High-Level Project Summary
Energy storage system with Thermal batteries which are based on Li–Al anode, LiCl–KCl eutectic molten salt, and FeS cathode.THE ROVER WILL HAVE TWO BATTERY SLOTS ONE WILL BE EMPTY AND THE OTHER WITH A BATTERY. THE BATTERIES WILL BE IN THE SATELLITE AND BASED ON THE TRAJECTORY THAT THE ROVER WILL TRAVEL THE BATTERIES WILL BE DEPLOYED WHENEVER THE ROVER IS NEAREST TO THE SATELLITE AFTER SPECIFIC PRE DETERMINED DAYS BASED ON THE CONDITIONS LIKE ESTIMATION OF WEIGHT OF THE ROVER AND ENERGY CONSUMPTION. THE ROVER WILL ADD THE BATTERY TO ITS EMPTY BATTERY STORAGE SLOT THROUGH AUTOMATED HAND MECHANISM THE ROVER WILL BE EQUIPPED, AND DISCARD THE OTHER USED BATTERY IN THE OTHER SLOT.
Link to Final Project
Link to Project "Demo"
Detailed Project Description
Venus, despite being our closest neighboring planet, is relatively under-explored due to its hostile and extreme environment. Its extreme temperature, high pressures of carbon dioxide and corrosive atmosphere with sulfuric acid mist in the clouds, and other Sulphur compounds make it a challenging environment for exploration. These investigations are crucial to gather basic information on the crust, mantle, core, and bulk composition of Venus for understanding the evolutionary paths of Venus in relation to Earth.
We designed an Energy storage system with Thermal batteries which are based on Li–Al anode, LiCl–KCl eutectic molten salt, and FeS cathode. FeS cathode shows excellent thermal stability with and without electrolyte, high utilization (>95%) at high discharge rates, and good electrochemical reversibility. Laboratory cells designed with optimized electrolyte content, both in the anode and separator layers, have extended the operational life of the cells to over 20 days at 475 °C at low rates of discharge.Because of the mass and volume constraints for the battery in the Venus lander imposed by the need to accommodate adequate science instruments, the battery is required to have high specific energy (>100 Wh/kg) and energy density (>150 Wh/l). In addition, to support the surface mission for 30 days, the battery will need to have a low self-discharge rate (<0.5% per day).
Mitigation of cathode dissolution will further improve cell operational life. Thermal batteries come with advantages such as High specific energy, long storage times and instant readiness giving the primary batteries a unique advantage over other power sources. They can be carried to remote locations and used instantly, even after long storage, they are also readily available and environmentally friendly when disposed.
Thermal batteries which are currently used on NASA’s planetary missions, where large amounts of power are needed for short periods as in the Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL) operations of a planetary lander or rover. Thermal batteries were originally developed for military use in guided missiles. These batteries have a similar chemistry as the Li–FeS2 rechargeable battery.
As the battery can be used up to 30days with the conditions of Venus ,The Rover will have Two battery slots one will be empty and the other will have a battery. The batteries will be in the satellite and based on the trajectory that the rover will travel the batteries will be deployed whenever the rover is nearest to the satellite after specific pre determined days based on the conditions and the estimation of weight of the rover and energy consumption, the rover then will add the battery to its empty battery storage slot through an automated hand mechanism that the rover will be equipped. and discard the other used battery in the other slot ,by this method we can both reduce the weight of the rover and minimize the power consumption.
Space Agency Data
basic data about venus
atmoshperic conditions in venus
different types of rovers and their basic specifications
Hackathon Journey
IT WAS AN EXCITING ONE BUT LEFT US WITH A LIFETIME OF MEMORIES, I CAN BE VERY SURE THAT ATTENDING A HACKATHON TEACHES YOU MORE THAN ANY YOU CAN LEARN IN A SINGLE MONTH, BECAUSE YOU INTERACT WITH PEOPLE AND WORK ON REAL WORLD PROBLEMS WHICH YOU NEVER MIGHT, WE AS A TEAM LEARNED ABOUT THE CONDITIONS ON VENUS AND THE PREVIOUS MISSION THAT TOOK PLACE TO STUDY THE SURFACE OF VENUS. JUST IN TWO DAYS TO WORK ON A ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM THAT WOULD LAST FOR 60 DAYS WITH EXTREME CLIMATIC CONDITION WAS A CHALLENGE ITSELF. THE STUDY OF BATTERIES AND INNOVATIVE IDEAS TO EXECUTE THE TASK WAS A LEARNING TO EXPERIENCE. THIS HACKATHON PROVIDED A GREAT KNOWLEDGE AND JOURNEY THAT IS WORTH REMEMBERING.
References
https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/1.41886?journalCode=jpp#:~:text=The%20proposed%20battery%20for%20Venus,only%20reactant%20brought%20from%20Earth
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/145858