DUST OBSCURATION OF MARS SOLAR-ARRAYS

The atmosphere of Mars contains a considerable amount of suspended dus t. Over a period of time, this dust will settle out of the atmosphere and deposit onto the surfaces of solar arrays, resulting in degradatio n of performance. This paper attempts to quantify the amount of dust c overage expected and the amount of performance lost, using available d ata on Martian conditions. Since this amount of dust in the atmosphere varies, the degradation of array performance could be between 1 and 5 0% over a 30 day mission, and between 22 and 89% over a two-year missi on. Sand and dust may also be deposited on a solar array by saltation. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd