Los MECHAS

Ciudad de la Costa | Exploring Venus Together

Using steam to power the Venus rover

High-Level Project Summary

Given that batteries don't last enough and solar panels are not an option due to the atmospheric conditions of Venus, we thought about using what the planet already provides us. Taking advantage of the high temperatures, between 400 and 500 degrees Celsius, we will use a steam engine to generate the required energy to move the rover.

Link to Final Project

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1EKzvdp539ykd23iIEAToEYwPthPdKmK_

Link to Project "Demo"

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1EKzvdp539ykd23iIEAToEYwPthPdKmK_

Detailed Project Description

The project brief describes that our current battery technology degrades rapidly and does not perform correctly in the Venus hostile atmosphere.

So, instead of pursuing a way of creating a different type of battery where we did not know where to begin, we thought of alternate means of powering the rover.

When reading about Venus, we found that the surface temperature ranges from 400 to 500 degrees Celsius, so we thought about old steam-powered locomotives. In Venus, water boils at approximately 300 °C because the atmospheric pressure is 93 bar, so it's possible to use the surface heat to power a steam engine that creates the energy necessary to power the rover and maybe charge internal batteries.

Another option for this project is to use solar panels when the rover is at a high altitude and the temperature is not high enough. This way, at high altitudes we would be powered by the sun, and at lower altitudes where the temperature is higher, we would be powered by steam, thus reducing our dependency on batteries that lose charge rapidly.

Space Agency Data

Usage of solar panels on Venus' surface:

https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20150016298/downloads/20150016298.pdf

Methods for storing energy:

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/549/energy-storage-technologies-for-future-planetary-science-missions/

Rovers on corrosive atmospheres:

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/automaton-rover-for-extreme-environments-aree/

Hackathon Journey

We were excited to begin, and there was almost no debate on which challenge to work on. Exploring Venus Together was chosen almost immediately. Why? Because robots are fun.

It was fun collaborating with other team members and working together. We learned about Venus and its atmosphere, and especially the challenges we face while visiting other planets different from ours.

We had to research, find alternate ways to solve problems and look for answers to tough questions (while having lots of fun in the meantime).

Something that was mentioned by all team members was that it was great to be able to choose from different challenges.

Note from the parent:

As a parent, at first, I thought it to be impossible that two 9-year-old boys and one 8-year-old girl would solve a challenge on how to store energy in hostile conditions. The task seemed way out of their league, but the challenge was chosen without hesitation and with a lot of hope.

When we started reading about the challenges to store energy and how the atmosphere affects current battery technology, I was amazed at all the alternate ideas produced, all the challenging questions I got (to which I did not have answers) and how well and fast they researched, understood the problem and looked for new and different solutions.

I find the fact that they thought about heat and a steam engine, about solar power, and not only about the drop from space with a parachute, but adding a paraglider so it can choose where to land, and whether it would be best to have spider legs or tracks just like a tank are amazing.

It was incredible to watch the kids' creativity unfold, undeterred from the challenges ahead.

References