Design of Space Microgrid for Manned Lunar Base: Spinning-in Terrestrial Technologies

The present study analyses the design of the power system of a manned lunar base, in Shackleton crater, using well-established terrestrial technologies deriving from DC microgrids with increased fault-tolerance needs. Expected luminance data from 2020 is used in order to select the ideal base location in terms of mean annual solar irradiance, according to which, the sizing of the power generation and storage units is performed. The proposed grid topology is meshed in order to satisfy the high reliability requirements of a manned space mission and, at the same time, to reduce the mass/ volume budgets of the mission. The load profile is constructed using a set of notional loads. Furthermore, a novel solar array configuration is proposed under the scope of maximizing the energy production under the specific irradiance of the base siting. After preliminary sizing is performed, a series of microgrid-related technologies is suggested, covering all levels of grid design, control and protection.