[M-IS25] Planetary Volcanology

[MIS25-04] Study of wind power generation around Martian volcanoes using mesoscale atmospheric simulation.

*Yasuhiro Nishikawa¹ (1.Kochi University of technology. School of System Engoneering.)

Keywords:Martian volcano, Wind power generation

In planetary exploration, usually probe vehicles convert sunlight into electric power because solar energy is considered a unique source to generate electricity in space. But in the case of Mars, the situation is a little bit complicated. Mars is a dusty planet, since the dust-covered, the solar panels obtained power decreased day by day. So, this causes serious damage for long-term observation. In 2022 January, NASA InSight lander went into safe mode because of a huge dust storm. The InSight lander has returned to normal operation after the global dust storm, but its power level is still low. Mars is the windy planet at once, we have wind as an alternative electric power source. I estimated wind electricity throughout Mars by Global Circulation Models and Mesoscale Models for knowing global patterns. I found that more wind-generated areas are characterized by steep and long slopes because of their slope wind. Here I tried more detail and smaller-scale simulation at Arsia Mons which is one of the windy places on Mars. At the same time, I estimated wind electricity on Chryse Planitia and Green Valley by observation data sets. As a result, we can generate 130 Watt-hour / swept area in a day around Arsia Mons. In contrast, we can generate only 7.4 or 14 W hr / swept areas on Chryse Planitia and Green Valley. We converted the unit of the results into W hr per mass to compare wind electricity with solar electricity (ref:2). I conclude that we can use wind turbines instead of solar panels in a windy place or during short daytime length terms. The important things for installing wind turbines on Mars are locations and seasons.