of contact) and thus closes the circuit at the next station.
This battery bank is asymmetrical, allowing us to see ourselves supported by the Venera 14 at its very base and without providing major complications in its "launching mass", since LIVE contributes approximately 1,100 pounds to the general system.
The implementation of this system gives us the possibility of obtaining information from Venus for more than 60 days, invaluable information since previously different probes (Mariner and Venera) were sent intermittently on different missions to collect information, however, these used to last less from one hour to less than 20 minutes.
Our goal is to provide a solution that can scale those times and continue to receive reliable results from the well-made and expensive devices that we send to this infernal planet called venus.
2.- The second concept that can take place with this research is called OASIS since it turns out to be a battery bank that makes a landing as well as landers and probes to provide energy to future explorations and the rovers that are part of them.
It has 12,170 batteries that can supply 100Wh/Kg (the same batteries as the first concept, more information in the other). The way that the rovers have to feed is through the extremities that they use to hold the scientific instruments that in the case of perseverance are several, instead of holding these sensors, they would only use one extremity to connect to the OASIS,
Having the female connector and OASIS, the male can make a locating connection due to the design of the fit of these.
The rovers would have to be programmed for a scanning radius of no more than 2,000 feet since the technology with which the rovers will recognize OASIS is UWB.
According to Johnson Space applied technology for the development of a real-time locating system (RTLS) "It uses ultra-wideband (UWB) radio frequency signals for tracking. UWB is a low-power, carrier-free, ultra-wide bandwidth signal transmission that has 100 to 1,000 times finer time resolution than conventional narrowband radio frequencies.UWB also has a lower power spectral density, allowing it to coexist with other wireless communications systems, such as Wi-Fi and cellular. The system has a tracking resolution of less than 1 percent of a range of up to 2,000 feet. The tracking methodology is a calculation consisting of Angle of Arrival (AoA) and Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA). Originally designed for use in tracking lunar and Mars rovers, robots, and astronauts during exploration missions where satellite navigation systems are not available, the technology has a number of terrestrial applications including long-range tracking of emergency personnel in remote or hostile environments ts. JSC has applied for patent protection for this technology".
With the implementation of this technology, the Rovers will be able to determine their proximity to the different OASIS and, in turn, position themselves at the points to take energy from them, greatly prolonging their useful life and, therefore, exploration time.
Space Agency Data
• NASA
• Johnson Space Center
• Canadian Space Agency
• Australian Space Agency
Hackathon Journey
We learned a lot about venus, in previous years we were able to develop solutions for mars and the moon, however, venus is another world, literally, it is a very hostile environment and although it has a certain resemblance to earth, there are many differences.
This year we face a greater challenge, these challenges allow us to grow as professionals and without a doubt, it is an experience that we would repeat for the fourth year.
Specifically, this very hostile planet was what inspired us to choose this challenge,
We thank NASA for another year of these unusual experiences, we also want to thank our families who understood us when we said that we used to forget about all our planes because Venus needs us!
References
- [1] [Venera 1 - NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1961-003A)
- [2] [The second planet from the Sun and Earth's closest planetary neighbor, Venus](https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/1519/venus-resources/?page=0&per_page=40&order=created_at+desc&search=&tags=Venus&category=324)
- [3] [Mariner 2 - NASA Solar System Exploration](https://web.archive.org/web/20150118202749/http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/profile.cfm?MCode=Mariner_02)
- [4] [Venera 4 - NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1967-058A)
- [5] [SODIUM SULFUR BATTERY CELL EXPERIMENT (NaSBE)](https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19970013741/downloads/19970013741.pdf)
- [6] [Automaton Rover for Extreme Environments (AREE) - NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/automaton-rover-for-extreme-environments-aree/)
- [7] [Report: Automaton Rover for Extreme Environments - NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Phase I](https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/niac_2016_phasei_saunder_aree_tagged.pdf)
- [8] [Landis, G., Harrison, R., Batteries for Venus Surface Operation - JOURNAL OF PROPULSION AND POWER](https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/1.41886?journalCode=jpp#:~:text=Three%20well%2D%20developed%20battery%20chemistries,qualification%20readiness%20for%20aerospace%20applications.)
- [9] [Energy Storage Technologies for Future Planetary Science Missions - NASA Planetary Science Division Science Mission Directorate](https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/549/energy-storage-technologies-for-future-planetary-science-missions/)
- [10] [High Energy, Long Cycle Life, and Extreme Temperature Lithium-Sulfur Battery for Venus Missions - NASA TECHPORT](https://techport.nasa.gov/view/92914)
Tags
#venus #energy #landers #uwb #sulfur #sodium #battery #davinci #zephyr # batteries #engineering #science #future #exploration