Towers on the Peaks of Eternal Light: Quantifying the Available Solar Power. (arXiv:2102.11766v1 [astro-ph.EP])
<a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Ross_A/0/1/0/all/0/1">Amia Ross</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Ruppert_S/0/1/0/all/0/1">Sephora Ruppert</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Glaser_P/0/1/0/all/0/1">Philipp Gläser</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Elvis_M/0/1/0/all/0/1">Martin Elvis</a>
The Peaks of Eternal Light (PELs), that are largely unshaded regions mostly
at the lunar south pole, have been suggested as a source of solar power for
mining the water and other volatiles in the nearby permanently dark regions. As
mining is a power-intensive activity, it is interesting to estimate the maximum
solar power that could be generated at the PELs. Here we use average percentage
illumination maps for a range of heights above the local topography from 2 m to
2 km to determine the total power available as a function of time of lunar day.
Overshadowing of highly illuminated areas by towers placed in sunward locations
(at a given time of day) limits the total power to much smaller values than the
highly illuminated area would suggest. We find that for near-term realizable
towers (up to 20 m), the upper limit to the time-averaged power available is
~55 MW at >70% illumination, and ~6 MW at >90% illumination. For the more
distant future a maximum time-averaged power of order 21000 MW at >70%
illumination could be realizable for towers up to 2 km in height, and ~5270 MW,
respectively, at 90% illumination. Towers 1 km high provide about a factor 2.7
times less power. The variation with lunar time of day ranges from a factor of
1.1 to ~ 3.
The Peaks of Eternal Light (PELs), that are largely unshaded regions mostly
at the lunar south pole, have been suggested as a source of solar power for
mining the water and other volatiles in the nearby permanently dark regions. As
mining is a power-intensive activity, it is interesting to estimate the maximum
solar power that could be generated at the PELs. Here we use average percentage
illumination maps for a range of heights above the local topography from 2 m to
2 km to determine the total power available as a function of time of lunar day.
Overshadowing of highly illuminated areas by towers placed in sunward locations
(at a given time of day) limits the total power to much smaller values than the
highly illuminated area would suggest. We find that for near-term realizable
towers (up to 20 m), the upper limit to the time-averaged power available is
~55 MW at >70% illumination, and ~6 MW at >90% illumination. For the more
distant future a maximum time-averaged power of order 21000 MW at >70%
illumination could be realizable for towers up to 2 km in height, and ~5270 MW,
respectively, at 90% illumination. Towers 1 km high provide about a factor 2.7
times less power. The variation with lunar time of day ranges from a factor of
1.1 to ~ 3.
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