Solar panels are truly space-age tech – almost everything that goes into space has them. More recently, solar panels have shown that they can be red as well as green, powering the Phoenix Mars Lander which has revolutionized our understanding of our neighboring planet. The Lander discovered ice and (even more unbelievably) snow on Mars – the existence of water on Mars could change the direction of human space travel, and we have solar power to thank for it all.
When you’re sending a probe five hundred million kilometers from home base you’re going to want to make sure it can power itself. It’s a bit too far to go and change the batteries if they run out. The craft was powered over its ten month journey by a pair of gallium arsenide solar panels. These were the classic “square boxes sticking out the side” you associate with all satellites, and for the same reasons – it’s simply a very efficient arrangement for collecting power in space.
When the lander left its space-stage behind and arrived on the surface, one of its first tasks was to unfold its new solar array. This was a crucial stage of the activation procedure. Every other instrument might work or not, but no power means no mission, no way, no how. The new panels were three square meters of gallium arsenide goodness, an electrical origami which flawlessly unfolded from storage to power the Phoenix.
The lander operated flawlessly for five months, two months over the expected mission lifetime as the panels continued to generate power far into the Martian winter. They provided power for the robotic digging arm which uncovered the ice, the soil ovens which analyzed it, even the transmitters which sent the image home.
Eventually, the encroaching Martian winter meant that reduced hours of sunlight, combined with the need to turn on electrical heaters to prevent even the electronics freezing to death became too much. The process was accelerated by a dust storm which coated the panels and reduced their effectiveness, and the Phoenix sent its last signal on November 2nd.
NASA scientists get to work on the last frontier for mankind, space. They’re only concerned with choosing the best method to do the job – and when they choose a power plant they always go solar. And the problem of not being able to clean the panels? It turns out that isn’t an issue on Earth, and the power is just as free – something to think about.