Title :
Materials Adherence Experiment: technology [space power]
Author :
Jenkins, Phillip P. ; Landis, Geoffrey A. ; Oberle, Lawrence G.
Author_Institution :
Essential Res. Inc., Cleveland, OH, USA
fDate :
27 Jul-1 Aug 1997
Abstract :
NASA´s Mars Pathfinder mission, launched December 4, 1996, reflects a new philosophy of exploiting new technologies to reduce mission cost and accelerate the pace of space exploration. Pathfinder will demonstrate a variety of new technologies aimed at reducing the cost of Mars exploration. Chief among these will be the demonstration of a solar-powered spacecraft on the surface of Mars. The Materials Adherence Experiment on Pathfinder was designed to measure the degradation of solar arrays due to dust settling out of the atmosphere and blocking light to the solar array, lowering the array power output
Keywords :
Mars; aerospace testing; photovoltaic power systems; solar cell arrays; space vehicle power plants; Mars Pathfinder; Mars exploration; Materials Adherence Experiment; array power output; dust settling; solar arrays degradation; solar-powered spacecraft; Acceleration; Aircraft manufacture; Atmospheric measurements; Costs; Degradation; Mars; Optical arrays; Power measurement; Space exploration; Space technology;
Conference_Titel :
Energy Conversion Engineering Conference, 1997. IECEC-97., Proceedings of the 32nd Intersociety
Conference_Location :
Honolulu, HI
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-4515-0
DOI :
10.1109/IECEC.1997.659280
